Farming in the bush

Farming in rural Senegal is a little different from farming in America. So here are some videos and photos to help you visualize what farming is really like here.

Tilling, planting, and some of the weeding is usually done with a horse, donkey, or cow. I tried my hand at driving the marabou’s cows while they were being trained. It was a fun experience, especially when the cows got a little rambunctious and decided to move a little faster than their normal determined plod.









The video clip is of some of the Talibe guys planting corn for the marabou. My friend Ari is narrating most of it (you can hear me in the background ask her if she had mentioned that they were planting corn, and then laughing). This is very typical to have 2 people planting: usually an older person guids the seeder (though the person isn’t necessary that old, could even be a child, just a child older than the other person involved in the planting process) and a younger person guids the animal pulling the seeder.


These pictures display the beauty of farming: the graceful cowpea flower and the determined ants inspecting the graceful cowpea flower, the delicate tassel blowing in the wind and setting sun, the brilliant red silk in such a stark contrast with the green background, and the spunky yellow flower of a simple tree.







And, at the end of the day, if all the work is finished a little early, a short break can be taken to just sit on the wood platform and relax and enjoy the refreshing breeze and setting sun. While the wood platform doesn’t look all that inviting, it actually is quite comfortable.