One of my good friends is on a different continent this year for Christmas, like me, and had these words of wisdom for those of us not at home for Christmas: “Skype with family and friends. Use your time to work on new relationships where you are. Count your blessings. After all, the first Christmas took place when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were away from home, too. At least you're not in a barn.” So true. I’ve taken her advice to heart – and here’s what I’ve done:
I have Skyped with numerous family and friends in the past week for my birthday and for Christmas, and that has been great to catch up on things and see people’s faces, as well as snow and Christmas trees.
Instead of spending most of my time this Christmas season with my family, I am getting to know other PCVs here better as well as my host family and friends in Kaymor. I will always have my family and friends in the States, but now here I have a new family and new friends – I have my host family, my PCV friends, and my Senegalese friends. And that is part of the holiday season – sharing love with others.
I’m not even sure where to start in terms of counting my blessings. Here’s a list of some things quickly off the top of my head:
- Family and friends (near and far) – that love and support me from all over the world
- Enough food to fill my stomach every day, and to satisfy (most of) my nutritional needs (vitamins take care of the rest) – I see way too many kids each day where this isn’t necessarily the case
- A computer and (relatively reliable) internet access to communicate with family and friends far away
- An education that has helped me in innumerable ways here – in learning Wolof, about the culture here, and about agriculture and other activities here; in getting integrated into the community; and in planning possible work projects
- Clothes that are not full of holes
- Being able to play soccer – keeps me fit and shows the guys that I can play tough too :)
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were far away from home, too, and didn’t have any of the modern conveniences, like Skype, that we have to be able to stay in touch with family and friends while away. And it’s important to not focus on what I’m missing back home but on what new experiences I’m having here – how I’m creating a new Christmas tradition for myself, just like the very first Christmas.
And, though there are always chickens and goats wandering around here, I do not, in fact, live in a barn, which is certainly a nice thing. While I could complain about my housing here, I really shouldn’t – I have everything I really need, and am really only missing a few things that we, as Americans, find “essential”: a real shower, a sit-down toilet, a sink, and a kitchen. I am happy with bucket showers, squat toilets (though my knees are beginning to feel the combination of all those years of basketball and these squat toilets), and no sink, as well as no kitchen (since I can fulfill most of my cooking wishes when I go to Kaolack). All in all, I can’t complain – rather I have so many blessings I can’t count them all – and I am not in barn. What more could I really ask for? :)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas in Senegal
My first Christmas not at home in Minnesota has been quite the experience. First of all, it wasn’t white – at least not in terms of snow, it was white in that I was surrounded by more white people than I’m used to. :) There were about 15 of us PCVs in Kaolack, my regional capital, for Christmas. I guess the best way to talk about my Christmas here in Senegal is to go chronologically…
I had gone up to Kaolack on Dec. 22nd because I had things I needed to get in the market for my hut and for our white elephant gift exchange we were planning on doing Christmas Eve, so I took care of that stuff on the 23rd, which meant I didn’t have to go into the market on Christmas Eve so I could focus on making all the Christmas cookies and goodies – I was in charge of desserts. After making a quick run to the Toubob store near the house (the type of store that caters to white people, so it has “white people food” like chips and cookies, as well as “white people stuff” like shampoo and conditioner) we stopped by the Catholic compound for lunch, which was delicious: rice and shrimp! Then it was back to the house to get crackin’ on all the baking. I and a few other PCVs made peanut butter marshmallow fudge, peanut clusters, snickerdoodles, oatmeal chocolate chunk bars, caramel peanut butter brownies, rice crispie treats (with corn puffs instead of rice crispies because we couldn’t find rice crispies), and sugar cookies (cut out in gingerbread men, star, and Christmas tree shapes with sprinkles and/or chunks of candy canes). We also made home-made egg nog, hot chocolate, and home-made apple cider! We had quite the sweet dinner (no pun intended) – as well popcorn thrown in to off-set the sugar a bit. :) We ate and drank all this goodness while doing our white-elephant gift exchange. I ended up getting 2 DVDs that have a ton of movies on them that apparently can be played on DVD players but not American computers because of the formatting, a totally outrageous necklace with a picture of a marabou (this is a really common thing in Senegal – to wear a picture of the marabou you are associated with in some way; I’m not sure who the marabou is on my necklace, so I won’t wear it in Kaymor since we have a really famous marabou there until I know which marabou it is), and some flavored powder mix for water. I was pretty happy with this, though I as jealous of the guy who ended up with black spandex shorts with “Barack Obama” written on the waistband. :)
After our white elephant gift exchange, several of us went to mass at the Catholic Church in Kaolack. It was supposed to start at 9:45 but it didn’t really get going until 10. For the first hour or so was the kids’ Christmas play (apparently they do that here, too). And then we had a full mass. It was really nice and the music was absolutely beautiful – Senegalese people certainly sing/play beautiful music, whether it’s Christian hymns or traditional African songs. It was a long service, like mass tends to be I guess, so we didn’t get back to the regional house until 12:30 or even later. We were all quite tired to say the least.
Here’s Mollie (on the left) and Jen (2 other new PCVs like me) showing off the wonderful Christmas tree and snowflakes they made to decorate our house:
Christmas morning involved cleaning the kitchen and all the dishes from the previous day (washing machines are such a luxury…), and once everything was clean, we started making everything dirty again by making a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon (this such a terrific treat since none of us have had any pig products since coming to Senegal – Muslim people don’t eat any pig products so since nearly everyone is Muslim, we haven’t had any bacon or pork or anything like that since coming to Senegal), and three types of pancakes: plain, banana cinnamon, and apple cinnamon (all the crushed apple bits left over from making apple cider the night before).
After breakfast, which was late as in typical Senegalese style, we played a game of telephone Pictionary, which was absolutely hilarious. Then we all scattered to do our separate things – I was able to Skype with my family and a few friends, which is always really great.
Since the main part of our day involved cooking and eating, we had a wonderful lunch of homemade tomato soup and gourmet grilled cheese. During breakfast we had all noticed that Santa had indeed made it to Kaolack, Senegal – each of us had a little bag of wrapped goodies “because everyone should have something to open on Christmas.”
Santa’s helper turned out to be another PCV, Mollie, though she wouldn’t admit it until we really pressed the issue.
