A couple weeks ago my supervisor brought up a gardening training that we had discussed way back in the day. I felt guilty for letting his idea fall to the wayside, but in my defense, I'm not an agriculture volunteer and we kept busy with other things. Now it seems like the perfect time to tackle such an idea because I don't have a lot of other things going on. That, and the typical pot of Peace Corps grant money that funds small projects (not so) conveniently includes no earmarks for business trainings or business education this fiscal year (or really anything remotely related to the sector I'm in). It's a bummer, but it's given me the opportunity to be open towards other projects...like gardening.
After chit-chatting with my supervisor about it, I invited my friend Emily - the urban agriculture volunteer in Thies - out to Pout to visit and talk about the training. After all, a gardening training led solely by me would be a giant disaster. We decided that the training should be geared towards a group of around 20 men and women who want to learn how to create and use container gardens in their homes. Our collective goal is to show how easy it is to become a "container gardener" and in turn realize the health and financial benefits of growing one's own vegetables. Before Emily's trip to Pout, she explained that we would need to start a compost pile several weeks before the training and that I should figure out where all of our materials are. I spent several hours scoping out a "poop source" i.e. someone who owns sheep or cattle and has a large amount of manure on their property and eventually found a family who owns a herd of sheep. I also bought a shovel and a rake much to the amusement of my family who thinks I'm secretly farming in the mornings.
Emily trekked out to Pout last Friday to meet my supervisor and start our compost pile. Unfortunately, we totally underestimated the amount of time it would take to actually round up all of our materials and drag them all to the mayor's office. Emily and I had to stop early because we were both headed to Thies for lunch, but Clare - the other urban agriculture volunteer in Thies - was able to come out this past Tuesday to finish up. The day before Clare arrived I wandered all over Pout trying to find dead leaves, which proved extremely difficult because the trees all lost their leaves several months ago. I also had to buy another bag of manure and strip Neem leaves all over again because someone mysteriously stole the supply that Emily and I spent several hours procuring. Jerk.
Regardless, Clare and I were able to successfully complete the compost pile, which basically entails layering each ingredient (poop, dirt, green leaves, and dead leaves) one on top of the other until the pile is about a meter in length, width and height. Top it all off with a healthy dose of water and voila, the makings of a compost pile. I need to water the compost every day and flip it after 2 weeks and it should turn out to be a great additive to use during the training. I'm currently working on a small grant in order to get some cash to cover the costs and the training will, Insh'allah, take place the first week of March.
I also started Junior Achievement classes at the second elementary school in Pout. I've got two classes of 5th graders with nearly 50 students each which certainly makes for a rowdy bunch. So far, so good though. The first classes went really well and the students seem legitimately excited to be there. Let's hope that continues!
Tomorrow I'm off to Dakar to spend some time with friends and to gear up for to watch the PACKERS IN THE SUPER BOWL! The Marines who are stationed in Dakar have generously offered some of my friends and me a spot on their living room floor...in front of a giant TV...with American cable. Heaven. I'm so incredibly excited that I'll be able to actually watch the game.
Sending positive energy to Texas! GO PACK!
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