“When I catch people, all I can do is confront them and threaten to take them to the police,” Matinda said. “I try to take their equipment, like machetes and cell phones to the village office. But I need more support.”

If he wants police officers to join him on his patrols, he has to pay for their gas, food, and time.

Matinda also decided to run for a position in the village government, and got elected in 2015 so he could be involved in the village’s decision-making process, including the way their forests are used and protected.

However, according to Matinda disputes over recent local election results have left Namalulu without a village council since February 2016 – leaving Matinda and the village chairman sympathetic to his work in limbo as a court reviews the results.

In the meantime, poachers continue to take everything from timber to animals.

“We don’t want the forest to disappear,” said Matinda. “Our fathers protected it, but now our generation is destroying it. If nothing is done the forest will become a story we tell our children.”

Disappearing wildlife

When Matinda started patrolling the area around Namalulu he noticed a marked decline in wildlife compared to when he was a child, and ascertained that the animals had gone into hiding deep in the forest.

“They don’t come near because they know a lot of people are around here, cutting trees and disturbing them, so they stay farther away,” he said.

The money to fund the patrols comes from Matinda’s pocket. He dips into the savings he makes as a safari guide to buy fuel and food for him and his patrol group. He estimates he has spent a few thousand dollars so far on the work.

He’s also committed to spend as much time as he can to try and protect the forests around Namalulu. He often spends days at a time on patrols, leaving behind his wife and young son, who live five hours away in Arusha, where he currently lives. “I just sleep in the car sometimes several nights in a row trying to find the poachers,” he said.

Matinda’s father-in-law Gideon Soombe, a retired pastor and conservationist, said while his family sometimes worries about Matinda while he’s on patrol, they are proud of what he’s doing.

“[His] work is very important, because we are running out of time to save the forest,” Soombe laments. “There are some species which have already gone extinct here, like the rhino. When I was young, there were so many rhino here, but this generation has never even seen a rhino. Only in pictures.”

Helping hands

A lack of investment, development, and opportunity could be at the heart of problems in the Simanjiro District. Matinda certainly believes they are to blame for the increase in illegal activities like logging and poaching.

“When we catch those people, they tell us they don’t have jobs,” he said. “They see it’s a big forest here, so it’s easy for them to just cut trees and do poaching.”

Matinda believes many people would stop if given an alternative. Over the last two years, Matinda has built a network of informants and reformed a few loggers and poachers who he pays to help him find the clandestine camps.

Elias (last name withheld) used to act as a transporter for bush meat poachers around Namalulu, but changed his ways when he was approached by Matinda for help.