Lower River Region...definitely the best dressed region at the conference!
Aww...
Close up
Sitemates
These two are always laughing!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Pictures from the all-volunteer conference at the Sheraton
Lower River Region...definitely the best dressed region at the conference!
Aww...
Close up
Sitemates
These two are always laughing!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A visit to Gambia is Good
We've been participating in the Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resource Management sector in-service training and yesterday we got the opportunity to visit Gambia is Good's "farm." GIG is an innovative agribusiness project being implemented by an NGO called Concern Universal (http://www.concernuniversal.org/index.php?/working_in_partnership/gambia_is_good). Their "farm" is used as a research and demonstration facility, and we got to see some really cool stuff they are working on. I forgot my camera, but Kelsey remembered hers and was nice enough to let me steal her pictures. Thanks Kelsey!! See below:
Outside GIG
Fun gate using local axes
Solar dryer
Solar oven
Biodigester
Cool way to grow strawberries
Demonstration plots
More demonstration plots
An example of an innovative pump created by SMILE, another one of Concern Universal's projects
Another
Cashew nuts drying before processing. Two interesting facts about cashews: 1) Cashew fruits are quite good and grow attached to the nuts, 2) Cashew nuts are covered by a toxic and highly flammable chemical...as a part of the processing, the nuts must be burned and the toxin removed.
Moringa, a miracle tree. If you don't believe me, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa_oleifera
More demonstration plots with drip irrigation
Learning to make "advanced compost." It includes, among other things, cow dung, topsoil and biochar.
Mixing!
Press originally used for sesame seeds, now used for jatropha and moringa seeds
Making biochar (for more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar)
Vetiveria, a cool grass with crazy anti-erosion properties (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopogon_zizanioides for more information)
Josh with Bakary, the hilarious guy who showed us around
Applying local insecticide with a broom (garlic, onion, hot pepper, ash, soap, tobacco, water)
Outside GIG
Fun gate using local axes
Solar dryer
Solar oven
Biodigester
Cool way to grow strawberries
Demonstration plots
More demonstration plots
An example of an innovative pump created by SMILE, another one of Concern Universal's projects
Another
Cashew nuts drying before processing. Two interesting facts about cashews: 1) Cashew fruits are quite good and grow attached to the nuts, 2) Cashew nuts are covered by a toxic and highly flammable chemical...as a part of the processing, the nuts must be burned and the toxin removed.
Moringa, a miracle tree. If you don't believe me, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa_oleifera
More demonstration plots with drip irrigation
Learning to make "advanced compost." It includes, among other things, cow dung, topsoil and biochar.
Mixing!
Press originally used for sesame seeds, now used for jatropha and moringa seeds
Making biochar (for more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biochar)
Vetiveria, a cool grass with crazy anti-erosion properties (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopogon_zizanioides for more information)
Josh with Bakary, the hilarious guy who showed us around
Applying local insecticide with a broom (garlic, onion, hot pepper, ash, soap, tobacco, water)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Easter Weekend
Our sitemate Lisa was feeling pretty bummed about being away from her family for Easter, so we decided to come up with other ways to make it special. In addition to cooking delicious food (which goes without saying with the three of us!), we decided to do henna, hair braiding, and watch a movie on our computer. Here are some pictures from the weekend:
All taped up and ready for henna
Fatou applying the henna (henna powder mixed with sugar and water)
Close up
Getting bagged
Suddenly very glad we only did our left hands. Getting ready for bed with only one hand was a challenge!
After sleeping with the henna on, the next morning we took off the henna (see above) and put on a mixture of water, "no fly" (some chemical we couldn't identify) and ash, which adds a cool black tint to the henna color. After leaving that on for 5-10 minutes, we took off the tape and washed everything off. It's funny that so something so gross can result in something so pretty!
Rinsing off
We were so excited to see what was underneath!
Final product with our artist friend - very cool (and complements our chaco tans so nicely...)
Then it was Lisa's turn for braiding
Finished!
Overhead shot
Fatou with her cousin's daughter (second cousin maybe?) at the celebration of the annual recitation of the holy koran, which also happened to fall on this weekend. Note her gorgeous hair. Love this pic!
