Garden and Nutrition Training - Part 5

In the first village - following our 2 day training on nutrition, we went out to the village to teach the ladies how to build "key-hole gardens".  

(photo credits to Lisa and Megan for the overview pictures of the key-hole gardens ... I apparently was so shocked and enthralled with the size of the cabbage growing (photo below) that I didn't get a good overview shot of the entire garden concept!)

Megan and I learned about these gardens when we attended a West Africa agriculture forum last year ... these type of gardens are designed to require less water - perfect for our desert conditions!

The compost basket in the middle provides nutrients to the soil ... this is also the location where "dirty water" is used.  The use of dirty water then reduces the amount of water that women will need to draw from a well to feed their garden ... the compost and basket acting as a filter to the soap which may be in the water.  The design of the garden is also built to filter the water into the soil and plants which require more water are planted in the centre, while plants requiring less water are planted on the border.

For our women in the first village area ... I have seen them come back from their water trip at 1pm in the afternoon.  When I asked what time they had left: 7am was the answer .... 6 hours it takes them to get their water for the day!!  Truly it would be impossible for them to draw more water to include the watering of a garden.  The ability to implement a garden that uses less - and to reuse dirty - water will be beneficial to their lives.

I also know that these women are also 20 kilometres from the city ... to buy vegetables for the week, not only is it expensive (as mentioned in a previous blog post), but they are required to walk a great distance if they choose to buy these.  The nearest two village markets only sell basic sauce ingredients and onions.

So - garden training it is.  If these kitchen gardens are successful ... these women can implement some of the nutrition and diet diversity that we have been teaching.

We had asked the women to collect for this day: big rocks (to build the border), sand, manure, ashes, and millet stalks.

When I was out in the village between the training days - I saw that the women had all gathered together to bring in the materials.  The day I was there - the women were walking back and forth from their neighbouring mountain to bring in these rocks ... carrying them on their head!!

Sadly, I was having issues with my camera this day, so the focus is off.

Stay tuned for the next post ... the building of a garden!

Photo Journal - A Day in my Life

Every so often, people ask me what I do in a day .... a day for me is constantly changing - pending current projects and curve balls sent my way!  So, I thought today - I'd provide a photo journal of my day.  (Though, not everything has a photo.)\

2 am - airport run .... teammates have arrived back home in Niger!!

4am - sleep ... another four hours and then my work day will officially begin (why did I schedule a village day after a midnight airport run??!?)

9:30 
Pick up trees at a tree farm down by the river.

10:00 - head to the village - encounter:

Road Rights Dispute

Rush-Hour Traffic

11:15 - arrive in the first village
Here, I discover two things:

1)  The village representative has headed to the city for the day - despite arrangements for him to vaccinate the chickens of his village.  I leave him his five trees ... and prepare to head to village 2.


2)  I cannot leave for village two until  I change my tire - yikes, that's a bad one.  I wonder what I hit on the way down the hill.

11:45 - arrive in the second village
They have not pre-gathered the chickens ... but they make fast work of the job!  47 chickens are vaccinated!!

1:30 - head to third village
The village representative decided, after we arrived with the trees for his area last week, that he does indeed now want trees, so I have returned with his 3 trees.  I forgot that last week he moved to the fields, so I left his trees by his hut and called him to let him know they were there.  The sand here is getting soft and catches my tires, this will have to be my last trip here.  I pray I don't get stuck as there is no one around to help me!

2:15 - arrive in the fourth village
I drop off 10 more trees which were forgotten in the last trip.

2:45 - arrive in the fifth village
This is the home of my village guard.  I drop off 11 more trees - and he has bought more chickens and these are vaccinated while I am there and have vaccines.  But, he - I believe - is scared of the needle.  So, I myself now am doing the vaccinations!!

Good thing that I'm not scared of the needle!  I am scared though of them spurring or pecking me - but he keeps a good handle on their feet and necks ... only one tried, and was unsuccessful in breaking skin!  (phew!)


4:30 - arrive home
Where was lunch you say??!?  Yeah ... my tired brain thought that I would be home by two (not sure why?) ... basically really bad planning.  So lunch was a bowl of popcorn at 4:45.  I sure am looking forward to supper soon!