Biso na Biso

Biso na Biso CountryCongo Brazzaville Province / areaPokola Project typeRadio station Project statuslive broadcast Start date01 Jun 2009

 

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Biso na Biso, which means "Between Us" in Lingala, is the first ever indigenous peoples' language radio station in the Congo Basin. The station is located in Pokola, Republic of Congo, an area in which some 16,000 forest people live, of whom about 9,000 are from indigenous semi-nomadic Pygmy communities. 

Inaugurated in June 2009, the radio aims to facilitate a dialogue among and with the indigenous people living in the north of the country, allowing them to communicate and exchange ideas and information in their language and according to their oral traditions. The forest communities who are the "eyes and ears" of the forest will, thanks to this community radio, not only be able to understand the issues surrounding sustainable development but also to participate in the process, thereby preserving their traditional way of life and biodiversity.

  • 25 programmes broadcast weekly with timings ranging from 5 to 30 minutes each
  • Close to 1,000 productions since 7 June 2009 – the day of the official launch - magazines, interviews, animations, stories, reports ... and several hundred Pygmy and Bantu songs recorded live
  • Varied broadcast themes include participative management of natural resources (fauna and flora), environment (water, forest, living environment ...), climate change, hunting, fishing, agriculture, community life, AIDS, health and hygiene, oral traditions, education and community initiatives, women's issues, civic life, the FSC Principles, information on BnB’s partner CIB (la Congolaise Industrielle des Bois) etc...
  • Estimated 20,000 listeners in the CIB concessions and nearly 50,000 with the audience in the surrounding villages of Ngombe, Ouesso, Mokéko Palm and Sangha.
  • Broadcast radius of more than 100 kilometres

Get to know Privat Massanga, the radio manager [PDF, EN /FR]

Updates

The radio is broadcasting live.

Support for the project

The project has received support from the World Bank (Development Marketplace), Congolaise Industrielle des Bois (CIB) and the Fondation Chirac.

You can also bring your support to the radio, visit the Climate Tree for more information.

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