This is for Jessica - proof that the boys do indeed wear gellies here (usually for playing soccer)
Part 1 of our delicious Easter lunch - potato pancakes (which sort of merged into a potato pancake blob but were still delicious)
Part 2 - Cinnamon rolls (chapati layered with cinnamon sugar, rolled, and sliced). That's right, we made cinnamon rolls without an oven!
All taped up and ready for henna
Fatou applying the henna (henna powder mixed with sugar and water)
Close up
Getting bagged
Suddenly very glad we only did our left hands. Getting ready for bed with only one hand was a challenge!
After sleeping with the henna on, the next morning we took off the henna (see above) and put on a mixture of water, "no fly" (some chemical we couldn't identify) and ash, which adds a cool black tint to the henna color. After leaving that on for 5-10 minutes, we took off the tape and washed everything off. It's funny that so something so gross can result in something so pretty!
Rinsing off
We were so excited to see what was underneath!
Final product with our artist friend - very cool (and complements our chaco tans so nicely...)
Then it was Lisa's turn for braiding
Finished!
Overhead shot
Fatou with her cousin's daughter (second cousin maybe?) at the celebration of the annual recitation of the holy koran, which also happened to fall on this weekend. Note her gorgeous hair. Love this pic!
This is for Jessica - proof that the boys do indeed wear gellies here (usually for playing soccer)
Part 1 of our delicious Easter lunch - potato pancakes (which sort of merged into a potato pancake blob but were still delicious)
Part 2 - Cinnamon rolls (chapati layered with cinnamon sugar, rolled, and sliced). That's right, we made cinnamon rolls without an oven!
Reflections after three months at site (written April 5)
On Wednesday we leave for Kombo, where we will spend 2 1/2 weeks attending most of our group's Environment/Natural Resource Management in-service training, an all-volunteer conference, and then finally our group's Health/Community Development in-service training. We decided to attend the ENRM training in addition to the HCD one because they will be having sessions on gardening, food preservation, waste disposal, etc, that are very relevant to health and commmunity development, so we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to learn about those topics. It will be an intense couple weeks, particularly during the two-day all-volunteer conference, when all 100+ volunteers in the country will be in attendance, but we are really looking forward to it. In addition to the actual training, we are really looking forward to catching up with friends and sharing stories and experiences from the past three months. From an mental health perspective, it will also give us a much-needed opportunity to escape the fishbowl element of our villages, where we feel like we always have to be "on."
From the beginning, everyone always told us that our Peace Corps service would change us. They couldn't tell us how, since it affects everyone differently, but they all agreed that there would be signficant changes. Since the three months at site mark is a pretty significant milestone (in the eyes of Peace Corps/The Gambia at least), I wanted to write a post about the changes we have seen in ourselves thus far. I think intend to do this periodically throughout our service, so (inshallah), you all will get to see how things progress. So here is a sampling of some changes we have noted, in no particular order:
-Our views on development have changed. The Gambia is a prime example of aid gone wrong. Colonialism, combined with decades of aid in the form of hand-outs, has created a culture of a complete dependence. Everyone from children to professionals are looking for handouts and it would never occur to many of them to try to take a problem into their own hands. Based on this experience, we are much more skeptical about the effectiveness of foreign aid (and in fact, it has us thinking about the potential of aid to do harm). Jacob is now leaning towards the opinion that the role of aid should be primarily to fill in the gaps in basic infrastructure and services such as roads, hospitals, and education (everything from basic k-12 to trade schools) when the government is not providing completely for its people in those areas. He feels everything else should be left to private enterprise. I still want to believe that there is a place in development for training, capacity building, and other sustainable approaches, but only time will tell how my views may change on that.
-We have a much better understanding of and appreciation for the deep challenges women face in many developing countries, particularly in a muslim context.
-We have seen and now understand first-hand how a good education truly is a child's ticket to a successful future, particularly in a developing country. This is not only because education is crucial for getting a good job, but also because a good edcuation teaches a child how to problem-solve effectively in daily life and also gives the child the confidence to actually pursue a career. On a related note, we also have had quite a reality check about how bad an educational system can be and how hard it is to actually get a good education here.