Before dinner we had an interesting appetizer of deep-fat-fried onion rings, cheese cubes, cookies, sausages, and green beans – we had to try everything. Dinner was late, but not as late as we had actually originally thought, and it was delicious in our Christmas tradition here: honey-baked ham (yes, we splurged and got more pig), garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, almond-slivered green beans, canned corn, and millet bread (it was such a hit after Thanksgiving that Kenny made it again).
Dessert involved ice cream (another splurge item for us), pumpkin log, and left-over cookies from Christmas Eve. By that point we were all so stuffed moving was challenging. But American food is one of the things we all miss the most here – especially special food we’re used to having around the holidays – so it was great to be able to make such a variety of food and with such great company, too.
Even though I didn’t really get in the same “Christmas spirit” that I normally feel when I’m at home for Christmas, with all the Christmas ads on TV, shopping, Christmas lights and decorations, holiday parties, etc., it felt like Christmas here. I think that’s important – to really feel like it was Christmas here – because then I don’t feel so much like I missed Christmas back home, but that I just experienced a new and different Christmas. Several different links that were emailed to me helped me feel this Christmas spirit – one that was an electronic Christmas card St. Olaf made this year (first time ever, I think), one was an animation one of my friends made, and another was just a random website my dad got in an email and forwarded to me. They all made me incredibly nostalgic for snow and sledding, hot chocolate in Christmas mugs, big fluffy sweaters and hats and mittens and gloves, and listening to Christmas music while cuddled up in a blanket next the fire…oh Christmas in Minnesota. :)
St. Olaf’s 2009 (electronic) Christmas card:
http://www.stolaf.edu/about/holidaycard.html
A random (but cool!) online Christmas animation:
http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell_fps24.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3166187/graphic1
I had gone up to Kaolack on Dec. 22nd because I had things I needed to get in the market for my hut and for our white elephant gift exchange we were planning on doing Christmas Eve, so I took care of that stuff on the 23rd, which meant I didn’t have to go into the market on Christmas Eve so I could focus on making all the Christmas cookies and goodies – I was in charge of desserts. After making a quick run to the Toubob store near the house (the type of store that caters to white people, so it has “white people food” like chips and cookies, as well as “white people stuff” like shampoo and conditioner) we stopped by the Catholic compound for lunch, which was delicious: rice and shrimp! Then it was back to the house to get crackin’ on all the baking. I and a few other PCVs made peanut butter marshmallow fudge, peanut clusters, snickerdoodles, oatmeal chocolate chunk bars, caramel peanut butter brownies, rice crispie treats (with corn puffs instead of rice crispies because we couldn’t find rice crispies), and sugar cookies (cut out in gingerbread men, star, and Christmas tree shapes with sprinkles and/or chunks of candy canes). We also made home-made egg nog, hot chocolate, and home-made apple cider! We had quite the sweet dinner (no pun intended) – as well popcorn thrown in to off-set the sugar a bit. :) We ate and drank all this goodness while doing our white-elephant gift exchange. I ended up getting 2 DVDs that have a ton of movies on them that apparently can be played on DVD players but not American computers because of the formatting, a totally outrageous necklace with a picture of a marabou (this is a really common thing in Senegal – to wear a picture of the marabou you are associated with in some way; I’m not sure who the marabou is on my necklace, so I won’t wear it in Kaymor since we have a really famous marabou there until I know which marabou it is), and some flavored powder mix for water. I was pretty happy with this, though I as jealous of the guy who ended up with black spandex shorts with “Barack Obama” written on the waistband. :)
After our white elephant gift exchange, several of us went to mass at the Catholic Church in Kaolack. It was supposed to start at 9:45 but it didn’t really get going until 10. For the first hour or so was the kids’ Christmas play (apparently they do that here, too). And then we had a full mass. It was really nice and the music was absolutely beautiful – Senegalese people certainly sing/play beautiful music, whether it’s Christian hymns or traditional African songs. It was a long service, like mass tends to be I guess, so we didn’t get back to the regional house until 12:30 or even later. We were all quite tired to say the least.
Here’s Mollie (on the left) and Jen (2 other new PCVs like me) showing off the wonderful Christmas tree and snowflakes they made to decorate our house:
Christmas morning involved cleaning the kitchen and all the dishes from the previous day (washing machines are such a luxury…), and once everything was clean, we started making everything dirty again by making a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon (this such a terrific treat since none of us have had any pig products since coming to Senegal – Muslim people don’t eat any pig products so since nearly everyone is Muslim, we haven’t had any bacon or pork or anything like that since coming to Senegal), and three types of pancakes: plain, banana cinnamon, and apple cinnamon (all the crushed apple bits left over from making apple cider the night before).
After breakfast, which was late as in typical Senegalese style, we played a game of telephone Pictionary, which was absolutely hilarious. Then we all scattered to do our separate things – I was able to Skype with my family and a few friends, which is always really great.
Since the main part of our day involved cooking and eating, we had a wonderful lunch of homemade tomato soup and gourmet grilled cheese. During breakfast we had all noticed that Santa had indeed made it to Kaolack, Senegal – each of us had a little bag of wrapped goodies “because everyone should have something to open on Christmas.”
Santa’s helper turned out to be another PCV, Mollie, though she wouldn’t admit it until we really pressed the issue.
Before dinner we had an interesting appetizer of deep-fat-fried onion rings, cheese cubes, cookies, sausages, and green beans – we had to try everything. Dinner was late, but not as late as we had actually originally thought, and it was delicious in our Christmas tradition here: honey-baked ham (yes, we splurged and got more pig), garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, almond-slivered green beans, canned corn, and millet bread (it was such a hit after Thanksgiving that Kenny made it again).
Dessert involved ice cream (another splurge item for us), pumpkin log, and left-over cookies from Christmas Eve. By that point we were all so stuffed moving was challenging. But American food is one of the things we all miss the most here – especially special food we’re used to having around the holidays – so it was great to be able to make such a variety of food and with such great company, too.
