The “one year left” countdown has officially begun. March
20, 2016 marks my 365th day spent in the village of Ramsa. In
another year, I should be back on a plane headed back to America with 26 months
of Peace Corps Service under my belt.
Currently, I’m in a duo-state where I feel like time is
speeding-up, but also slowing down. The days seem to blend together now. A week
will begin, activities will go by, and suddenly I’m waking-up Sunday morning
for my relaxation day. Fortunately for me, the oncoming heat is acting as a
de-catalyzing agent to slow my life down. In my region, April à June is known as the “tuulgo wakate”, or hot season.
These three months present us with unrelenting heat before the rains come at
the end of June. Even the Burkinabe complain about this heat. There are a few
positives to note of this season: I get to sleep outside, literally under the
stars; bucket showers at the end of the day make the previous 12 hours almost
bearable; my solar-powered battery is always charged. Then come the negatives:
non-stop sweat, even at 3 AM; the return of camel spiders; dust storms; more
sweat. Surprisingly I feel significantly less apprehensive than before the
previous hot season. Last year I struggled a bit acclimating to the heat, but
this year my body is more in tuned with the heat and the side-effects it
brings.
Since my last blog post, I’ve been extremely busy
attending trainings outside my village as well as getting to work in Ramsa. In
chronological order, voici mes activités de les
deux mois passes:
1.
Dance Marathon / Camp "Laafi”: The
Youth Development Committee in Peace Corps Burkina Faso holds a series of Dance
Marathons in Burkina Faso to fundraise for youth-related activities in the
country. My fellow volunteer Brian and I decided to combine the Dance Marathon
with his Camp Laafi (which means “health” in the local language) at his site.
The combination worked out flawlessly. 6 Peace Corps Volunteers taught health
related trainings (more specifically HIV/AIDS and family planning) to around 80
Burkinabe students, while mixing in many American style dances between the trainings.
The students learning so much valuable, basic information that pertained to
them in their young-adult lives. However, the American dances were what
honestly shaped the entire experience. Over the two days we taught our
enthusiastic students staple dances like the “Macarena” and “the Chicken
Dance”, as well as newer ones such as “the Nae Nae” or “the wobble”. The
students loved watching us 6 volunteers do these strange dances. After the camp
was finished, I actually saw students back in the village doing the chicken
dance by themselves!
Dancing the "Cotton Eyed Joe". My fellow PCV Brian leading the dancers.
Dancing the "Cupid Shuffle" with my friend Meghan.
We would keep the dance going after the day's activities were finished. They kids loved dancing with each other.
2.
Peace Corps Site Visit in Ramsa: On
February 24 one of my bosses came to Ramsa to give me my mid-service site
visit. Aicha, who is a Program Assistant for the “Community Economic
Development” (CED) Sector, came to my village to talk with my villagers and
observe upon some of our ongoing projects. I am in constant communication with
our CED team back in Ouagadougou updating them on any current projects or
questions I might have. However, it is necessary for them to talk in-person
with my work and community members. Overall, the visit went very well. My
community had much to say. They’ve appreciated my contributions thus far. Then,
they went on to voice some of their desires for possible projects to take place
in the coming year. Following the conversation we surveyed our potato gardening
project as well as the condition of our moringa garden. So far, so good. The
visit was over before I knew it and then we were back to work that afternoon.
My Boss and I conducting a "town-hall" meeting to assess the quality of my work over the past year.
Surveying one of our small potato gardens. Here the potatoes are about 3 weeks before harvest.
One of my village elders presenting my boss with a chicken as a parting gift.
3.
Agriculture / Animal Husbandry Training:
The Peace Corps holds a few “Food Security” trainings for volunteers throughout
the year, focusing on things such as beekeeping, soy or gardening. This
training, which mainly focused on animal husbandry and fattening, was a clear
choice for my village since almost everyone practices some form of animal
husbandry. Big or small, chickens or goats, everyone relies on animal
production to give them a small income boost, provide them with animal waste
which later turns into compost, or to help them labor their fields before
seeding. Throughout the 4 day training we learned on professional animal
husbandry techniques which were also applicable at the village level. My two
counterparts, including my main counterpart Hermane, took a plethora of
valuable information from this trainings which we will later share with our
community members. This training felt different from the soy training that I
attended in January, since the need for improvement in this area was apparent
the moment I arrived in village. Almost every one of my savings groups
expressed an interest in learning techniques to improve their animal raising. After
the training was finished, I couldn’t wait to share our finding with the
villagers of Ramsa.
