Amassing work from thin air... or rather, thin soil

Imagine, if you will, being thrown into a community and being expected to help them do great things.  You want to help them do great things and are under the impression that they also want that.  You have some training but most of all are literate so regardless of your expertise you can always read up on something and figure it out.  You’re supposed to have a counterpart.  Some member of the community to help get you established and guide you in the direction of various projects you’ll work on together.  Now imagine you in that community still excited and eager to help, but you have no counterpart, no organization, and no idea where or how to start or even what to start with and who to work with.  Add to it you don’t speak or hear the language of your community members appreciate their sense of humor, i.e., making fun of you, mocking your attempts, etc.

I don’t mean for this to sound like I’m whining.  Although don’t get me wrong, I do and have shed a few tears.  It’s not easy.  One thing I forgot to mention, is that “help” is more commonly interpreted as “what will you give me/us?” vs. “how can you support me/us in these things we want to/are doing?”  As we expect it.

So it’s been a year.  Given my sitch I’m happy to have found the little work I have as at the school and with the two community members with beekeeping (BeeCause that’s important!).  But I’ve had the sinking suspicion that other super stars are out there who I should be working with and I was too scared/nervous to face the village alone to find them.

When the school went on Easter break I decided it was time especially since I just presented on project planning and development at the new environments IST.  I shared with them wise words I’ve managed to read while at site not dong much in terms of project development myself.  Just reading about it.  Which honestly I think is good.  Most, if not all, of the literature stresses to go slow, take your time, build relationships and assess thoroughly.

Peace Corps tasked me with a baseline assessment survey in the first three months (go after five month’s in country) of service.  Again without a counterpart or translator I was unable to thoroughly do this.  I had my community representative host sister/cousin help me interview the village chief, herself, and then was able to interview the principle (headmaster) who I thought could be my main counterpart but that didn’t work as his job is demanding enough but he’s extremely supportive as projects at the school. And then my host father through the help of the principle.  So four out of some 250…

Now I can at least hear the language pretty well.  I had another host sister help me translate a handful of questions (maybe to come in another post) and was just trying to muster the strength to go forth.

My host mom, maybe sensing how difficult this was for me stepped up and took me to my first three interviewees.  Then another two- then I was pretty much flying solo.  Receiving some help from Hoja sometimes.  All that build up to get to this part!

So I had interviewed thirteen and was wanting to call it quits.  Each interview demanding a lot of mental focus and energy which is hard to keep in the heat!  All the answers were the same regardless the questions- I have no money I can’t do these things because there’s no money for fertilizer, machines, or materials.

Then number fourteen reminded me why I was on my scavenger hunt.  How/why had we not met before??  His interview went just like the others until I got to the section on gardening and community help.  He told me how he’s trying to grow cashew and mango trees and that he buys seedlings at the luumo (weekly market) and then that he’s tried to raise poultry and wants to expand with larger animals but ran out of help or resources.  He used to make people translate for him his agricultural papers.  He’s attended workshops and used to be involved with the department of agriculture as far as I can guess- my wolof isn’t anywhere near perfect and Hoja’s English isn’t either.  Although it’s a lot better than my wolof.  Anyway.  This man was the suspicion I had.  I’m getting pretty excited.  Of course I have a hidden agenda with all of this.  Yes I’m trying to find a counterpart and more people to work with that actually want to work with me- have things they need help on etc.  But I’m also looking for a teacher.  Someone willing and wanting to be trained in some agricultural basics and then wanting to experiment and train others.  Ideally I want to work with someone motivated in my own community, someone that is respected and of the same economic status as the other farmers.  Someone who has already the desire to help others.  Someone with the same background and language.  I love to help and am here to help but you know, I’m not a farmer, I did not grow up here, I don’t speak fluently, and I’m a young woman. 

But this man- I ended the survey asking him something I hadn’t felt like asking the others- if he would want to teach the villagers if he had the knowledge.  His answer, yes.  But sometimes I wonder if they’re always just going to say yes.  Regardless, I’m excited.  And definitely feel like stopping now but should press on.

Next steps, shall we get there, is to hold a meeting to reveal the results of the survey and then to brainstorm their ideas on how to address the biggest issues.  Again I’m only hoping that somehow someone say’s something like: Hey Roxe, we really want a farmer field school where you train one of us and then he trains ten more and we experiment with seed variety and other  alternative practices, can you help us in that?

What a great idea, I could say.  Sure, let us talk about how we can do that to see what I can do to assist and what you all can do so that this is an equal partnership.

Then rainbows come down and butterflies and robins start singing and flowers of every color appear… Ha.  I crack myself up.  But we’ll get there, or somewhere.  But that for now, for them, is my dream.  But the most important thing and easiest to forget or lose sight of, is that if I’m here to really help and not just have a crazy cool experience is that it’s not about me or my dreams.  Those mater to me and it’s easier to work within your passion.  But it’s about them and their dreams and my supporting that.  I think a farmer field school would be a great, sustainable and helpful endeavor that could be built upon generation to generation given it’s in the hands of the right people.  But maybe their dreams are of cashew and mango orchards, poultry farms and proper livestock management.  That’s fine too.  As long as they have a dream, an idea, and it can somehow fit within my PC framework and MI research , we’ll all win.