No local wants to plunder the river but unless they’re given viable alternatives for making a living the stripping of the Nila’s resources will continue.
I’m onboard a traditional boat called a thoni slowly gliding down the river. Beside me on the banks egrets and storks pick through the grass to find a snack. Smoke rises from the chimney of a shabby hut where a woman sits washing clothes. Despite the problems the Nila faces, it can still present itself as a rural idyll.
This boat once carried a very different cargo to the camera-toting one it has today. Piles of sand carried from a mining site used to weigh down the thoni as it meandered down the river. Thanks to The Blue Yonder the captain no longer has to plunder the river to make a living.
Using tourism as an option in this way is a new and rather exciting idea. Not only does it mean the thoni captain doesn’t lose any income he could have made, but it also means he can now have a sense of pride in his work. No longer is he helping to destroy his home, he is helping to promote it, and he does it with a new-found pride.
I sit back and watch the palm trees swaying gently on the bank. A kingfisher flitters past in a flash of blue. This river really is rather special.
In the long run replacing sand for tourists may only be a tiny step forward, but it’s a definite foot in the right direction on a long road to the river’s regeneration.
