Congo volcano brings farmers rich soil but eruption threat
GOMA- Hacking away in the midday sun, 49-year-old farmer Daniel Lazuba remembers vividly his life before one of Africa's most active volcanos erupted 14 years ago.
"All of this was corn before," he said as he pointed to rows of new banana trees pushing up between black stones. "My cabbage seems to be growing better than ever these days, but in this area, I still have to start from zero."
Traumatized farmers like Lazuba are slowly returning to fields decimated by the 2002 eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in eastern Congo. Flowing lava flattened more than 30 percent of the city of Goma, 20 kilometers away. Nearly 150 people died, and 400,000 fled into neighboring Rwanda.