Even though I didn’t really get in the same “Christmas spirit” that I normally feel when I’m at home for Christmas, with all the Christmas ads on TV, shopping, Christmas lights and decorations, holiday parties, etc., it felt like Christmas here. I think that’s important – to really feel like it was Christmas here – because then I don’t feel so much like I missed Christmas back home, but that I just experienced a new and different Christmas. Several different links that were emailed to me helped me feel this Christmas spirit – one that was an electronic Christmas card St. Olaf made this year (first time ever, I think), one was an animation one of my friends made, and another was just a random website my dad got in an email and forwarded to me. They all made me incredibly nostalgic for snow and sledding, hot chocolate in Christmas mugs, big fluffy sweaters and hats and mittens and gloves, and listening to Christmas music while cuddled up in a blanket next the fire…oh Christmas in Minnesota. :)
St. Olaf’s 2009 (electronic) Christmas card:
http://www.stolaf.edu/about/holidaycard.html
A random (but cool!) online Christmas animation:
http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell_fps24.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3166187/graphic1
Friday, December 25, 2009
PICTURES!!!
I’ve finally gotten around to uploading pictures to past blogs (in October) when I didn’t have a good enough internet connection to upload them, so check them out!!
My birthday – Senegalese style (well…in Senegal at least)
I spent my first birthday ever away from my twin sister this year – big step for a (now) 24-year-old! :) It was a great birthday, though, and, despite my blog title, it was definitely more of an American-style birthday than a Senegalese-style one. I’m not really sure what a Senegalese birthday party would be like – as far as I know most people don’t really celebrate their birthdays here because they don’t know their birthday (this is more often the case for older adults than younger people now) and it’s just not part of their culture to celebrate birthdays.
Breakfast the next morning consisted of pumpkin spice coffee (real, French-pressed coffee!!! NOT the crappy instant stuff they all drink here!), cake (who doesn't love cake for breakfast?!?!), plus pizza “reheated” on a frying pan. What a great 24th birthday! :)
Anyway, my birthday (Dec. 17) started a few days early – on December 12th actually, when I went to Cora’s village with Teresa. We made Easy Mac (yes, the crappy mac n’ cheese stuff, but so good when you haven’t had anything like it in months) and then no-bake cookies. What a yummy treat!
The no-bake cookies on Cora’s (colorful!) trunk (where she keeps all her treats and food).
My actual birthday started off with a car ride from Tambacounda (a region to the east of my region, Kaolack) to Kaolack. (We had had a agricultural summit in Tamba for all the rural agricultural volunteers the couple days before my birthday.) Since the Peace Corps car that had brought the Peace Corps ag staff down to Tamba was heading back to Dakar the morning of my birthday, we were able to take that car to Kaolack instead of having to take public transportation – PC cars are always TONS better than public transport, because they’re free, they’re air conditioned (which is nice even when it’s not super hot), they’re quiet, they’re much smoother, they’re much faster, and they’re safe (in terms of people stealing my stuff or something) which means I feel comfortable listening to my iPod or reading a book or sleeping or doing whatever in them. When we first got to Kaolack (around 12:30), we stopped at a restaurant and had Senegal’s classic lunch: rice and fish – it was really good, though, because it had lots of vegetables (something that can be kind of rare in the village…). And, before we ate, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me – which is obviously a very American thing to do (and probably totally confused the Senegalese people in the restaurant). :)
Then the Peace Corps car took us to the Kaolack regional house. When I walked in the door, several other Volunteers yelled “Happy Birthday!” They had all come up for my birthday – something I totally didn’t expect – and had decorated the house with construction paper streamers (since that’s about the extent to party decorations we can do here). The dining room table was full of classic American party snacks – chips, crackers, candy, and cookie dough! We all hung out and ate snacks and chatted for a while, then I pulled out my computer and did a little work before getting on Skype to talk with my family and lots of friends – it was great! While I was skyping, my friends here ordered pizza and a salad for me at a local restaurant; the pizza wasn’t perfectly American, but it was delicious since I haven’t had pizza in months! And the salad was amazing – first salad in months, too! Then we had some juice and rum – what a treat, too! And later: chocolate cake with frosting and M&M’s and cookies crumbled on top! SO GOOD! :) No candles – but who needs candles with this kind of cake?!?!?
Breakfast the next morning consisted of pumpkin spice coffee (real, French-pressed coffee!!! NOT the crappy instant stuff they all drink here!), cake (who doesn't love cake for breakfast?!?!), plus pizza “reheated” on a frying pan. What a great 24th birthday! :)
YouTube Videos of Interviews with Farmers and PCV
When I went to Kaymor the first time for my Volunteer Visit (i.e. “Demyst”), Kate, the PCV in Kaymor before me, and I interviewed farmers regarding the work she’s been doing the past 2 years in the area. We did these interviews for a professor of mine at Cornell that is teaching a class (that I took last year) about farmer-centered research and extension (which is the type of work ag PCVs do here in Senegal). I posted the links on YouTube so the students in the class could watch them. The interviews were done in Wolof, so Kate helped me translate them into English (see translated summaries below).
Here are links to each of the interviews on YouTube:
Farmer Interview #1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIDN_ojQYcs
Farmer Interview #2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL8ynEc9Bek
Farmer Interview #3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l21hes6_mc
Peace Corps Volunteer Interview:
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R82fIfAOCEY
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_3XdaB4PcE
Here are the translated summaries of the farmer interviews, and a summary of the PCV interview:
First interview: Diomba Sow
Early tai corn variety is really good because it is so fast – if you plant it early, it will be ready when it is still the rainy season. The farmer planted another variety of corn, too, which produces more, but takes quite a bit longer, and the early tai variety produces enough to sustain his family through the dry season.
One way to improve the program is to extend more varieties of crops – he got corn, but would also like rice, for example. [Our program does extend rice – it extends corn, rice, sorghum, and cowpeas.]
The farmer has talked with other farmers because they saw how quickly the corn grew – it’s the fastest they’ve ever seen corn grow.
Second interview: Thierno Ba
The cowpeas are really good because they were fast and taste good, too, and are faster than the traditional variety.
He didn’t have many pest problems, because when he saw the pests initially he used a pesticide 3 times and used the pesticide Kate suggested. This allowed him to have 3 harvests of cowpeas (when some farmers would have been lucky to get only 1).
Many farmers have come up to him and asked him where he got the seeds because they are really good seeds, and he said he had gotten them from Kayemor because a white person lives there. So there is a lot of interest in the seeds. But the news about these seeds had already been spreading in the village because Kate had extended the seed to other farmers in the village the year before, so many people already knew about the seeds.
Third interview: Ndey Ndiaye Toure
She planted beans and rice because she shared the seeds with another woman in the woman’s group. (She knew the name of the bean variety when the other farmers didn’t.)
