Danielle with kids at Keur Saloum Diane (I think...)

Toubacouta- Sunday

Sunday morning after breakfast, Waly told us the schedule had changed somewhat, and we were now going to see a village tradition.  We got no details as to what it was except, it is called the concurrant.  We got an bad premonition about this “tradition” when we saw several men with machetes walking in the same direction as us, toward the center of the village.  Soon after that I smelled smoke, and we came upon an unexpected scene.  People were working in this flat area, open area between houses pulling up dry weeds, and raking the weeds, sticks and other debris into piles, which were then lit on fire. 

After this flat area, the concurrant progressed into a more heavily forested area.  Men and young boys were cutting and hacking at all the trees, reducing young and medium sized saplings to jagged stumps only a few feet high.  These green branches were also burned in large piles, along with other trash lying around the area, like the smoking tire we saw and smelled in one pile.   

While the men were cutting down all of the trees and small brush, the women were walking around with small plastic buckets.  I think they were to carry water if the fire got out of control, although with flames reaching higher than my head, this bucket brigade seemed like it would be pretty helpless if the fire actually got out of control.  Some other children and young people were just standing around watching, but that ended quickly when the reed-man came.

I didn’t see him closely enough to tell exactly what he was wearing, but whatever it was, the costume was sufficient to scare children and adults alike.  He seemed to be the work police, because when he came around everyone quickly started working or running away.  Honestly, I wasn’t scared, but maybe if I had really known better what his purpose was, I would have been.  Either way, we all played along and ran out of his way when the reed man passed by.

After we left, we were told that the concurrant happens every Sunday, with a different section of the village burned and cleared each week.  The tradition is designed to open up village for safety reasons, like preventing dangerous wild animals from living too close to the village.  Getting rid of the vegetation in the middle of the village also improves the visibility, which contributes to the general security and connectedness of the village.

Following this explanation of the purpose of this tradition, I understand better why the villagers have this tradition, because at first it seemed completely stupid and destructive.  My first thoughts while witnessing the concurrant were complete confusion as to any possible motive for cutting down and burning the forest.  If the need exists to clear the area around the village, why not use the wood for something useful instead of just burning it?  

Also, there is a serious problem in Senegal with soil quality and degradation decreasing agricultural yields.  Perhaps, some of the organic matter like leaves, branches, and nuts, could be used to amend agricultural lands and increase the fertility of the soil.  This would probably require some sort of composting effort, but in combination with animal manure and other household waste, they could probably make fairly good compost, and do something useful with this organic matter.  

While I still think the concurrant is not exactly a good tradition, I realize now that there is a cultural and educational gap between my perspective and the Senegalese villagers.  This tradition has probably been  going on for a long time, and continues for the traditional reasons.  It takes a well thought out, logical alternative to convince people to change tradition, and probably no one has taken the time to develop an alternative plan or educate the village about the effects of their tradition.  With more immediate, pressing health and economic needs, the concurrant is a tradition that will probably continue far into the future, a reality with which I have come to terms.

After the concurrant and some group reflection on our trip, we headed back to Dakar.  The traffic getting back into Dakar was bad, so we got out of the bus to walk along the road for a while.  Then we hopped back on the bus when it caught up to us (we were beating it for quite a while).  Geographically, Dakar isn’t in a good place to have good road access, since as my host dad said it’s a “presqu'île” or almost island (peninsula).  

It was nice to feel the cool coastal breeze coming back into Dakar since Toubacouta was noticeably warmer than Dakar, and on the edge of hot.  Although, I really enjoyed not breathing smog for a couple of days, and was reminded that I like the country better than the city.  I like Dakar pretty well, but there was just something about the smell and feel of Toubacouta that felt familiar and right.  This field trip made me excited for my internship in a rural village like Toubacouta.  I’m looking forward to living smog and traffic free, but even more I hope that in a small village I will feel more a part of the community.  There is some community that exists in my neighborhood in Dakar, Sicaps Baobab, but not as much as I expected, and I can’t really say that I know very many people outside my family.  

