Top: Rock Crusher Town in Quikon, Kokoyah Statutory District in Bong County. The DayLight\/Derick Snyder<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Esau J. Farr<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ROCK CRUSHER \u2013 <\/strong>A clan in Kokoyah District, Bong County, is close to qualifying for an official survey for a customary land deed. The Quikon Clan<\/a> recently signed boundary MoUs with its neighbors, the Vehn and Sawulah Clans, leaving it close to completing the legal process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe signing of the MoU will help stop conflicts among the present and future generations because the document will show them the boundaries of our land,\u201d says Hellen Kpelletay, a Quikon resident. \u201cIt is important for us because it will help end confusion among us and other clans near us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In August 2023, Quikon self-identified as a landowning community, the first step in getting title to an ancestral territory. It later adopted a bylaw and constitution, established a community land governance structure, and conducted mapping in line with the Land Rights Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law recognizes collective ownership for people who have lived in areas for generations, once they meet legal requirements. Before the law, rural dwellers were considered caretakers of customary land, not owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quikon is one of the 39 communities Parley Liberia, a Gbarnga-based NGO, is assisting as part of a 3.5 million project provided by the Sweden-based International Land and Forest Tenure Facility<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the MoUs, Quikon had disagreements with Vehn and Sawulah on the north and the Sawulah Clan southwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the issue with Vehn, Togar Glaygbo, a Quikon elder, claimed a plot of land there with some cash crops. However, his claim was rejected by some townspeople, including Vehn\u2019s Clan Chief Amos Gardea. Gardea argued that Glaygbo had deserted the area for decades. The disagreement was later resolved after the interventions of local leaders and Parley Liberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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