This is the last blog of this trip. Three weeks in Burkina flew by!
Flamboyant tree in front of our house in Bobo
Situation in the villages of Nefrelaye and Sissa
As you may recall the villagers of these 2 villages had to flee in May last year because of terrorists. The schools and medical dispensary were closed.
Slowly the habitants are coming back. Hopefully the schools and medical dispensary can be reopened soon.
The return is not easy since they have nothing. Most of their belongings were stolen, including the the cattle. Villagers are farmers and they could not cultivate their fields last rainy season. This also means that they do not have any food reserves. Going back is also a necessity to prepare the fields for the coming rainy season. But with what seeds, with what fertilizer?
In the village of Nefrelaye we have set up a gardening project for women10 years ago. This project was working very well. The terrorists unfortunately have destroyed one of the 2 pumps which provides water for the project.
In order to repair the damaged installation, we need around 2.500 euro. Anybody interested to help?
Even with the little water coming out of one well, the women who have come back to Nefrelaye have started to cultivate again the site. It is so nice to see the green of the vegetables
This week we had also the good news that “Electriciens Sans Frontieres” has got the funds to finalise the same project in the village of Sissa. Very soon the women of Sissa will be able to have some vegetables for the families and for sale. We expect that we will get the project running by the beginning of June.
News from the LAP
I made only one trip to the LAP this week. The main subject is still the implementation of the revenue generating activities and set up of the organisation for those.
We have also been able to discuss with the association Wilde Ganzen and they are ready to support part of the project. Wide Ganzen brings 33 % of the total budget. We have to find the 66% of the budget. Part of it comes from the school ‘t Atrium from Amersfoort which is doing fundraising for the LAP project each year.
We have made a small video to motivate them in the fundraising effort.
Visites in Lumbila
Lumbila is at about 30km of Oaugadougou. They have a dam which helps to maintain the water table level in the area.
A lot of modern farms have been set up there. The owners can easily commute from the city to the farm and the market for their products is large in Ouagadougou.
We visited two sites. The first one has been set up by Adja Sanogo, a very strong woman. She has started growing vegetables in greenhouses and with her success she decided to train people on the technique and now sells greenhouses with all the needed accessories.
We are planning to buy our first greenhouse for the LAP from her.
The second site was the farm of Mr. Richard Mone. He worked for the Danish embassy in Ouagadougou before starting is farm. He would like also one day to start a school to teach the techniques he is using. He is trying to be auto sufficient for his activities as much as possible.
The goats give him manure which he uses on his fields, he is growing a high yield herb called the maralfalfa which is used to feed the goats. He is also planning his production in a way that the output comes on the market when there is a shortage. He is right now growing okra which will be sold in May when there is little of this vegetable on the market.
Laser spray system to water the okra
Mr. Mone and Fidele (LAP) in front of the maralfalfa
He tried to produce eggs, then to produce chicken but he decided that the best way was to produce just the chicks, where the market is better and where he can have more margin even if it is a bit more delicate to produce. He is also planning to breed agoutis.
It has been a very interesting day where we learned a lot.
Saying of this blog
“Missing someone is a part of loving them. If you’re never apart, you’ll never really know how strong your love is.” – Gustave Flaubert
You realize how much you truly miss someone when something happens, good or bad, and the only person you want to tell is the one person who isn’t there.” – Unknown
Hope you are all well.
Bye for now,
Hervé