Love,

Mel

Toubacouta- Saturday

Looking back on this trip, Saturday was the most interesting day.  We started the day by taking a moderately long bus ride (again full of singing :) to a small village in the region surrounding Toubacouta.  The village was called Keur Saloum Diane, and we went there to talk with a women’s micro-finance group.  After a short wait, our group broke into two groups to talk with two of the four women's groups in the village.  My group was seated on wooden benches in front of a panel of women, with more women, kids, and a few men sitting behind and all around us.  Abba, one of the Senegalese students, was a translator for us, since none of the women spoke French.  This meeting was different than all of the previous ones since the women weren’t presenting anything to us, they were just answering questions.  So we asked about the work of their group, problems, goals, and stuff like that.  They mostly operate by doing “petit commerce”  which is basically going to a large regional market and buying supplies, then coming back to the village and reselling them for a profit.  There is also a fee to join the group which supplies them with some capital.

While this group seemed fairly successful in their current activities, they were rather limited in the projects they could do because of lack of funds.  They have never received any outside financing in the 17 years that they’ve been an official group.  They told us that it is hard to get NGO or bank financing, because the village is fairly close to Toubacouta.  Since Toubacouta has fairly good access to education and health care, the proximity of this village to Toubacouta made it a less desirable project site for NGOs.  While I understand the reasoning of the NGOs, it doesn’t change the fact that educational, health care, and especially commerce access is lacking in this village.  Also, one man told us the story of one NGO that came in and started building a beauty school to train girls in the village to be hairdressers.  But, part of the way through the project, it was abandoned.  I didn’t understand exactly what he said the reason was, but it was something to do with politics, and the local politician being against the project.  So now the building stands there useless, because there is no money to buy supplies or hire teachers for the school.  

As we drew near to the end of our time and questions, we asked the women if they had any questions for us.  The only question they had was if we had any advice or help for them.  I felt inadequate to give any advice, and at first was surprised that they thought we would be able help.  One of the Senegalese students, Edy, gave them a really good suggestion, which was to try to find a liaison between their group and potential funding sources like NGOs.  Since none of the women spoke French, or had any real experience outside of their village, they couldn’t had no one to lobby for the group to outside organizations.  In spite of this small bit of advice Edy contributed, I still felt pretty helpless, since visiting to “learn and understand” seemed rather insignificant.  Having the means, in both time and money, to be a university student is a unreachable luxury for most Senegalese, but even with our “wealth” of education, we had no answers for these women. 

After Keur Saloum Diane, the whole group went to another even smaller village about ten minutes away by bus.  We got off the bus, and went to look at the village well.  As Waly was explaining about how and by whom the well was built, the villagers were gathering all around our group watching us.  Then we were invited to come sit under this big tree and talk.  A communal meeting tree seems to be a fixture in rural Senegalese villages, as well as the plastic  lawn chairs which we had been sitting in at each stop.  Waly began the conversation by explaining the purpose of our visit, and asking about the history of the village.  The village elders told us a detailed history of when the village was founded, by whom, and notable happenings (like drought years, or construction of a well) since the founding.  After that, the floor was once again open for our questions concerning village life and problems.  Basically, we learned that this village has no school, no medical care or medicines (including pre or postnatal care), and the only economic activity is agriculture.  

Every day the village children walk three kilometers to Keur Saloum Diane to go to school.  This distance becomes a problem when the children get older and are increasingly expected to help farm, or for many girls, to get married and manage a household.  Especially in the villages, girls getting married between 13 and 15 is not uncommon, and I read that 40% of girls are married by 18, which makes it really hard for them to reach higher education.  

The closest health clinic is also three km away in Keur Saloum Diane, and transportation is a problem here too.  The only way they have to go to the health post is a horse and cart, which I guess is too difficult for severely ill people.  Some members of our group saw a woman who was extremely ill after having given birth, but no one had taken her to the health clinic.  I don’t know if they thought she wouldn’t survive the trip, or there was no money to go.  I only heard about it after the fact, but it’s still difficult to imagine being almost completely cut off from medical care.  

As the conversation progressed, we were shocked to learn that our group was the first academic group or government official to ever visit this village to discuss their situation and difficulties.  There is a government representative in this region, and Waly told us that he (or she) represents max about 20 villages.  The only interaction this village has had with the government in the almost 50 years since independence is paying taxes and voting.  Every person over 14 (I think) pays 1000 CFA (about 2 dollars) in taxes each year, which is collected by the village chiefs.  Even more amazing to me, is the fact that this village still votes.  They have to walk the three km to Keur Saloum Diane to vote, and as far as I could tell, everyone who was old enough votes in every election.

