In the Rain Forest
Barry Hewlett (seated) with Ngandu research assistants (from left) Aubain Mongosso, Edward Mboula, and Sebastian Zibokolo, several miles into the forest from Bagandou, in Central African Republic, last August.
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For several years, cultural anthropologist Barry Hewlett has traveled to the tropical rain forests of Central African Republic to do fieldwork with Aka foragers and Ngandu farmers. In 1997, a group of Aka approached Hewlett about building a school in the forest for them. “They were tired of being exploited by local farmers,” says Hewlett. “They wanted to learn to count, read, and write so they wouldn’t have to rely on farmers for these skills.”
With the help of the Anthropology Club at Washington State University, Vancouver, where Hewlett is a professor of anthropology, and local elementary and middle schools, Hewlett raised funds to build a small school. In the photo above, Hewlett and his research assistants are on their way to visit the school. “We are now in the process of making sure the teacher continues to be paid,” he says.
Hewlett earned a bachelor’s (’71) and a master’s (’77) degree in anthropology from CSU, Chico. In 1987, he earned his PhD at University of California, Santa Barbara. After completing his bachelor’s degree, Hewlett hitchhiked across Africa and ended up in the rain forests of Central African Republic, studying and befriending the Aka and Ngandu, whom he admires for their generosity, accepting natures, egalitarianism, and kindness—“as kind as humans get,” says Hewlett. The Ngandu speak Dingando, as well as French, which Hewlett uses to converse with them. He is also able to speak the Aka language, Diaka, fairly well, he says.
In February and March 2003, Hewlett and his wife, Bonnie, who is a registered nurse and medical anthropologist at Oregon State University, did fieldwork in the Republic of Congo, assisting the World Health Organization (WHO) with controlling an Ebola outbreak. “Due to my research on the Ebola outbreak in Uganda, medical anthropologists are now part of the first team that responds to Ebola outbreaks,” explains Hewlett. “WHO has experienced problems implementing control efforts because local people often do not trust international interventions because of colonialism and other historical and political-economic events. As medical anthropologists, we try to identify local beliefs and practices already in place that help with control efforts, and try to make the clinical settings more humanitarian.”
In 1994, Hewlett was chosen Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The Hewletts visit Central African Republic every year and stay in a house they own in the village of Bagandou, several hours from the capital, Bangui. They have seven children, ages 13–23, and live in Philomath, Oregon. 
Lisa Kirk, Public Affairs and Publications |
