Friends of Chimps visited the Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project in early February to see how it has grown. The team now reaches more than 100 local villages in the area of 6 chimpanzee groups, working to improve people’s lives while protecting the chimpanzees. Now, with the Covid-19 pandemic, their work is more vital to people, forests, and chimpanzees than ever.

BCCP has 25 paid staff – all from the local villages.  We met many of them during our stay, starting with several of those whose job it is to teach people how to coexist with local chimpanzees.

We visited one of the 7 tree nurseries (see figure) that now produce 1 million seedlings a year for local communities. And we met the nursery team that not only grow those seedlings but help local farmers to plant and maintain them. 

We spoke with farmers whose children are in school at all levels thanks to school fee assistance from BCCP. At the same time, their forests are now growing lusher by the year, providing vital habitat for chimpanzees. We also had the privilege of meeting several teenage girls who thank the Gertrude Marsi Scholarship for enabling them to attend secondary school, setting an example for other girls in the region that women’s education is important.

Now BCCP is faced with the challenge of a lifetime as the team continues its vital work during the pandemic.  But it’s just that important – to chimpanzees, to forests, and to thousands of people living in this important wildlife corridor.  Your support can help them meet the emergency while continuing to extend its reach to new human and chimpanzee communities. To learn about the full array of BCCP’s activities, click here.

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