Mahwa Botanical Garden Field Report

As part of the “Production of agroforestry, forest, indigenous species and medicinal plants” project, the OBPE initiated the creation of a botanical garden at the Mahwa site located in GITEGA province in Ryansoro Commune since July 2020. This site is located on an area that amounts to 139.37 ares. The species to be domesticated are those collected in protected areas and from people who have already domesticated them for their domestic uses.

The aim of creating this botanical garden is to preserve medicinal plants in protected areas, to fight against the extinction of certain species, and to assess the adaptability of these plants outside protected areas and in agricultural environments. Seed harvesting is complemented by the search for information related to the identification of the mother plant and its daily use. Depending on the species, this harvest concerns the seeds, the cuttings but also the entire plant.

The species already established since the 2020—2021 silvicultural campaign currently have a height of more or less two meters and cohabit well with crops.

In total, more than 70 species have already been established. However, the activities of harvesting seeds, creating specific plots for each species, maintaining installed plants, mulching and watering young plants, adding new species, replacing dead species are activities regularly carried out to maintain healthy individuals already established.

Here are some photos of the two-year-old species: