One day when I was checking on our pasted mowanas, I discovered one had had wire mesh wrapped all around it.
I drove 500km on rocky and rutted roads to meet with the leader of the government funded "conservation" group who placed the wire, only to be stood up repeatedly over days. My hope for open discussion and potential collaboration was extinguished.
I returned to the Delta wanting to speak with the national park captain overseeing the region within which the mowana lives - hoping he may have jurisdiction to authorize removal of the wire. The captain was on leave and upon returning said he would contact me for a meeting.
After a few weeks, the Department of National Parks Captain contacted me and he listened to my account of the 11 month process of pasting and monitoring the Mowana, with the concoction and the subsequent healing that had occurred prior to the mesh wire application.
Before initiating the rehabilitation program I had specifically engaged with this Captain to share my plan and receive his support. The Captain arranged a meeting with me and Master (the leader of the wiremesh conservation group) and himself.
The Captain helped me a lot by facilitating and mediating this meeting . It was not an easy thing….., a very difficult experience. But the end result was the decision that Master was to remove the wire, which has now been done.
When I drove to check on this Mowana (Baobab), I saw that all of the nails had been left behind and all of the branches that had begun to regrow with the pasting had, unfortunately, been broken off or were dead. I will remove the nails, clean the wounds and paste them again with the concoction to prevent infection and support her to rejuvenate once again.
Given the events, this is the best possible outcome and demonstrates what a true cooperative community ecosystem and its ripple effects can yield.
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