The beans were good because they had big fruits that you could sell or eat yourself. The rice was good because it was fast. More importantly, the rice was good because usually you have to grow millet or peanuts to sell and then buy rice, but with this variety you can grow the rice and eat it, too. So it improves your life.
The program is good but could be improved by teaching farmers how to store their seeds so that each year you can be giving new seed to new farmers because farmers from previous years will be storing their seed so you don’t have to give them seed any more. This increases sustainability and increases the number of individuals receiving seed.
Peace Corps Volunteer interview: Kate Ballentine
Rural sustainable agriculture Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) extend improved seed varieties (for field and garden crops) to farmers, extend improved farming techniques, and teach leadership and facilitation skills.
Since Kayemor is in the peanut basin of Senegal, people grow a lot of peanuts there, so one focus of Kate’s work was to help farmers diversify their crops both for monetary purposes and health/nutrition purposes.
“It’s like you’re giving us the seed for free – except better!” This is what one farmer had to say about the seed extension program the Peace Corps runs. It’s great because they get good, quality seed in a timely fashion for free upfront but are able to repay it (and not receive it as a handout) in kind at the end of the rainy season. And it’s obviously important to make sure the farmers are always onboard with the program because it’s them that do all the work.
The main challenges are environmental challenges, as is always the case in agriculture – sometimes it rains a lot and floods the fields, sometimes the rains come late and the seeds don’t even germinate, and sometimes the soil gets tired and can’t support the crops.
Kate encountered challenges being the first young, white woman in the area trying to teach farmers who had been farming for generations how to change and make improvements. But after the first year, the farmers quickly understood that she knows her stuff and can (and should) be respected and listened to.
Kate worked with Symbiosis, a local Senegalese NGO, and their branch in Kayemor, Peñc Mi.
With the help of the handful of men Kate worked with closely in Kayemor, she has developed an idea she calls the “village captain plan” where there is one farmer in each village who would act as the “captain” of the village and thereby receive special training so they could answer farmers’ questions (rather than the farmer having to always go to the PCV with questions) and receive special knowledge on how to plant, grow, and store the seed. This not only helps build capacity by educating farmers and giving the more power and ability to take initiative, but also makes the seed extension program more sustainable because it gives the farmers the vast majority of the power and gives them knowledge and resources so that when the PCV leaves, the program doesn’t die. One issue is how to pay these farmers. One suggestion is to give the village captains seed that they don’t have to return, so they’re receiving a payment in kind – a payment of seeds that they don’t have to repay at the end of the rainy season. This will give me them another kind of motivation (besides the motivation of gaining knowledge and respect in the village).
The main things Kate learned from her Peace Corps service was that everything takes time and nothing happens for free. Farmers are incredibly willing to help distribute seed and try new things, but they also are watching out for the welfare of their families and need to ensure that they won’t take too many chances and risk the health and wellbeing of their families.
Here are links to each of the interviews on YouTube:
Farmer Interview #1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIDN_ojQYcs
Farmer Interview #2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL8ynEc9Bek
Farmer Interview #3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l21hes6_mc
Peace Corps Volunteer Interview:
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R82fIfAOCEY
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_3XdaB4PcE
Here are the translated summaries of the farmer interviews, and a summary of the PCV interview:
First interview: Diomba Sow
Early tai corn variety is really good because it is so fast – if you plant it early, it will be ready when it is still the rainy season. The farmer planted another variety of corn, too, which produces more, but takes quite a bit longer, and the early tai variety produces enough to sustain his family through the dry season.
One way to improve the program is to extend more varieties of crops – he got corn, but would also like rice, for example. [Our program does extend rice – it extends corn, rice, sorghum, and cowpeas.]
The farmer has talked with other farmers because they saw how quickly the corn grew – it’s the fastest they’ve ever seen corn grow.
Second interview: Thierno Ba
The cowpeas are really good because they were fast and taste good, too, and are faster than the traditional variety.
He didn’t have many pest problems, because when he saw the pests initially he used a pesticide 3 times and used the pesticide Kate suggested. This allowed him to have 3 harvests of cowpeas (when some farmers would have been lucky to get only 1).
Many farmers have come up to him and asked him where he got the seeds because they are really good seeds, and he said he had gotten them from Kayemor because a white person lives there. So there is a lot of interest in the seeds. But the news about these seeds had already been spreading in the village because Kate had extended the seed to other farmers in the village the year before, so many people already knew about the seeds.
Third interview: Ndey Ndiaye Toure
She planted beans and rice because she shared the seeds with another woman in the woman’s group. (She knew the name of the bean variety when the other farmers didn’t.)
The beans were good because they had big fruits that you could sell or eat yourself. The rice was good because it was fast. More importantly, the rice was good because usually you have to grow millet or peanuts to sell and then buy rice, but with this variety you can grow the rice and eat it, too. So it improves your life.
The program is good but could be improved by teaching farmers how to store their seeds so that each year you can be giving new seed to new farmers because farmers from previous years will be storing their seed so you don’t have to give them seed any more. This increases sustainability and increases the number of individuals receiving seed.
Peace Corps Volunteer interview: Kate Ballentine
Rural sustainable agriculture Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) extend improved seed varieties (for field and garden crops) to farmers, extend improved farming techniques, and teach leadership and facilitation skills.
Since Kayemor is in the peanut basin of Senegal, people grow a lot of peanuts there, so one focus of Kate’s work was to help farmers diversify their crops both for monetary purposes and health/nutrition purposes.
“It’s like you’re giving us the seed for free – except better!” This is what one farmer had to say about the seed extension program the Peace Corps runs. It’s great because they get good, quality seed in a timely fashion for free upfront but are able to repay it (and not receive it as a handout) in kind at the end of the rainy season. And it’s obviously important to make sure the farmers are always onboard with the program because it’s them that do all the work.
The main challenges are environmental challenges, as is always the case in agriculture – sometimes it rains a lot and floods the fields, sometimes the rains come late and the seeds don’t even germinate, and sometimes the soil gets tired and can’t support the crops.
Kate encountered challenges being the first young, white woman in the area trying to teach farmers who had been farming for generations how to change and make improvements. But after the first year, the farmers quickly understood that she knows her stuff and can (and should) be respected and listened to.
Kate worked with Symbiosis, a local Senegalese NGO, and their branch in Kayemor, Peñc Mi.
