4. Description
This community is famous for it's traditionally protected monkey sanctuary, which provides refuge to over 200 Mona monkeys. The Tafi people believe the monkeys are messengers to the gods and are their protectors, resulting in their protection for over 200 years. The sanctuary surrounds the village and the monkeys regarded as sacred, are found in the indigenous forest and reside around the human settlement. The project also offers traditional drumming, dancing and story telling. The project gained attention since 1995 with the project of Peace Corps volunteers to the community to assist the community in developing this resource. Basically, the role of all the stakeholders involved in the project is to transfer technical skills to the community to enable it operate efficiently.
5. Business/company/project initiation and it's author/s
The community at a point within the past decade was faced with threats to the sacred forest due to logging and farming, hunting pressure and introduction of non-indigenous species. This was due to the introduction of Christian beliefs that did not emphasize the traditional beliefs of the people. Realizing the value of the forest, the community in 1995 sought assistance to enable them restore the status of the forest and the monkeys. The forest was then declared a Sanctuary after each clan in the village donated land for this purpose. Whit funding support from the Japanese government, the people engaged in reforestation of indigenous trees. The grant also provided the construction of a visitor center together with toilet and bath facilities. The community worked closely with a local NGO ( Wildlife Conservation Research Center now Nature Conservation Research Center ) and the Peace Corps of USA to seek funding from the Japanese government and to implement the project.