Field work galore!

I knew the rainly season was going to be busy and it is! Everyday I'm in a different feild noting current practices such as planting space and manure application, while I give advice on potential ways to increase the yield. It's been really hard to keep track of so many farmers. I have Fatou in Katakel and I usually see her twice a week. Her farm has improved greatly and it makes me so happy. It is a lot of work and data collection, but I feel she might be starting to see why I am asking her to do these "crazy" things. We are having an open field day in Octoer and I really hope it goes well. Other than that I have a few random farmers in Ndioudiene who ask me to look at one problem or another in thier vegetable gardens. I am only too willing to do this as I really want ot promote everyone to have rainy season veggie gardens in addition to thier field crops. Then I have 17 farmers whom I have given seed to and must collect data on for a research organization called ISRA. It's nice for the farmers to get free seed, although I'm not sure how sustainable it is. After I leave it will be difficult for them to get the seed without me. This is why I'll be stressing proper seed storage over the next month. I hope at least a few farmers get some tips that help them improve their yields and make a little mopre money for themselves.
I've outplanted a lot of trees and I have 7 papaya growing in my garden maybe the next volunteer if there is one will get to see the fruits of that work. My dad has been lazy about transplanting the trees I raised for him so they probally won't make it, but I can't force him. Either he wants fruit trees, alley cropping or live fencing, or her doesn't. My garden is so great! I sold 17 kilos of eggplant the other day. I wish my camera hadn't broke so I could show you them. they looked so nice. It has tired me out but I feel I had a successful season so far and I hope I can carry on to the end and get some farmers to really stick woth the new technologies.

Moringa Madness!

This last week the volunteers in my area made an enormous effort to visit about 20 villages in a week and educate them on the uses of moringa powder. Moringa olifera is a tree which has highly nutrtious leaves. It is very hardy and grows fast. We often eat the leaves in a peanut sauce over millet for dinner. This method decreases the aount of vitamins in the leaves as they are cooked. Moringa has an unimaginable amount of vitamins. For example in one kilo of powder that has been dried and crushed there is more vitamin C than  7 kilos of oranges. We began by visiting the villages and planting intensive beds. These small beds have about 100 trees in each dependig on the size of course. After a month the trees can be cut and the leaves harvested. The tress then grow back more bushlike. We taught them to plant and harvest the beds. They can also use individual trees that grow in the village. After this portion of the program we waited a month before returing to do the second part. This involved going village to village teaching them to make the powder without reducing the vitamin content. Then we showed them how they can add it to certain foods to increase the nutritional value of their diets. We specifically made a type of porridge which is easy to feed to children who are malnourished. There was a range of interest from village to village. Some people were very interested and I feel they are likely to utilize the technique. Others became aware of the importance of nutrition. I had a few people asking me about the nutritional value of certain vegetables in my village. There are always those who miss the point and wer asking me to make them more porridge. Sigh. Overall I think the program was very successful!

Travel

It is hard to travel in Senegal. There is always a fight over the price first of all. I want to pay the same as everyone else on the bus. No I will not pay extra for my bags and no I will not pay for two seats so we can leave sooner. The transport is based on a when the car is packed and everyone is uncomfortable we will go system. In the rainy season this gets even worse. People don't want to open their windows. Drivers want to wait longer. The roads disappear. A couple weeks ago a guy driving a sand truck wasn't paying attention and hit my bus. All the volunteers agree that everytime we get in a car we risk our lives.

This is the road behind my hut when it rains. The kids like to swim in it :) I really do love how all my little brothers and sisters just run around naked in the rain it's so funny :) Sometimes in the big storms we can't go outside though. The wind is so strong and it blows everything all around. Also this time of year a lot of huts fall down. I have informed my family of the anger I will feel if my hut falls. My brother promises it won't....

Rainy Season Work, is working!

Thus far in the rainy season I have raised almost 200 fruit trees and am giving them to villagers to plant in their homes and feilds. Hopefully this will become a food and shade source. Some of the trees will also be used in live fencing to keep the millions of goats and sheep out of my brothers and dads field. I hope other people see them and take initiative to do it themselves next year. Thats asking a lot, but a very smart woman told me once never to lose hope. I have my garden all planted. The eggplant and green pepper are fruiting and the okra is flowering. I just got my melon and suash seeds in the ground I don't actually want the fruits coming up till the rains are infrequent. They just rot otherwise. I have successfully transplanted papaya and some other trees I don't know how to say in English. I have also been busy distributing seed to farmers and giving them advice on planting, spacing, fertilizing, and good old bug killing! This has been keeping me really busy and it's probally better that I don't have a computer of my own to distract me or draw me into the city. I am also very very very happy to say that me and my master farmer have formed an alliance. She will do what I ask as long as it's actually her idea and she gets frequent compliments. She is like an old car. She needs to be sweet talked and babied. My normal attitude of brutal honesty does not mesh with the cultural norms here. I feel like we have a good working relationship now though. Last time we were woring in the field she found a hedgehog! It was so cool! I also saw a goat give birth to twins. Not that you can't see that in Indiana but it was cool anyway. I am also very happy to have made good relatioships with some farmers who I think will be very good at helping me and the next volunteer share our knowledge. The guy below is Samba Dieng I am recommending him to be the next volunteers counterpart. He is so openminded and that is really important in our work.

He is farming beans for me and we will probably do some pesticide application demonstrations. So overall the rainy season while busy has been full of work. I am currently doing a moringa tournee with the other Kaolack volunteers. Check back soon to see how our nutrition trainings go!

Everything is Breaking

Senegal is not very kind on electronics. In June my ipod screen broke, July my computer began having difficulty turning on, August computer now completely broken, and camera having trouble turning on. I think it's all the sand. The house computer is also broken now which means I am relying on my fellow PCVs to let me use their computers until another PCV comes back from America with my new one. Which will break in approximately one year. I hope my camera makes it. I can't afford another and it would be horrible not to get pictures of the waterfalls in Kedegou, or me and my friends having a night in Dakar. Senegal appears to be harder on electronics than people. Although I feel like I am breaking I know I'll make it back home!