The women of my town are amazing! I had been waiting for months to start a garden with the women’s group but they couldn’t decide where to put it and wanted me to give them money to build a fence (which their husbands should do for free). So nothing really happened for a couple months and I just focused on the med hut. Last week when I got back to site I couldn’t believe it, they told me they would be working later that afternoon on the fence for the garden. I couldn’t believe my ears. I got to the garden and about 20 of the men were there digging holes for the fence posts and bringing the cuttings to make the fence. I worked to and got my fair share of blisters. The garden is in the best place ever, down this one hill and close to the stream. Unfortunately the stream dries up for most of the year, so I’m working with a local NGO AfriCare to get a well and a hand pump that can be built by local welders.
A few days later I met with the women to begin the digging. I taught them how to double dig (a process where you remove the topsoil, break up the harder dirt underneath, and then place the topsoil back on top). At first they had no clue why I was digging my plot in such a particular way, but after doing some charades and some broken pulaar insistence, they got it, and they took off…in just that morning they dug plots for half the garden.
The Women of the Pellel Womens Group
I head back today with seeds for their vegetable plots, and Morenga tree seeds that I’m going to use to do a Morenga intensive bed, so the women can harvest the leaves for leaf sauce.
Lots of work coming up soon. Seed collections, meetings with local NGOs for the garden and health hut. And the Ambassador is coming to visit Kedougou and Dindefelo at the end of this week. Thanks for reading.
great work Eric! Is that where they had the old garden? I can't tell. But your photos are fantastic and so will this garden be! Good job holding out on the fence money, I've been there and know how frustrating the stand-off can be! But it really looks great and I'm so proud of you and the rewbe ben!
ReplyDeleteAlso the top village panorama is SO SWEET! looks professional! absolutely gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to hear about how the community started the garden project on their own initiative! Especially a women's group! What a great accomplishment! Good luck with everything, sounds like life in village is amazing.
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