Congo trip with kidete

I’ve recorded a brief video review of the Goma sativa I got from different areas of the city.

Here’s the link to my YouTube

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Nice photos and videos bro :sunglasses:

Are you planning go to Virunga Park to visit the Batwa Pigmies?

or do you think it is not necessary because maybe they have the same herb that you already got?

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The people said that the park is inaccessible because the rebel soldiers have camped inside Virunga since 2020.

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That is not good, who knows what the rebel soldiers have done to the cannabis strains. I would assume they would take over any kind of production to make money

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From what I understood people that used to live in the park have been chased from there when it became one, and can not really access it anymore. That’s the official story I heard from docs/articles at least. Maybe they’re still using it to grow MJ, or at least until the rebels came.

Thanks for the reports here @Kidete , have no IG so it’s cool to be able to follow a bit. Stay safe and enjoy!

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The Pygmies were still growing weed in the nat. forest illegally, at least until the last eruption. It grows wild there, and they go up to harvest buds and get seeds for their villages when they need to, or at least, they did. It’s in a 2017 national geographic article that I believe someone already posted. Here’s some of it:

"A lone marijuana plant marks the muddy path that leads to Nana’s village, an hour’s drive from eastern Congo’s war-torn capital, Goma. Wooden scooters piled with firewood clog the road there, while on the shoulder women roast corn over smoking charcoal. The constant jolt of car wheels dipping into potholes provides what’s wryly called a “Congolese massage.”

Twice a week, a small group of Pygmies rises at 6 a.m. and treks three hours into the forests of Africa’s oldest national park, Virunga. Above them looms the volatile volcano, Nyiragongo. In 1952, when the area was designated as a park, they were evicted and the hunting and gathering that fed them was outlawed. Their journey into the park is illegal, but they continue to return to their former territory to gather honey, potatoes, and medicinal plants. One of the dozen members of this Bambuti Pygmy community trained to identify the correct flora goes along to seek out an important crop they say their ancestors grew long before them: marijuana. In the forest, the plants grow wild, and the Pygmies harvest plants and seeds when their village stock is low."

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Another bit:

"From the village plots, the plant makes its way to the regional capital of Goma. There, in pulsating nightclubs, it’s easy to find a variety of illegal substances being peddled, mostly to wealthy local businessmen and foreign aid workers who power a luxury economy that exists alongside the typical Congolese one.

Behind the one-row tourist market, which provides last-minute baskets and masks to visiting foreigners, is the couch-stuffed clubhouse of a man known around town as the “King of Marijuana.” He talks shop with a group of young men as a woman expertly rolls a joint. He is one the biggest players in a flourishing illicit business that relies on Congolese soldiers, the United Nation’s largest peacekeeping force, visiting diplomats, and philanthropic celebrities. The 20 pounds a day that he moves comes from lawless rebel-held territories, and, he claims, the best strain is grown by Pygmies. Their technique of letting it sit for months makes it extra strong, he says."

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Would like to know what their technique is for letting it sit for 6 months to make it stronger… I hope @Kidete can get some cooperation in getting in touch with the pygmy

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Picture of buds drying in the sun:

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Hey @Kidete, if you are still in town, try finding Muja and/or Mabanga neighborhood, and ask about meeting any Pygmies.

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Interested in this as well

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agreed! That info alone would make the trip worth it imo :eyes:

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Based on what his samples looked like I think this might be the method they use

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Going on ten years ago for that information.

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I believe they may have learned the fermentation techniques by way of Indians in Natal. Or similar instances of interaction. I’ll go dig up some of the relevant quotes. How I see it is the hunter gatherer bands are known for covering massive swaths of land and being quite social with other bands. Learning, trading, and sharing amongst one another. Music is a joy as too is their passion for cannabis from what I’ve read. Hope everyone is having a great day. Many blessings and much love

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You might be right. I was thinking along those same lines… But that
The Indians that came up the Congo River in 1950 may have taught them. Someone taught them. It’s quite possible @Kidete has already located a non fermented Black Magic strain, if indeed that is what makes it dark in color. He has gotten some nice clear headed Congo weed already, and should be back from a trip to an island inhabited by Pygmy refugees by now…if he made it there.

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Fellow ganja enthusiasts, :smile:

Here’s a brief overview of the information I’ve gathered after interacting with my tour guide. He works for a company that takes tourists on city trips and gorilla siting expeditions.

  • He mentioned that weed in Goma originates from Masisi (6 hours west of Goma). Both samples that I reviewed were similar.

  • Mentioned that the company he works for stopped taking tourists to Okapi wildlife reserve (northern Congo, Pygmy territory )
    because of the rebel invasion of 2020. The rebels want to control the gold mines

  • He said that a majority of the pygmies reside in the north where gold mines are located.

  • A majority of them are involved business involving gold and those who prosper relocate to different east African countries or safer areas in Congo.

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It’s close to Masisi where the weed growers are

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This is where the Vice video guys went to meet with them. Not sure where it is though.

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