Africell is partnering with Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs to call on experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to explore methods for conserving Freetown’s famous ‘cotton tree, a cultural icon that sustained major damage during a storm in May 2023.
The giant tree in the centre of Sierra Leone’s capital is an important national and regional landmark, thanks to its historic association with the abolition of slavery. Standing almost seventy metres tall and visible from well out to sea, the tree had earned a totemic status in Sierra Leonean society, serving as a unifying symbol of nationhood in a country with a history of colonisation, civil war and ethnic fragmentation. It was under the cotton tree that enslaved Africans returned to Africa from the Caribbean and United States – as well as other groups, including the ‘Black Poor’ of London, the Maroons of Jamaica, and the Nova Scotians (freed slaves who had fought with the British during the American War of Independence) – gathered upon their arrival in the Province of Freedom (which later became Freetown), with stories emerging of prayers and hymns being sung by the new arrivals under its branches.
The cotton tree’s special status was burnished in the period following the abolition of slavery and the establishment of Freetown as a British colony and the rest of Sierra Leone as a British protectorate, but it predated that. In pre-colonial times, the tree was a meeting point for local chiefs, and it has ancient associations with local religious practices and magic rituals.
On 24 May 2023, heavy rain and wind caused a large section of the trunk to crack and topple. News of its collapse shocked the country, which went into what seemed like a state of mourning, and made headlines round the world.
Initial assessment of the debris suggested that a combination of neglect, pollution, and encroachment by road works on its root system had weakened the tree and compromised its ability to withstand monsoon weather conditions. Africell, the leading telecommunication operator in Sierra Leone, agreed with the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs to explore ways to protect the tree’s remains. The objective was, at a minimum, to stabilise the portion of the tree that remained in the ground and to remove and protect the sections that had detached. More ambitiously, the project aimed to establish conditions for potentially regrowing the tree, or at least for extracting material that could be used to develop similar trees later.
Based in southeast England, RBG Kew is an internationally important botanical research and education institution with world-class expertise in disciplines including arboriculture. Under the aegis of Africell’s agreement with the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a team of experts from RBG Kew was commissioned to undertake a technical study of the tree as the first step in a longer-term programme.
Kevin Martin, RBG Kew’s Head of Tree Collections, and Tom Fry, Arboricultural Supervisor at Kew Gardens, travelled to Freetown between 11 and 15 November 2024 to examine the tree and interact with leaders from the coalition of organisations supporting the project. Accompanied by Africell representatives, Mr. Martin and Mr. Fry met Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs officials, the Mayor of Freetown, the British High Commissioner, and faculty at Freetown’s Fourah Bay College. During their time at Fourah Bay College, Martin and Fry led a workshop for students in the Biological Sciences Department, focusing on the role of trees as a bulwark against the effects of climate change to which coastal cities like Freetown are especially vulnerable.
“Freetown’s cotton tree transcends normal commercial considerations,” says Sam Williams, Africell’s Group Communications Director and co-producer with local historian Charlie Haffner of ‘Salone Stories’, a podcast series about Sierra Leone which includes an episode on the folklore surrounding the tree. “Africell and the Africell Impact Foundation have a proud history of using our resources as a prominent brand to promote culture and heritage in our operating markets. Preserving Freetown’s cotton tree is a hugely important task, with national – if not global – implications. We are thrilled that RBG Kew shares our belief in the significance of the cotton tree and agreed to help us launch this project.”
The output of Kevin Martin’s and Tom Fry’s trip to Freetown will be a formal report presented to the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, detailing the current state of the tree and indicating the works required in the next phase to fortify its remains and – potentially – to encourage its regrowth. This report is expected to be delivered in early 2025.
Martin says that the project offers a unique challenge.
“From a technical point of view, it is relatively straightforward for us to understand the tree’s condition and advance recommendations for how to manage it in future”, Martin explains. “What is particularly interesting about this work, however, is its underlying cultural context, given the tree’s critical importance to the Sierra Leonean community. RBG Kew is keen to participate in this project with Africell and Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs because it allows us to deploy our technical expertise directly in service of an uplifting story of cultural preservation.”
Following the delivery of the initial report, it is hoped preparations will be made for a follow-up visit that will focus less on assessment and more on practical intervention. It is too early to say precisely what such will involve and when it will happen, but during this first trip, dialogue was established about integrating local students and experts into the programme, to ensure that RBG Kew’s involvement and investment in the project can have the positive legacy of building skills and experience within Sierra Leone’s domestic scientific community.
The physical preservation of the cotton tree is one thing. Another, equally important task is to celebrate and memorialise it so that whatever ultimately happens to its remains, future generations of Sierra Leoneans can continue to learn about it, enjoy it, and share in the sense of national pride that the tree has engendered in the past.
As has happened with the rehabilitation of other historic monuments– including, recently, the reconstruction of the fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris – this episode in the life of the cotton tree is being interpreted as an opportunity to focus attention back onto it and ensure that it is managed more sustainably in future.
“The day that the tree fell was a sad day for Sierra Leone”, says Edward Kwame Yankson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. “We are pleased, however, to have found a group of partners who share our belief that the tree has life in it yet. Whether it is restoring the tree in whole or in part, or just in giving Freetown residents, other Sierra Leoneans, and visitors to the country more access to information about the tree’s history and spiritual significance, it is essential that we get the next steps right, so that our beloved tree can remain a source of reflection and inspiration for Sierra Leone, Africa and the rest of the world.”
About Africell
Africell provides mobile network coverage and related technology services to more than 15 million subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa. Africell operates in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. The only US-owned mobile network operator in Africa, Africell directly and indirectly employs more than 10,000 people.
The Africell Impact Foundation supports initiatives in arts and culture, education and entrepreneurship, health and sports.
Image: RGB Kew’s Head of Tree Collections Kevin Martin studying the remains of Freetown’s culturally significant cotton tree
Image: Kevin Martin and Tom Fry, Arboricultural Supervisor at Kew Gardens, travelled to Freetown in November 2024 to survey the cotton tree and develop recommendations for its preservation.