One of the striking characteristics of the villagers we were talking to, is that there weren’t any young or even middle aged men.  All the capable men, and many young women left the village to seek work in cities because there are no jobs left in the village.  The agriculture is incapable of sustaining the population any more because crop yields and prices have dropped so much.  As the population grew more land was cultivated, and the villagers stopped their tradition of fallow years.  This has created a big problem of soil degradation, which is partly responsible for the reduced yields.  One man said that in the time of Senghor (shortly after Senegal gained its independence in 1960) he was harvesting 200 sacks of peanuts (per year I assume), but this year he only got 2.  I don’t know if he is still cultivating the same amount of land, but regardless this is a tremendous yield decrease.  During Senghor’s presidency, the government was also distributing fertilizer and agricultural implements, which partially explains the high yields relative to the current production.  Now the villagers said that some animal manure and household organic waste is put on the fields, but it sounded rather haphazardly and irregularly applied. 

Saturday night, our group went to a Senegalese dance club near where we were staying.  It was a relatively small room, but it wasn’t too crowded.  The Senegalese and other American students were fun, and I had a good time.  Clubs aren’t really that different here except that I don’t know any of the music.  Well, I guess the dancing is somewhat different too, but I can’t really explain that.  Maybe youtube Senegalese dancing or something...

Toubacouta Pictures

Baobab in La Parc National de Delta du Saloum

Village in Delta du Saloum

Football in Toubacouta

Boat in Toubacouta estuary.  

09/02/09 (#2)

Hi again,

Toubacouta- Friday

We started the day by visiting a fishing center in Missirah near Toubacouta.  This center was financed by the Japanese, and works to train and equip Senegalese to be professional fishermen.  While this goal has been largely successful, there is now a problem with overfishing.  There are too many fishermen, the worst of whom are large Korean and Japanese industrial fishing boats which come into the area and catch a lot of fish.  I didn’t understand this exactly, but their fishing rights are somehow connected to the center.  Perhaps they financed this fishing center in exchange for the industrial fishing rights, I’m not sure.  Anyway, but now the center is trying to implement policies, like licensing fishermen and monitoring the size of fish caught, to increase the population.  

While it seems like a good environmental policy, requiring fishermen to have a license creates an interesting cultural problem.  Traditionally, many Senegalese in the rural areas were both farmers and fishers.  They switched back and forth, according to the weather and which enterprise was more successful at the time.  However, imposing the license requirement removes a revenue source for the non-professional fishers because it doesn’t economically make sense to buy a license to only fish part time.  

After the fishing presentation, we went to talk to a group called ANCAR (Agence nationale de conseil agricole rurale, which means National Agency for Rural Agricultural Advice).  I was really looking forward to this presentation, since it was about ag, but honestly I couldn’t understand a lot of the presenter was saying.  He is an agricultural technician, but he had a strong accent, and was using a lot of fairly technical vocabulary.  I learned that the main crops of the region are peanuts, corn, rice, and millet.  The main goal of the group was to address farmers’ questions and problems, and the technician went over some of the main agricultural challenges, like young people leaving their villages to go to cities to find jobs.  

After lunch, we got into some canoes and headed for La Parc Nationale de Delta du Saloum (Delta Saloum National Park), a national park in the tidal mangrove ecosystem.  When we got to the park we hiked for some time to reach the park office and camping facility.  There we sat and listened to the conservation officer talk about the park and mangrove ecosystem.  The park has only been officially a conserved area for a few years, but they have already seen an increase in the number of animal and plant species in the area. 

This park and its mission of conserving the environment reminded me some of the RSCN sites I saw in Jordan.  However, it was different in that the officer said that the Senegalese aren’t really interested in conserving the environment.  Most people are poor to the point that the environment is seen as a means of living, not something valuable to be conserved.  Poverty simply is or has been in the recent past such a difficult reality for so many people, that conserving the environment still seems like an unrealistic use of resources.  As of now, it seems like the most environmental success has come through teaching people new ways to get the same resource in a more sustainable manner, like a new method of harvesting oysters that doesn’t destroy the mangrove roots where they live.  Helping the nature still needs to help the people to be feasible here, but the latter hasn’t really taken root yet.