-We are much less cautious about eating "questionable" food than we were at first. This includes sharing a food bowl with people eating with unwashed hands, chocking down mystery meat, drinking bags of juice and water by biting off the corner of a plastic bag that is probably not clean, eating street food that has been sitting out for an unknown amount of time in the heat, etc etc.
-We have drastically cut down our water use. We can share a bucket of bath water and have a quarter of the bucket left when we're finished (when my hair is braided, which it generally is now). We can wash a large load of laundry in 1 1/2 buckets of water and we use the grey water on our garden. We can wash a meal's worth of dishes with 1-2 teakettles of water.
-We have become much more creative in our cooking. Recipes, an essential in our previous life, are a thing of the past. Everything is cooked a gas burner and based on the limited available ingredients, sometimes with an entire meal revolving around an "exotic" ingredient received in a package from home or found in a corner of a toubab store in Kombo and seasoned to taste with available spices.
-We have become used to not being able to understand most of what people are saying around us. Initially that was frustrating and stressful for us, since we were constantly worrying that people were talking about us and straining to pick out familiar words. While our language skills have improved, which has helped, we also have become more at ease with being surrounded by foreign language(s). We also have developed coping mechanisms for not being able to understand half the words in rapid-fire questions, such as anticipating the questions and spitting out pre-prepared answers once we recognize a few key words. This works surprisingly well.
-We need more sleep here. We generally go to bed between 10 and 11 (generally closer to 10 than 11) and wake up around 7. While this is less than we were sleeping in our training village, it still is quite a bit more than we regularly slept at home. If we don't get a solid 8-9 hours of sleep we are tired. Life is intense and tiring here!
As they say here, "I think we have a good list," so I'm going to stop for now, but stay posted for an updated version of this list in a few months...
From the beginning, everyone always told us that our Peace Corps service would change us. They couldn't tell us how, since it affects everyone differently, but they all agreed that there would be signficant changes. Since the three months at site mark is a pretty significant milestone (in the eyes of Peace Corps/The Gambia at least), I wanted to write a post about the changes we have seen in ourselves thus far. I think intend to do this periodically throughout our service, so (inshallah), you all will get to see how things progress. So here is a sampling of some changes we have noted, in no particular order:
-Our views on development have changed. The Gambia is a prime example of aid gone wrong. Colonialism, combined with decades of aid in the form of hand-outs, has created a culture of a complete dependence. Everyone from children to professionals are looking for handouts and it would never occur to many of them to try to take a problem into their own hands. Based on this experience, we are much more skeptical about the effectiveness of foreign aid (and in fact, it has us thinking about the potential of aid to do harm). Jacob is now leaning towards the opinion that the role of aid should be primarily to fill in the gaps in basic infrastructure and services such as roads, hospitals, and education (everything from basic k-12 to trade schools) when the government is not providing completely for its people in those areas. He feels everything else should be left to private enterprise. I still want to believe that there is a place in development for training, capacity building, and other sustainable approaches, but only time will tell how my views may change on that.
-We have a much better understanding of and appreciation for the deep challenges women face in many developing countries, particularly in a muslim context.
-We have seen and now understand first-hand how a good education truly is a child's ticket to a successful future, particularly in a developing country. This is not only because education is crucial for getting a good job, but also because a good edcuation teaches a child how to problem-solve effectively in daily life and also gives the child the confidence to actually pursue a career. On a related note, we also have had quite a reality check about how bad an educational system can be and how hard it is to actually get a good education here.
-We are much less cautious about eating "questionable" food than we were at first. This includes sharing a food bowl with people eating with unwashed hands, chocking down mystery meat, drinking bags of juice and water by biting off the corner of a plastic bag that is probably not clean, eating street food that has been sitting out for an unknown amount of time in the heat, etc etc.
-We have drastically cut down our water use. We can share a bucket of bath water and have a quarter of the bucket left when we're finished (when my hair is braided, which it generally is now). We can wash a large load of laundry in 1 1/2 buckets of water and we use the grey water on our garden. We can wash a meal's worth of dishes with 1-2 teakettles of water.
