Association Grow Biointensif

Here is the Association Grow Biointensif, a group whose goal is to teach low input organic farming methods and better the lives of farmers in West Africa.  They are a diverse collection of activists from all walks of life. Among them are farmers, business executives, teachers, secretaries, and accountants. I'm currently working with them at their demonstration farm, Fankanta. This is where we are working to start a small composting program. The association, led by Lamine Diawara (center in green shirt), has several garden projects in local schools that teach organic farming methods.

At the Seargent Lamine Camara high school, across the street from Dakar's main soccer stadium, you'll find one of these garden projects maintained by the school environmental club.  Every Tuesday the club meets after school to work and learn in their vegetable garden with Lamine and Fatou from the Association Grow Biointensif.

Here's the team just finishing up planting out a bed with Seneca Red Stalker flint corn.  All the way from the Iriquois nation in New York to Dakar, Senegal - via Seed Savers Exchange of course.  We'll see how it does.  We have a lot of seed varieties which are new to Senegal that we'll be trying out.

Unfortunately the watering cans were locked in the prinicpal's office, but the club made do with buckets of water.  They're a great group who are eager to learn and are not easily discouraged!  It will be up to them to water the bed two times a day - no automatic irrigation systems here.  It's a lot of responsibility but they're already talking about expanding the garden.  I'll try to keep posting updates about their progress.

The garden has also been decked out with several young mango trees.  Here you can see the new leaves just coming out.  Note how they have the same shiny brown hue as the young leaves on poison oak, a distant relative of the mango.