With the help of the handful of men Kate worked with closely in Kayemor, she has developed an idea she calls the “village captain plan” where there is one farmer in each village who would act as the “captain” of the village and thereby receive special training so they could answer farmers’ questions (rather than the farmer having to always go to the PCV with questions) and receive special knowledge on how to plant, grow, and store the seed. This not only helps build capacity by educating farmers and giving the more power and ability to take initiative, but also makes the seed extension program more sustainable because it gives the farmers the vast majority of the power and gives them knowledge and resources so that when the PCV leaves, the program doesn’t die. One issue is how to pay these farmers. One suggestion is to give the village captains seed that they don’t have to return, so they’re receiving a payment in kind – a payment of seeds that they don’t have to repay at the end of the rainy season. This will give me them another kind of motivation (besides the motivation of gaining knowledge and respect in the village).
The main things Kate learned from her Peace Corps service was that everything takes time and nothing happens for free. Farmers are incredibly willing to help distribute seed and try new things, but they also are watching out for the welfare of their families and need to ensure that they won’t take too many chances and risk the health and wellbeing of their families.
Tabaski
Tabaski is the Islamic holiday celebrating the time when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, which Abraham was ready to do so, but then God stopped him at the last moment and told him to sacrifice a sheep instead. (See Genesis 22) Every family (that can afford to) is supposed to buy a sheep to kill for Tabaski. In fact, every adult male that is married or the head of the family in some way should buy a sheep. So my family bought and killed 7 sheep – one for every adult male in my family (i.e., my dad and his 6 brothers that live in my compound or the compound across the street from us).
Everyone goes back to their respective home villages (or towns/cities) for Tabaski to spend the holiday with their families, much like families in America do for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. When they go home, they always bring back a lot of gifts – food, clothes, accessories, toys, etc. Everyone typically gets new, nice clothes, too, and I was part of that “everyone” – so I got my second Senegalese outfit made, this time with more expensive fabric that my host mom, Suckeye, helped me pick out. She liked the idea of getting the same outfit made for me and Kate, the volunteer before me in Kaymor (since she’s still here in Senegal and was going to go back to Kaymor for Tabaski), so we have the exact same outfit (see pictures below).
The first day of Tabaski (it is a 3-day holiday), all the sheep are killed in the morning, then the women spend most of the late morning and early afternoon cutting up all the meat and cooking a large lunch (of meat, onions, and potatoes, with other stuff usually, too). Then everyone showers and puts on their new clothes and walks around the village in the early evening into the night, greeting people, saying “I’m sorry; forgive me” (same phrase as is used during Korite – see my post on Korite in October), and saying “You look so great! You’ve changed so much!” (another standard Tabaski tradition – this is a specific phrase that everyone says, like the “I’m sorry; forgive me” phrase is a specific phrase). This same evening activity occurs all three days. The kids also walk around in small groups and adults give them really small money coins or candy or something – Kate and I gave the kids hard candy, which they all really liked.
No one officially works during the three days of Tabaski – in other words, no one goes out to the fields, and all the shops and stores and whatnot are closed, except for boutiques obviously, since people still need to buy food to cook with, tea and sugar to make tea, etc. Most people take this time to sit with family and friends and talk and make tea – two things Senegalese people are very good at. :)
After taking pictures of my dad, uncles, brothers, cousins, and Talibe boys kill and skin the seven sheep on the first morning ofTabaski, I helped my mom cut up some of the meat (my aunts cut up some, too, in their compound across the street). It was a new experience for me to say the least – enjoyable to an extent… :) Literally every part of the sheep is eaten here except for the hooves (see pictures below of the cuts of meat), which is not unlike meat in America, it’s just that the vast majority of people don’t see all the different cuts of meat and things like the intestines are eaten directly by people but are rather put into other foods (for people or animals). It’s nice that we have electricity here in Kaymor, because we were able to freeze the vast majority of our meat – which meant that we were eating that meat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or some combination of the three) for a couple weeks after Tabaski. Needless to say, I was always very excited to see fish in our lunch or dinner bowl as a change from our sheep meat… and I was not sad when the last bag of meat was taken out of the freezer for lunch. :) Those families that don’t have freezers would bring bags of meat to other families that do have freezers to keep the meat in their freezer, so our freezer was almost completely full of meat by the end of the first day of Tabaski.
WARNING: The pictures below involve lots of dead sheep and sheep meat, so if that’s not your cup of tea, I’d advise you to not scroll down and look at all the pictures.
My dad and cousin (in the shorts and t-shirt) watching as my 3 uncles and younger step-brother, Babacar (in the black), kill a sheep.
Sheep #1 – one down, six to go
My uncles killing a sheep by slitting its throat and letting it bleed to death.
My two (tall) step brothers, Babacar (in the black t-shirt) and Moustapha (in the white shirt and jeans), along with my little brother, Moussa, and uncles
The guys starting to skin one sheep…only six to go. :)
Skinning the sheep…continued
Starting the process of cutting the sheep into different cuts of meat.
Kate with a bunch of the boys after most of the meat has been cut. Some of the better cuts of meat are being cooked right now to be eaten immediately.
The Diaw family – Kine (aka Kate), Sekh Ohmar, Suckeye, Moussa, Papa Amadou, and me, Ndeye
This is Senegal’s version of family Christmas photos – it’s family Tabaski photos instead :)
Kate and I with Yassa, a terrific young woman who is the vice president of the girls group I work with
Kate and I with Tomsir, a teenage talibe that Kate started teaching English to, and I am continuing to do so
Everyone goes back to their respective home villages (or towns/cities) for Tabaski to spend the holiday with their families, much like families in America do for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. When they go home, they always bring back a lot of gifts – food, clothes, accessories, toys, etc. Everyone typically gets new, nice clothes, too, and I was part of that “everyone” – so I got my second Senegalese outfit made, this time with more expensive fabric that my host mom, Suckeye, helped me pick out. She liked the idea of getting the same outfit made for me and Kate, the volunteer before me in Kaymor (since she’s still here in Senegal and was going to go back to Kaymor for Tabaski), so we have the exact same outfit (see pictures below).
