Art to the rescue of Soche Hill

Paulendo Adventures has organised a maiden Soche Mountain Festival to create conservation awareness on the need to preserve the hill and its natural resources.

The local tour operators say they want to use the arts and entertainment platform to bring together people living within the vicinity of the hill to a discussion on environmental conservation.

Artists such as Faith Mussa, Suffix, Slyce and Zeze Kingston are expected to lead activities which will take place atop Soche Hill.

Apart from music performances, other activities include hiking, cooking, games and bike trekking. The festival is set for October 21.

Lead coordinator of the festival, Yangairo Yangairo said the hill is presently threatened by human activities.

He said: “Art and entertainment is being used as a platform to spread messages about environmental conservation. We are planning to engage some artists as ambassadors to help the cause in the long-term staring from next year.”

Yangairo said the festival, which  will run annually, is a start of engagements that will benefit the communities within and ensure that the hill is protected and becomes something of their interest.

“The cutting down of trees has become uncontrollable to the extent that if we do not do anything now, then soon we will have no single tree there,” he said. 

In a separate interview yesterday, Faith Mussa said he feels proud to be involved in a cause that will spur social change.

He said he is always saddened by the degree of environmental degradation that is rampant in most natural reserves.

Said Mussa: “As artists we have a huge following. And from this pool of followers we have people who are involved in environmental degradation and are also affected by the same. Being there and getting involved in dispersing such messages is more powerful than just putting out a poster or billboard.”

Over the years, Soche Hill has come under the spotlight due to its massive encroachment that it is facing. The festival is one of the efforts that various partners are implementing to restore its vibrancy.