-We have become much more creative in our cooking. Recipes, an essential in our previous life, are a thing of the past. Everything is cooked a gas burner and based on the limited available ingredients, sometimes with an entire meal revolving around an "exotic" ingredient received in a package from home or found in a corner of a toubab store in Kombo and seasoned to taste with available spices.
-We have become used to not being able to understand most of what people are saying around us. Initially that was frustrating and stressful for us, since we were constantly worrying that people were talking about us and straining to pick out familiar words. While our language skills have improved, which has helped, we also have become more at ease with being surrounded by foreign language(s). We also have developed coping mechanisms for not being able to understand half the words in rapid-fire questions, such as anticipating the questions and spitting out pre-prepared answers once we recognize a few key words. This works surprisingly well.
-We need more sleep here. We generally go to bed between 10 and 11 (generally closer to 10 than 11) and wake up around 7. While this is less than we were sleeping in our training village, it still is quite a bit more than we regularly slept at home. If we don't get a solid 8-9 hours of sleep we are tired. Life is intense and tiring here!
As they say here, "I think we have a good list," so I'm going to stop for now, but stay posted for an updated version of this list in a few months...
Friday, April 2, 2010
Happy Birthday Jacob!!
Yesterday was Jacob's birthday, so of course, we had to make it memorable. After a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and potato pancakes with mochas, we headed off to the regional health team's monthly meeting. Not exactly the ideal way to spend your birthday, but it only happens once a month and we didn't want to miss it. After the meeting, Jacob and I headed to the market to pick up some veggies and frozen chicken, while Lisa headed to our VSO (british version of Peace Corps) friends' compound to put her mystery dessert in their fridge. Jacob and I met up with another Peace Corps friend at the market, then headed to our friends' place to start cooking. The end result was as follows (thanks Lisa for letting me hijack your camera for a few hours after I forgot mine!):
Hanging out before starting to cook
Hard at work
Me with the birthday boy
Appetizer - Bread dipped in an oil, balsamic vinegar, sundried tomato, and fresh basil mixture
Main course - Salad with mangoes and candied pecans, with chicken and our first attempt at homemade cheese (the grey color is from the balsamic vinegar we added) on the side to make it vegan-friendly
Dessert - Chocolate strawberry cheesecake AND rumcake...what a treat!!
Close-up of Lisa's masterpiece
Birthday boy blowing out his candles
Happy :-)
Hanging out before starting to cook
Hard at work
Me with the birthday boy
Appetizer - Bread dipped in an oil, balsamic vinegar, sundried tomato, and fresh basil mixture
Main course - Salad with mangoes and candied pecans, with chicken and our first attempt at homemade cheese (the grey color is from the balsamic vinegar we added) on the side to make it vegan-friendly
Dessert - Chocolate strawberry cheesecake AND rumcake...what a treat!!
Close-up of Lisa's masterpiece
Birthday boy blowing out his candles
Happy :-)
Little victories
From the very beginning, our Peace Corps trainers always emphasized that the key to keeping up your morale throughout your service is to take things one day at a time and to focus on your little victories. This, of course, made sense in theory, but I now am realizing how very true that is. Here is a fun little anecdote I thought you all might enjoy:
Yesterday I walked into my compound and was confronted by one of my favorite little host sisters, five year-old Ntanding, looking very serious, with a one-dalasi coin in one hand and a small piece of rusted corrogate in the other. Without a word, she help up the coin and looked at me inquisitively. In Mandinka, I said "That is money." She nodded and held up the corrogate. In Mandinka, I said "That is corrogate." She broke into a huge grin and turned on her heel and danced away, singing at the top of her lungs "Fanta knows! Fanta knows! Fanta knows!" Little victories indeed :-)
Yesterday I walked into my compound and was confronted by one of my favorite little host sisters, five year-old Ntanding, looking very serious, with a one-dalasi coin in one hand and a small piece of rusted corrogate in the other. Without a word, she help up the coin and looked at me inquisitively. In Mandinka, I said "That is money." She nodded and held up the corrogate. In Mandinka, I said "That is corrogate." She broke into a huge grin and turned on her heel and danced away, singing at the top of her lungs "Fanta knows! Fanta knows! Fanta knows!" Little victories indeed :-)
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