The first day of Tabaski (it is a 3-day holiday), all the sheep are killed in the morning, then the women spend most of the late morning and early afternoon cutting up all the meat and cooking a large lunch (of meat, onions, and potatoes, with other stuff usually, too). Then everyone showers and puts on their new clothes and walks around the village in the early evening into the night, greeting people, saying “I’m sorry; forgive me” (same phrase as is used during Korite – see my post on Korite in October), and saying “You look so great! You’ve changed so much!” (another standard Tabaski tradition – this is a specific phrase that everyone says, like the “I’m sorry; forgive me” phrase is a specific phrase). This same evening activity occurs all three days. The kids also walk around in small groups and adults give them really small money coins or candy or something – Kate and I gave the kids hard candy, which they all really liked.
No one officially works during the three days of Tabaski – in other words, no one goes out to the fields, and all the shops and stores and whatnot are closed, except for boutiques obviously, since people still need to buy food to cook with, tea and sugar to make tea, etc. Most people take this time to sit with family and friends and talk and make tea – two things Senegalese people are very good at. :)
After taking pictures of my dad, uncles, brothers, cousins, and Talibe boys kill and skin the seven sheep on the first morning ofTabaski, I helped my mom cut up some of the meat (my aunts cut up some, too, in their compound across the street). It was a new experience for me to say the least – enjoyable to an extent… :) Literally every part of the sheep is eaten here except for the hooves (see pictures below of the cuts of meat), which is not unlike meat in America, it’s just that the vast majority of people don’t see all the different cuts of meat and things like the intestines are eaten directly by people but are rather put into other foods (for people or animals). It’s nice that we have electricity here in Kaymor, because we were able to freeze the vast majority of our meat – which meant that we were eating that meat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or some combination of the three) for a couple weeks after Tabaski. Needless to say, I was always very excited to see fish in our lunch or dinner bowl as a change from our sheep meat… and I was not sad when the last bag of meat was taken out of the freezer for lunch. :) Those families that don’t have freezers would bring bags of meat to other families that do have freezers to keep the meat in their freezer, so our freezer was almost completely full of meat by the end of the first day of Tabaski.
WARNING: The pictures below involve lots of dead sheep and sheep meat, so if that’s not your cup of tea, I’d advise you to not scroll down and look at all the pictures.
My dad and cousin (in the shorts and t-shirt) watching as my 3 uncles and younger step-brother, Babacar (in the black), kill a sheep.
Sheep #1 – one down, six to go
My uncles killing a sheep by slitting its throat and letting it bleed to death.
My two (tall) step brothers, Babacar (in the black t-shirt) and Moustapha (in the white shirt and jeans), along with my little brother, Moussa, and uncles
The guys starting to skin one sheep…only six to go. :)
Skinning the sheep…continued
Starting the process of cutting the sheep into different cuts of meat.
Kate with a bunch of the boys after most of the meat has been cut. Some of the better cuts of meat are being cooked right now to be eaten immediately. Some of the meat in bowls. The sandals are my little brothers. If you look closely, you can see 2 eyes in the bowl on the right…
The Diaw family – Kine (aka Kate), Sekh Ohmar, Suckeye, Moussa, Papa Amadou, and me, Ndeye
This is Senegal’s version of family Christmas photos – it’s family Tabaski photos instead :)
Kate and I with Yassa, a terrific young woman who is the vice president of the girls group I work with
Kate and I with Tomsir, a teenage talibe that Kate started teaching English to, and I am continuing to do so
My friend Saxrit (with a sucker in his mouth, and wearing an Akon belt!) and I
Kate and I with a friend and her son – isn’t he so cute?!? Kate and I are showing off our newly-braided hair in this picture instead of wearing our head wraps.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Summary: Seed Storage Facility in Kaymor
Here is a summary I've written to more clearly and concisely explain the seed storage facility I'm raising money for.
[Problem statement]
The current lack of reliable local crop seed storage is severely hampering the livelihood of the farmers in and around Kaymor, a village of about 1,800 in south-central Senegal. They do not have a secure facility in which to store their seed during the dry season; as a result they do not have the same seed market opportunities as farmers in more developed areas. Essentially, these farmers are forced to sell at a low price and buy over-priced and poor quality seed when they have the least spare cash.
Farmers in the region are not able to make profit-maximizing decisions about when to buy and sell peanut, corn, rice, millet, and bean seeds because there is no suitable seed storage. The seeds for these crops are large and take up a lot of space when being stored during the dry season. Most farmers do not have separate, secure buildings or storage units for their seed, so their seed is easily and quickly attacked by animals such as insects or mice. This means farmers must sell their crop soon after they harvest it at the end of the rainy season, when the price for their crop is typically at its lowest point in the year. Making matters worse, farmers are not able to save any seed for the next rainy season and are forced to buy seed when their savings are depleted. Also, they have to get seed from sources that are not necessarily reliable in terms of quality of seed, timeliness, or affordability because there are no other widespread seed sources. These constraints on the farmers’ options severely limit their earning potential and thus perpetuate their poverty and malnutrition.
[Proposed solution]
Therefore, the construction of a seed storage facility for large-grain crops such as peanuts, corn, rice, millet, and beans will lift these constraints from the farmers and allow them to make their own market decisions. At the end of the next growing season the benefits of this facility will – with your help – begin to be realized.
The local community group, called PENC-MI, which includes representatives from more than 20 surrounding villages and is based in Kaymor, is organizing this seed storage facility and will be in charge of managing the facility when it is built and running. The building itself will be a very simple one-level concrete structure, with a metal roof and large plastic storage containers for the seed. There are approximately 500 such buildings (of varying sizes and storage capacities) throughout Senegal, and the contracted builder is experienced at constructing such a facility. Farmers in Kaymor and the 20+ surrounding villages – adding up to over 200 farmers – will be able to store their seed in this clean, safe, secure building during the dry season, ensuring them access to quality seed whenever they want to plant, sell, or eat it. The community is required to contribute 25% of the total funds – 10% of the total must be in cash, and 15% can be in kind, such as labor, transportation, or supplies. The community has already raised the required cash: just over $300, about 170,000 cfa (which is more than 10 times my incredibly comfortable monthly stipend). Once all the cash is raised, the community will also be providing over 426,000 cfa worth of labor, transportation, and supplies. This is a significant contribution – the community is serious about and committed to this building. This building is designed to last decades so even though the building is very simple, low-levels of maintenance will inevitably be required; these costs will be covered by the community (in cash and/or in kind).
