EPISODE 2: FOREST OR FOR REST
By F. Mohit, forestry_mauritius
I joined the Forestry Service on the 28th of September, 1984,
and I was posted at Grand Bassin Forest Section. On the first day, I met the Officer in charge
and two of his Assistants at 7.00 am sharp.
The Boss was a sly and stern man who was feared by all his subordinates. He ordered one of his Assistants, Mr. Cool,
to show me around Grand Bassin Forests.
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| Grand Bassin Forest Office (2018). It was an old train wagon in 1984 |
It was cold, windy and raining on that day. Mr.
Cool and I set off at 8.00 am, and we walked on the forest tracks and
paths. He was well equipped with
raincoat and rubber boots. After just half an hour, I was soaked to the skin
despite holding firmly an umbrella. I
cursed myself for being not good enough to get a better job. At that time nobody was interested in the
forestry profession as it was considered a lowly job. There was the misconception that Forest
Officers are Watchmen (Gardiens des Bois). We returned back to Office at 2.00 pm after
walking some 8 kms in the rain.
The next day the Boss, without any qualms, told us to go on the beat
again. My heart sank and my spirit was
low. Mr. Cool told me not to worry. Although it was a beautiful sunny day, I
followed him reluctantly. However, he
did not take the same route. After a quarter
of an hour, we reached a stream called Rivulet des Chevrettes. He placed his haversack down near a tree,
opened it and took out a shawl. He then removed his shirt, boots, and rolled up his trousers. Before I
had time to ask him what he was doing, he stepped into the shallow water and
plunged the shawl down to the river bed. He used both hands to move the shawl near the water edge. When he raised it, there were plenty of small
shrimps (chevrettes). In fact, the stream
was teeming with shrimps, which was the obvious reason it’s named Rivulet des
Chevrettes.
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| Rivulet Chevrettes (2018) |
After just half an hour, he had caught about three pounds of
shrimps. He was a generous man. Although I had just watched him fishing, he gave
me around one pound of shrimps. My
mouth watered at the thought of hot flat bread (Farathas chaud) with rougaille
chevrettes (shrimps cooked in tomatoes). We spent some time talking near the Rivulet
till 11.30 am. We had received clear
instructions from the Boss not to return back before 2.00 pm. So, I was taken aback when he told me it’s
time to go back. “Don’t worry. Just come
with me,” he said. I followed him
despite being sceptical.
We stopped and had lunch in a Cedar (Cryptomeria
japonica) plantation some 200 metres from the Office. He then took out two raincoats and spread
them in a cosy spot in the shade of some Cedar trees. He dropped his body down on one and said:
“Now, I will teach you your first lesson”.
He continued: “Forest means for rest.
You got it”. I could not help
laughing. We had a nap till
13.45 pm. When we woke up, we washed our
faces with a bottle of water. Then he
taught me my second lesson. He took a
stick and scratched some mud from a wet spot on the ground. He then smeared his rubber boots with
mud. He said: “The Boss is always happy
when he sees his subordinates’ shoes dirty”.
I had no choice but to smear my shoes with mud.
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| The Cedar plantation nowadays (2018) |
We returned to the Office at 2.00 pm sharp pretending to be exhausted
and thirsty. Mr. Cool was right. The
Boss was very pleased and beamed at us.
He jovially asked us to take some rest and freshen up. I was in high spirit, and from that day I
knew that the job would be fun and adventure.
Whether forest or for rest, the job is irresistible!!!
The Forestry Service has embarked on a vast campaign of sensitizing the
public since 1998. A new wing in the service was created, and the group started
delivering lectures in primary and secondary schools. It was led by
dynamic Forest Officers Baureck, Roopa and the late Jean Pierre. They showed innovating
skills in presenting their lectures with slide shows. Ongoing improvement was
highlighted by the creation of the first endemic garden at Midlands Government School.
Since then, the
momentum kept on rising to reach the whole island. Now we can legitimately and
proudly say that in almost all primary and secondary schools, an endemic garden
exists. The design, layout and native plants are provided by the Forestry
Service. The endemic garden serves as a teaching
aid to educators and as a visual consolidated concept during the delivery of lectures to the students. The lectures also have undergone great improvement by
adopting an interactive approach giving opportunity to participants to show and
share their knowledge and views.
