Let me begin by telling you the small progress I have made on one of my projects. After speaking with Eaux et Forets in Nioro, I had learned that I could receive trees, so I eagerly returned to my village to share this information with them. I spoke to my family first, and they were extremely excited. Currently, we only have neem trees in my village (which according to the people, have no purpose since it can't be burned for firewood or eaten), and there aren't too many of these either. So the prospect of new trees was very exciting. My father declared that we would have a meeting to determine what types of trees and how many we should request. My mother went around to every compound, informing them to meet after dinner on Monday night.
Before the meeting began, I became very nervous. This is the first project that I am starting in my village, so it sets up expectations for me during the rest of my service. On top of that, I have absolutely no experience planting trees (though an Agriculture and Forestry volunteer told me she would help me). I began to ask myself questions: What if I couldn't get the trees they wanted? What if all the trees died? What if I couldn't properly plant them? I tried to convey all this information to my father, suggesting that perhaps we shouldn't have the village meeting. I wanted him to just tell me what types of trees we should request for the village. I knew that their desire to call a meeting was best since it would reflect the actual needs of the community, and I was excited that they had decided to determine this all so democratically rather than individually. However, I didn't want people to become angry if I couldn't carry this project through.
My parents were insistent that we continue to have the meeting as planned, so after dinner we headed over to the clearing. Boys carried benches out for every to sit on. Altogether, about 50 people showed up, a big feat for a village of 400 people. I was impressed that there were essentially an equal number of men and women. I was still nervous, but one of my friends in the village began to talk with me, practicing the english that I have been teaching her and that helped me to calm down a bit. Then my father, as village chief, began the meeting. He explained that I could get trees from the village and also explained how it was out of my control if I could bring back what they asked. He told them that we should create options of types of trees; this way, if Eaux et Forets could not provide one type, I would have alternatives to request. This all went over really well. My whole village became very excited and an animated discussion began. I was impressed that they discussed trees to buy for the village and not individually. I had assumed that I would be getting one tree per compound, but they wanted to devote a plot of land to creating a community orchard. They really do work as a community here. In the end, they decided that they wanted a tree for firewood, cashew fruit trees, and mango trees. They also told me that if I received these trees, they would sing and dance as they planted each one. It would be a community event, as everyone would contribute to helping to plant the trees.
Luckily, when I went to Eaux et Forets, they approved my request and I will be transporting the trees back to my village in August. It has all worked out. I can't wait to tell my village that they will be receiving these trees.
And then, in other news, I just returned from a short trip to Kedagou, a region in southeastern Senegal. It is supposedly one of the most beautiful parts of the country, and the only region with mountains (hills, really) and waterfalls. On the drive down, I watched as the scenery changed from brown, sandy, and flat to green, muddy, and hilly. In fact, I have become so accustomed to the dusty color here that the green seems so vibrant and unrealistic; it is almost as if the grass was painted that color. It is probably the same color as grass in the US, but it's been over 3 months since I've seen this, and I really did miss it. (Now that rainy season has officially began in my village, I should be seeing grass there too, so I can't wait to see that when I return.) I was overjoyed by the topography and flora. I then spent 3 days hiking with some friends in this region; netti bes, netti cascade (3 days, 3 waterfalls). We had a lovely hike to Segou falls, where we saw baboons and even heard a few fighting. We then hiked to Dindefello falls, the highest waterfall in Senegal; it was a beautiful waterfall, though the hike to it was less majestic than to Segou. Swimming in the Dindefello Falls was a great way to cool off though before climbing the mountain to see one final waterfall and also the source of the Segou Falls. As we stood at the top of this waterfall, we could see some of our friends below, hanging out at the bottom of the waterfall. It was great to hike again, spend some time with friends I haven't seen in awhile sharing stories (and speaking english), see this beautiful part of the country, and speak with some of the locals in the area. But now, after being away from my site for about a week-and-a-half (I was also away for some language training before I left for Kedagou), I can't wait to return to my site and see my family and villagers again.
YAY TREES! :) -BB
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