This seed storage facility will also act as an educational tool as well as a confidence- and capacity-builder because the farmers will learn how to properly select and store their seed and how to grow and store new crops. In addition, PENC-MI employees will learn certain skills, such as record keeping, contract making, payment practices, how to determine when seed is no longer viable, and how to obtain seed from local sources. Personnel employed by a local NGO experienced in organizing and maintaining such seed storage facilities will be in charge of teaching these farmers and PENC-MI employees.
[Call to action]
Over two-thirds of the funds needed for this project have already been raised – from the community’s contribution and from generous Americans – but we still need $3,158. We are looking for donations of any size so we can begin construction on this facility and have it completed before the rainy season starts in June (since construction is much more difficult during the rainy season). Please consider donating – any amount will help us get started on this facility, which is an investment in the future of more than 200 famers and their families.
[Means for continued communication]
I will continue to keep my blog (http://agentdstorm-senegal.blogspot.com/) updated throughout the fundraising, building, and implementation stages. I will take pictures as the construction starts, continues, and finishes to provide a visual report on the progress of the project. Though my access to internet is not nearly as reliable or consistent as it is in the States, email is still the fastest and most reliable method of communication with me, so please direct any questions, concerns, or comments to me at: danielle.stoermer@gmail.com
[Problem statement]
The current lack of reliable local crop seed storage is severely hampering the livelihood of the farmers in and around Kaymor, a village of about 1,800 in south-central Senegal. They do not have a secure facility in which to store their seed during the dry season; as a result they do not have the same seed market opportunities as farmers in more developed areas. Essentially, these farmers are forced to sell at a low price and buy over-priced and poor quality seed when they have the least spare cash.
Farmers in the region are not able to make profit-maximizing decisions about when to buy and sell peanut, corn, rice, millet, and bean seeds because there is no suitable seed storage. The seeds for these crops are large and take up a lot of space when being stored during the dry season. Most farmers do not have separate, secure buildings or storage units for their seed, so their seed is easily and quickly attacked by animals such as insects or mice. This means farmers must sell their crop soon after they harvest it at the end of the rainy season, when the price for their crop is typically at its lowest point in the year. Making matters worse, farmers are not able to save any seed for the next rainy season and are forced to buy seed when their savings are depleted. Also, they have to get seed from sources that are not necessarily reliable in terms of quality of seed, timeliness, or affordability because there are no other widespread seed sources. These constraints on the farmers’ options severely limit their earning potential and thus perpetuate their poverty and malnutrition.
[Proposed solution]
Therefore, the construction of a seed storage facility for large-grain crops such as peanuts, corn, rice, millet, and beans will lift these constraints from the farmers and allow them to make their own market decisions. At the end of the next growing season the benefits of this facility will – with your help – begin to be realized.
The local community group, called PENC-MI, which includes representatives from more than 20 surrounding villages and is based in Kaymor, is organizing this seed storage facility and will be in charge of managing the facility when it is built and running. The building itself will be a very simple one-level concrete structure, with a metal roof and large plastic storage containers for the seed. There are approximately 500 such buildings (of varying sizes and storage capacities) throughout Senegal, and the contracted builder is experienced at constructing such a facility. Farmers in Kaymor and the 20+ surrounding villages – adding up to over 200 farmers – will be able to store their seed in this clean, safe, secure building during the dry season, ensuring them access to quality seed whenever they want to plant, sell, or eat it. The community is required to contribute 25% of the total funds – 10% of the total must be in cash, and 15% can be in kind, such as labor, transportation, or supplies. The community has already raised the required cash: just over $300, about 170,000 cfa (which is more than 10 times my incredibly comfortable monthly stipend). Once all the cash is raised, the community will also be providing over 426,000 cfa worth of labor, transportation, and supplies. This is a significant contribution – the community is serious about and committed to this building. This building is designed to last decades so even though the building is very simple, low-levels of maintenance will inevitably be required; these costs will be covered by the community (in cash and/or in kind).
This seed storage facility will also act as an educational tool as well as a confidence- and capacity-builder because the farmers will learn how to properly select and store their seed and how to grow and store new crops. In addition, PENC-MI employees will learn certain skills, such as record keeping, contract making, payment practices, how to determine when seed is no longer viable, and how to obtain seed from local sources. Personnel employed by a local NGO experienced in organizing and maintaining such seed storage facilities will be in charge of teaching these farmers and PENC-MI employees.
[Call to action]
Over two-thirds of the funds needed for this project have already been raised – from the community’s contribution and from generous Americans – but we still need $3,158. We are looking for donations of any size so we can begin construction on this facility and have it completed before the rainy season starts in June (since construction is much more difficult during the rainy season). Please consider donating – any amount will help us get started on this facility, which is an investment in the future of more than 200 famers and their families.
[Means for continued communication]
I will continue to keep my blog (http://agentdstorm-senegal.blogspot.com/) updated throughout the fundraising, building, and implementation stages. I will take pictures as the construction starts, continues, and finishes to provide a visual report on the progress of the project. Though my access to internet is not nearly as reliable or consistent as it is in the States, email is still the fastest and most reliable method of communication with me, so please direct any questions, concerns, or comments to me at: danielle.stoermer@gmail.com
Monday, December 7, 2009
Seed Storage Facility Update
I thought I’d expand a bit on what this seed storage facility will look like physically and how it will be run. So read on if you’re curious and want to learn more about this important structure. :) Even if you’re not curious, check out this website and consider donating (any amount makes a difference!) because we’d like to have all the money in the next couple months so we can begin construction on this building before the rainy season: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=685-104
The building itself will be very basic – a rectangular cement building with a metal roof and cement floor, and doors with locks that are big enough so charettes can go in the building. Inside the building itself will be big barrels in which the seed will be stored. The main types of seed that will be stored in the building are rice, corn, cowpeas, millet, and sorghum, but other types of seed could also be stored there, such as vegetable and (fruit and non-fruit) tree seeds. Seeing as there will most likely be a few varieties of each kind of seed stored in the building (such as several varieties of rice and corn), the barrels will be labeled with the variety name as well as the kind of seed itself so different varieties don’t get mixed together. This type of building is very common throughout Senegal and Africa in general, so it is nothing complex or complicated to build and maintain.
