Djolu Technical College for Conservation & Rural Development
(Institut Superieur de Developpement Rurale-ISDR)
During initial negotiations for the Kokolopori Reserve, the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve Association (KBRA) requested that a technical college be established in the region. Spearheaded by Albert Lokasola, president of Vie Sauvage, the Bonobo Conservation Initiative’s (BCI) local partner organization, a technical college was built by students and local people under BCI/Vie Sauvage granting and supervision and has gained the approval of the DRC Ministry of Education.
The College was established in 2003 by BCI, an international conservation and sustainable development organization, and Vie Sauvage, a grassroots conservation/community development NGO from the Congo’s cuvette centrale, in Djolu territory. Other than funding support from BCI and a grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2006-7, there has been no international investment until recently, but there has been significant investment of time and resources from the local community.
The Maringa- Lopori-Wamba landscape, in the Congo cuvette centrale, is an area that suffers from endemic poverty and lack of infrastructure, and is threatened by pressure to increase timber exports and commercial agricultural expansion. Our aim is to reduce the environmental impact of planned land development activities by assuring community and stakeholder education and capacity building. The Djolu Technical College Project will offer young people in the region skills in conservation management, sustainable agriculture and micro-enterprise development. The bottom line is to educate and train the next generation of leaders in conservation and community development.
While off to a good start, the technical college lacks resources, books, computers, Internet access and adequate physical infrastructure.
The College has been approved by the DRC Ministry of Education and the curriculum includes courses in Environmental Management, Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry, Agricultural Techniques, Animal Husbandry, Harnessing Technology, Hygiene and Public Health, Mathematics, Demography, Biometry and Statistics, Agricultural Economics, Scientific Research Techniques, Accounting, English, Marketing, Psychology, Community Development, Rural Administration, Regional Planning, Civil and Land Law, and more.
We are seeking international support for development of this important educational institution. Goals include establishing a scholarship fund and increasing opportunities for students throughout the region, and to establish a sister university partnership with an American university. Graduating students will have greater opportunities for employment, and will serve to increase the pool of qualified local talent for conservation and development programs being established in the region. This is a prime example of how local action in Kokolopori extends beyond its borders to impact regional development.
Bonobo Bridge -Local Education Initiatives
 BCI is supporting education initiatives and making improvements and providing supplies to local schools in the region. We have established the Bonobo Bridge Project to promote relationships and cooperation between Kokolopori and US schools. In 2006, the city of Falls Church, Virginia, officially announced a Sister Cities partnership with Kokolopori, and the Falls Church-Kokolopori Sister City Partnership is taking the lead in piloting the Bonobo Bridge project. [Learn More]
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