Communal labor is used to construct and renovate public buildings such as the library and this ensures a sense of ownership by the community. This system has also been used for people to group together to access loans by Habitat for Humanity in order to build decent, well constructed housing. Our Program Manager takes a supervisory role in this and there have now been more than 50 houses built in the community using the principles of solidarity and without any external assistance.

Land / Humjibre is situated on the tropical rainforest edge. Land is cleared by a process of slash and burn. There is seasonally high rainfall (May-Sept) but problems resulting from deforestation have meant that many older villagers say that rainfall has decreased during their lifetime. The majority of people’s farms are dedicated to growing cocoa. They also grow oil palm, yams, plantains and cassava largely for their own use.

Overhunting of large birds and game in the nearby forest have led to the virtual absence of protein in people’s diets. Combating this, Humjibre has many taboos which prevent farmers from growing their crops on the tops of hills; this helps to offset some of the worst effects of erosion caused by intermittently heavy rainfall.

History / Humjibre literally translated means “a place of rest.” In ancient times, the village was part of a well-traveled route to the coast. Travelers heading to the coast usually stopped overnight to rest in Humjibre, where they would always find a reliable source of water and a warm welcome from the people there. So the village gradually acquired the name Humjibre.

Before the village was founded, around 150 years ago, the people formed part of a group of Sefwis constantly on the move because of the intertribal wars of the time. This large group settled at a place near Sefwi Bekwai called Asono Mmiensa, meaning Three Elephants. One day a hunter found a pool of water that came from a hill. The water was so cool and refreshing that the hunter reported this to his divisional chief. After inspection, it was widely concluded this water source could be sufficient all year round, so they moved and settled near this water source under the leadership of Nana Anyimadu. The water still runs from the hills and provides the community with cool, refreshing drinking water. A large tract of forest vegetation has been reserved to serve as protective cover for the water. Because of the constant harassment they were always on the defensive and became vexed in warfare. They fought alongside the Ashantis on several occasions. One such brave chief who was revered by the Ashantis was called Nana Kofi Twum.