Ultimately, it was not the chief who donated some land, but, Mr. _____, a friend of the chief’s with whom Ronald had spoken one night. He had some unused land right next to a major channel and happily offered to give some of it to a communal/experimental organic garden. On the morning of Wednesday April 13th, Maodo, Ndery, Guedel, Yareem, Ronald, Alexa, and Emma went out to survey the land and construct a fence. Within a couple of hours, a sturdy barbed wire fence encircled a sizeable plot of land and any big weeds/small trees had been removed. The soil looked healthy enough, no salty residue dusted its surface. Though we had initially entertained visions of a grand groundbreaking, only those involved in constructing the fence that day paid a formal visit to the garden. Hopefully they will alert the rest of the community to the garden’s existence and take the next necessary steps (digging channels, turning soil, etc.) to get the garden underway.

Inclusion of Nder’s Women’s Groups

Having identified the land for the garden, we grew concerned about who would actually partake in its cultivation. The members of group were enthusiastic, but they alone could not spearhead this project. If the garden is to be a truly communal venture, the community must be brought in. However, we were also made aware of the fact that a farmer’s life is a busy one. We turned our attention towards the women of the village. From our interviews, we noted that the two female members of our group were intrinsically more receptive to the idea of a community garden. We also hoped for the produce coming out of the garden to be fed to the village’s children. Thioye alerted us to the existence of two women’s groups within the villages, one of which was lead by his wife, and suggested that we formally address them at one of their meetings and invite them to attend the workshops. By this point, we were already halfway through with our workshops, but before the start of our third workshop, we invited the members of the two women’s groups (conveniently convened at the chief’s house) to join our remaining workshops. The members of the women’s group filled Ronald’s room for the third workshop and their enthusiasm was palpable. However, the next day, only one of the women, Soda Diaw, returned.


Modifications/Follow-up Activities

As there was no existing protocol for the project we undertook, our methods were inherently flawed. We felt our way through many of our activities and were constantly having to reaffirm the role we wished to play. If I were to pinpoint our biggest mistake, it was neglecting to immediately involve the community at large. We relied too heavily upon Thioye for taking the initiative to forge connections within the community. Bringing in the women’s groups should have been one of our very first steps as the more people who engage in discussions about sustainable/organic methods, the better.

Follow-up is crucial. According to the farmers we interviewed, the fields have never been tested, prohibiting the farmers from any understanding of the nutrients their soil contains. The farmers of Nder are slowly finding themselves caught in the vicious cycle created by farming outside of nature’s bounds and their input costs are rising each year while their yield remains fixed. They need to work with someone truly knowledgeable about organic agriculture/permaculture in Senegal. In an ideal world, an agriculture school would make a trip to Nder and perform a series soil tests and make recommendations based on immediate and available natural resources about ways in which the soil can be ameliorated and pests controlled.