Friday night the group went to a village dance soiree.  The environment was very similar to la lutte, but this time we knew what was going on, and what to expect.  There was a traditional Senegalese dance troupe who performed several dances in different Senegalese styles.  After that, a fire juggler and stilt walker came out, and did some impressive tricks, which reminded me of a circus.  Finally, there was an open dance circle.  Individuals, pairs, or small groups would go into the middle of the circle and dance for a little bit while everyone watched and cheered.  It was really neat, and at least in this village, the Senegalese were very good dancers.

Love,

Mel

09/02/09

Dear All,

Toubacouta- Travel and Arrival

From last Thursday to yesterday our group has been on a field trip in a rural village called Toubacouta.  We left at 7 (well actually 7:20 thanks to the boys in our group) in the morning on Thursday, and spent about six hours in the van.  There was some traffic leaving Dakar, since there is only one road leading to the city.  We stopped once to buy fruit in Kaolac (which took a really long time), and shortly after the fruit stop the road got considerably worse.  

It felt like the road had been paved at one point probably years ago, but then it was not kept up.  There were little warning triangle signs near the really large potholes, and generally it was really bumpy.  We heard that this is the norm for roads in the rural areas, except for areas of particular interest to the president or politicians, like their home towns.  So, other than isolated rural areas, cities receive virtually all of the national road budget.   There have been strikes in the transportation sector about the roads, but so far is hasn’t had much of an impact.  We didn’t know it at this point, but this disparity between urban and rural areas extends far beyond roads, to include general infrastructure, education, and health funds.     

When we got onto the bus Thursday morning we were introduced to six Senegalese students who were coming with us on the trip.  At first, I thought that they were just coming along as fellow students to see the area and learn about development.  However, when we arrived it became clear that they were our tour guides (and for some situations translators) since they had all either grown up in or gone to school in Toubacouta.  

It was a lot of fun to finally meet some Senegalese students our same age whom we could trust to not view us as a means to achieve economic gain.  Their presence made for much more interesting bus rides, since they started communal bus (and canoe) sing-a-longs.  We learned some Senegalese songs, and also sang some American songs (some of which they already knew). Also, on Saturday night when we went out to a dance club, the Senegalese students taught us some Senegalese dances which were a little crazy, but a lot of fun.

On the way to Toubacouta we stopped at a small village called Sokone, where Professor Sene (the director of WARC) grew up.  He introduced us to his family, including his older brother and two of his brother’s four wives.  Polygamy is fairly common in Senegal, especially in the rural villages.  Waly told us today in class that about 65% of men in rural villages have more than one wife for economic or prestige reasons.  Also some men decide to marry another woman to “correct” the first one if he’s not happy with his first marriage, or she’s not paying enough attention to him.  Although, according to Islamic law when a man gets a second wife he’s not allowed to just ignore and neglect the first one, but I suppose a good second wife is supposed to exert a positive influence on the first one.   Anyway, we ate lunch and ataaya (a traditional tea ceremony) in Sokone, and it was interesting to meet Professor Sene’s family and see the place where he grew up.

Thursday night after we reached Toubacouta and settled into our encampement (basically like a collection of little one room cottages with a common dining and cooking area) , we went to visit the local poste de santé, or health clinic.  We spoke with la sage femme, which translates literally as the wise woman, but she’s basically like a nurse’s assistant.  The government also pays the nurse, but they are the only staff of the clinic.  This health clinic was built with aid from a Belgian NGO, and I think is still partially supported by that group.  While the work that the Belgian group did and does is helpful and good, it also illustrates the lack involvement and aid from the Senegalese government  in rural areas.  The health clinic was just the first of several examples of a failure by the government to provide the rural people with rudimentary supplies and services, a hole which is partially filled by international involvement.   

From a western point of view, it seemed like a really small health care facility with only basic care, but we learned later that it is much better than what most smaller villages have.  Furthermore, the reason Toubacouta has a “good” health clinic, is because of the relatively large amount of tourism, and the tourists who want medical care, not for the local people.  However, the clinic does also service the locals at a reasonable rate.  