A couple people will have copies of the keys to the locks on the doors. These same people will be the ones in charge of keeping the facility organized and run smoothly. These people have yet to be determined – they will be chosen democratically through PENC-MI, and will most likely be “paid” for their time and energy in seed. For example, they will be able to get improved seed varieties for free, though this also has yet to be formally determined. PENC-MI is the name of Kayemor’s “Communauté Rurale,” which is the community group that has been organizing this whole facility. Its headquarters are in Kayemor, but there are representatives from all the surrounding villages (upwards of 20+ villages) – one representative from each village (either male or female) except for a handful of the bigger villages, which have 2 representatives (one male and one female). Around 35 people in PENC-MI are directly involved in the design and implementation of this facility, and around 200 people will be impacted by the facility. (Wikipedia has a short snippet on these community groups, which are extremely common in Senegal, though the snippet is not very complete at all – it doesn’t even list Kayemor’s group, which is in the Nioro du Rip Department and Kaolack Region: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_communities_of_Senegal.) Since this facility is being funded through a Peace Corps Partnership, the Peace Corps will also be monitoring the construction, implementation, and improvement of the facility. I will do most of the day-to-day monitoring (which shouldn’t involve too much since part of the plan of the project/facility is to train the local men and women involved so they will be as self-sufficient as possible), and will direct questions or problems to my boss in the Peace Corps.
As part of the Peace Corps Partnership application process, Kate (the PCV in Kayemor before me) filled out a form with the help of the leaders in PENC-MI. Here is some information from the form that I thought other people might find interesting:
- There are 12 employees of PENC-MI, 46 village relays (i.e. the representatives to PENC-MI from Kayemor and the villages around Kayemor), and 200 farmers involved in the PENC-MI seed extension program
- Employees and replays will learn to manage a seed production program with record keeping, contract making, and payment practices
- PENC-MI employees will also learn how to determine when seed is no longer viable and how to obtain seed from local sources.
- Farmers will learn the technical skills in supplying their own seed by learning to select and store seed for current crops. They will increase their agricultural knowledge by learning to grow and store new crops.
- Success of the facility will be determined, in part, by 1) the number of farmers who reimburse the seed extended to them by PENC-MI, 2) the growth of the seed production program into numerous types of seed, and 3) the continuation of the project and facility after Peace Corps has left the area.
The building will be located behind the “peñc mi” (yes, the same word as the name of the rural community group; it literally means “public place” and is the area where teachers live, classes are held for school, community meetings are held, etc.). It is a good location because it is right next to the main road through Kayemor, and because it is in Kayemor itself, which is surrounded by many smaller villages and the people in these villages often come to Kayemor regularly to sell and buy things so it won’t be difficult for people to bring their seed to the building in Kayemor to store it. Here are a few photos to help orient you to where the building will be built – sorry they’re not more exciting, but right now it’s just empty land…
The building itself will be very basic – a rectangular cement building with a metal roof and cement floor, and doors with locks that are big enough so charettes can go in the building. Inside the building itself will be big barrels in which the seed will be stored. The main types of seed that will be stored in the building are rice, corn, cowpeas, millet, and sorghum, but other types of seed could also be stored there, such as vegetable and (fruit and non-fruit) tree seeds. Seeing as there will most likely be a few varieties of each kind of seed stored in the building (such as several varieties of rice and corn), the barrels will be labeled with the variety name as well as the kind of seed itself so different varieties don’t get mixed together. This type of building is very common throughout Senegal and Africa in general, so it is nothing complex or complicated to build and maintain.
A couple people will have copies of the keys to the locks on the doors. These same people will be the ones in charge of keeping the facility organized and run smoothly. These people have yet to be determined – they will be chosen democratically through PENC-MI, and will most likely be “paid” for their time and energy in seed. For example, they will be able to get improved seed varieties for free, though this also has yet to be formally determined. PENC-MI is the name of Kayemor’s “Communauté Rurale,” which is the community group that has been organizing this whole facility. Its headquarters are in Kayemor, but there are representatives from all the surrounding villages (upwards of 20+ villages) – one representative from each village (either male or female) except for a handful of the bigger villages, which have 2 representatives (one male and one female). Around 35 people in PENC-MI are directly involved in the design and implementation of this facility, and around 200 people will be impacted by the facility. (Wikipedia has a short snippet on these community groups, which are extremely common in Senegal, though the snippet is not very complete at all – it doesn’t even list Kayemor’s group, which is in the Nioro du Rip Department and Kaolack Region: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_communities_of_Senegal.) Since this facility is being funded through a Peace Corps Partnership, the Peace Corps will also be monitoring the construction, implementation, and improvement of the facility. I will do most of the day-to-day monitoring (which shouldn’t involve too much since part of the plan of the project/facility is to train the local men and women involved so they will be as self-sufficient as possible), and will direct questions or problems to my boss in the Peace Corps.
As part of the Peace Corps Partnership application process, Kate (the PCV in Kayemor before me) filled out a form with the help of the leaders in PENC-MI. Here is some information from the form that I thought other people might find interesting:
- There are 12 employees of PENC-MI, 46 village relays (i.e. the representatives to PENC-MI from Kayemor and the villages around Kayemor), and 200 farmers involved in the PENC-MI seed extension program
- Employees and replays will learn to manage a seed production program with record keeping, contract making, and payment practices
- PENC-MI employees will also learn how to determine when seed is no longer viable and how to obtain seed from local sources.
- Farmers will learn the technical skills in supplying their own seed by learning to select and store seed for current crops. They will increase their agricultural knowledge by learning to grow and store new crops.
- Success of the facility will be determined, in part, by 1) the number of farmers who reimburse the seed extended to them by PENC-MI, 2) the growth of the seed production program into numerous types of seed, and 3) the continuation of the project and facility after Peace Corps has left the area.
The building will be located behind the “peñc mi” (yes, the same word as the name of the rural community group; it literally means “public place” and is the area where teachers live, classes are held for school, community meetings are held, etc.). It is a good location because it is right next to the main road through Kayemor, and because it is in Kayemor itself, which is surrounded by many smaller villages and the people in these villages often come to Kayemor regularly to sell and buy things so it won’t be difficult for people to bring their seed to the building in Kayemor to store it. Here are a few photos to help orient you to where the building will be built – sorry they’re not more exciting, but right now it’s just empty land…
The metal posts along the left side of this photo mark the northern border of the peñc mi land, so the building will be built to the right (south) of the posts. The bigger trees in the background may need to be cut down for easier construction.
This is a picture of essentially the same area, but looking south. The building in the back is a class used for school and meetings. The seed storage facility will be built between where I am standing (when I took the photo) and where that classroom is.
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