Rebuilding Lives on Lava: The Dynamic Forces Shaping Resettlement in Post-Eruption Goma 

Abstract

Crises and disasters are good opportunities for acquiring valuable insights and evolving toward the improvement of disaster recovery and resilience. Understanding the ability of a community to adapt and recover from the impacts of volcanic eruptions can significantly inform the effectiveness of future mitigation initiatives. This study analyses the aftermath of the 2021 Nyiragongo eruption in Goma (East DR Congo), exploring the dynamic forces shaping the decision of resettling on recent lava flows. In addition, it describes the affected population's self-initiatives in rebuilding their lives on recent lava flows. Focused on the recovery phase, this evaluation centres on key aspects of affected population resilience, specifically the individual strategies employed in self-housing reconstruction, water and power self-supply, and the community transformation of lava-impacted areas into green spaces. This study uses a multi-approach method, combining a large-scale survey (approximately 850 households), 20 interviews, and 4 focus groups. Preliminary results indicate that the population exhibited adaptability, employing unconventional methods and using local and reused materials to rebuild their homes. Several households have developed a traditional composting system to foster the rapid development of soil on recent lava flows. Vegetable gardens and green spaces are beginning to appear 2 years after the eruption. At the community level, the population have set up a system of mutual aid to transform their environment and developed a community solar panel systems to light streets. This research contributes to the broader discourse on disaster resilience, offering insights into the adaptive capacities of communities facing extreme challenges in the Global South. It can contribute to improving risk mitigation by taking into account positive local adaptive initiatives in the wake of crises in the Global South.