During our training we visited a model chicken coup. The goal is to one day be able to construct habitats like this for our village chickens.
Hands-on training on how to properly make compost. I've gotten quite good with a machete.
At the end of the training with my two counterparts. Proud of these guys.
4.
“FESTIMA”, or International Mask Festival:
The two days following our animal training in Koudougou, I took a two-day
vacation to the city of Dedougou to witness the International Mask Festival
which takes place every two years. Tribes send representatives to this festival
to showcase their local mask and costume, as well as their traditional dance
and rituals which accompany them. I heard from a few older volunteers that this
was one of the few Burkina activites that was a must. I wasn’t let down.
Countries from West Africa, as well as regions from Burkina Faso, put on dance
after dance to entertain a crowd of around 2-3 thousand viewers. These rituals,
which were mainly practiced in the past, were primarily in animist regions to
call upon the higher powers to bring good rains, good health, and ward off bad
spirits. I enjoyed this festival especially since masks aren’t popular in my
region so it was my first true taste of this local practice.
A traditional mask from Burkina Faso
Representatives from either Togo or Benin.
Representatives from the Western Region of Burkina Faso.
5.
Potato Harvest: For the past three months,
some of my community members have been growing potatoes with the intention of
selling in bulk once harvested. Potatoes do well in my northern region so we
knew if the gardeners followed the proper procedures, all would turn out well. We
ran into a few unanticipated setbacks along the way. The land in our new garden
space has been fallowing for some time, so it isn’t as nutrient-rich as some
other plots. This, coupled with some gardeners who didn’t properly prepare or
apply their compost, resulted in a weak harvest for a few. Not to worry. The majority
of our gardeners produced solid amounts and will be able to take home some
profits. Needless to say, next year for our second attempt everyone will know
all of the necessary procedures for awesome potato production.
Mid-way through the harvest. It was a-lot of work, but since it was the "riib-daare" or the "day when we get food/money", our gardeners powered through.
We harvested little over 2 tons of potatoes. Pictured the morning before shipping them off a buyer we found in our regional capital.
6.
Animal Husbandry Trainings in Ramsa: My
two counterparts and I were excited to bring back the knowledge we gained and
share it with our community. We understood that animal husbandry trainings
would be beneficial to the entire community, not just our work organization. I
designed an information flyer and posted it around village. So far we’ve done 2
trainings. Chicken raising is by far the most popular in village, so that had
the largest turnout. Behind is sheep/goat fattening. Lastly is pig farming
(since my village is 98% Muslim, only the small Catholic community can raise
them). Without a doubt, the biggest highlight of the two day-long trainings
that we held was the performance of my counterpart. I had no idea how effective
he would be as a trainer. He translated the manual we received into Mooré and
simplified everything so that our villagers could better understand. I was also
pleased to see him take some of the training techniques that he observed during
the professional training that we attended. Asking their expectations at the
beginning, keeping them engaged, quizzing them throughout to see what they’ve
been retaining and having fun throughout. I aided him by occasionally adding my
two cents and drawing many pictures on the chalkboard of model chicken coups or
the animal feed recipes, but it was clearly him running the show. Our goal in
the coming year is to help these villagers now put what they learned into
practice.
It was during these trainings when I realized that even after I leave Ramsa, work will continue. My counterpart has been learning so much new information either from me or through trainings. It was clear then that he can effectively transmit this information to the village when Peace Corps no longer exists there.
My Counterpart talking about where our village chicken raising is currently, and where we would like to end-up eventually. The use of pictures was very important because we any written instructions wouldn't be understood.
Diving into chicken feed.
Chicken feed formula based on the age of the chicken. Primarily corn/sorghum powder mixed in with fish/soy powder for protein. Also, a small mineral mix to add other necessary elements.
Peace Corps'ing
It was during these trainings when I realized that even after I leave Ramsa, work will continue. My counterpart has been learning so much new information either from me or through trainings. It was clear then that he can effectively transmit this information to the village when Peace Corps no longer exists there.
Hot season is here… If you want to imagine what I’m
doing, I’m probably half-naked sitting in the shade trying to escape the sun.
And so is the rest of my village.
Until next time,