On Thursday night, we went to a local Senegalese wrestling contest, which is called la lutte.  It is different than US wrestling, in that the goal is to force the other man to the ground, but if any part other than knees or arms touches the ground the match is over.  La lutte is really popular and it seemed like the whole village turned out to watch.  During the match there was also drumming, singing, and dancing going on around the perimeter of the wrestling area.  The kids sitting on the edges of the crowd would just randomly get up and start dancing, and they were really good!  We were given seats of honor in the front, which were actually almost the only chairs there.  It was really exciting with multiple matches happening concurrently, and lot of things to watch and hear at once.

While I really enjoyed la lutte, several of the students, myself included, noticed that we were singled out more than we expected as the very clear guests of honor.  For example, Professor Sene went up to the front to be thanked by and thank the chief of the village, and we were called by name to go up front and present the winners with their trophies.  After the match was over, we found out by happenstance, that the whole match was arranged for us by Professor Sene.  La lutte doesn’t normally happen during the dry season, and definitely not on a Thursday night.  Some of the students were really upset that Professor Sene and the program set up this spectacle for us.  In part I agree with them, but I also understand Prof Sene and Waly wanting us to experience la lutte in person to see this piece of Senegalese culture, and there was really no other way to achieve this goal.  I just wish they had told us beforehand, so we didn’t have to find out after the fact that we had bought our “cultural experience.”

I hope everyone is doing well!

Love,

Mel

03/02/09

Hi Everyone,

For the last four days Maman and Papa have been on a trip with their French friends.  I’m pretty sure they went to Casamanse, but it was definitely somewhere with a beach.  I was a little afraid that with them gone, Danielle and I would have no one to talk to, but it turned out to be fine.  Antoine has definitely warmed up to us, and we joke around with him in the typical Senegalese fashion.  It actually took Danielle making fun of him to break the ice with him.  I’ve also been talking to Therese (or Kenjo as the family calls her, and no I have no idea if that’s actually spelled).  She’s generally a happy, fun person, and I like spending time with her.  I think has helped that I’ve been trying to offer to help more often.  

We’re never asked to help with anything, but as members of the family, I feel like we should help with the work.  We did dishes once, and I’ve been offering with varying success since then.  Many of the other students’ families don’t want them to help, but our family doesn’t feel that way.  Often times by the time I get home from WARC it’s too late to help with any dinner prep.

I think I have gotten more comfortable here in general, so that definitely helps my interactions with the family.  Also, being more comfortable makes it easier to communicate in French because I’m not as afraid to make mistakes.  I can usually understand what people are saying as long as they’re not talking too fast.  There has been another French visiter staying at our house for the last couple of days.  He is a retired Frenchman who works with a humanitarian group helping orphans in Casamanse.  This foundation helps the single mothers send their children to school, and even follows the progress of their education through university in Dakar if they get that far.  So, to connect back to French I had a long conversation with this French gentleman about the foundation’s work and goals.  It was mostly him talking, with occasional awkward questions from me, but I was happy I could understand him.  

Today I had my first agriculture and the environment class since last week was cancelled, and I like it a lot.  From the overview of the class it sounds like we’re going to be talking about some pretty interesting stuff.  I was glad to be in a class where I finally have some knowledge about the subject matter.  I’ve realized since coming here it’s kind of strange do a study abroad program that’s so different from your major as mine is.  Almost everyone else is majoring in international studies, development studies, or anthropology, basically they’ve all taken several pertinent classes.  Actually though, I’m happy that I have the opportunity to spend this semester learning about development and Senegalese culture, because African studies is definitely not a normal part of the Agroecology major! 

Random Notes

-I’ve discovered I really like Fanta, a fruit soda.  It’s basically sugar, fruit juice, and carbonation, but it’s good.  There is also pineapple soda which is good.  Also for Evan, I got apple tisser (or however you spell it) on the plane, and it was good too. :)

-My Wolof teacher is awesome and teaches us completely random phrases, like what to say if you’re really angry that some guy is flirting with you. 

-sometimes classes are cancelled or start early and no one tells you.  The Senegalese in general are much more flexible with time than the Americans.  Noon might mean, twelve thirty, one, or actually noon, it’s impossible to know.  I guess that’s why the Wolof proverbs we’ve been learning keep talking about being patient! 

Love,

 Mel