A Traveller’s Eye, A Thinker’s Heart
I like to tell stories. I like to take photos.
And I like to share them. Enjoy.
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RISE AND SHINE WITH COWPEA FLOUR
The members of the Rise and Shine multipurpose cooperative in a village near Buchanan, Liberia have been growing cowpeas for as long as they can remember. They eat the peas and the greens and may also use it to feed their livestock. But they have never used cowpeas as a substitute for wheat flour. Most wheat…
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IRON-TOLERANT RICE FOR LIBERIA
There are two types of rice. I’m not talking of basmati and jasmine and brown rice. There are two species of rice. The one most of us eat is Asian rice. The other is African rice. They’re both rice, but quite different genetically. In West Africa they plant both, but the African is the local.…
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MULTIPLYING COWPEA SEEDS IN LIBERIA
You may not think you know what cowpeas are but by another name they may sound familiar. It’s thought the slave ships that departed from West Africa for three centuries carried not only slaves but also cowpea seeds. Some say the slaves brought that which is dearest to them and hid cowpea seeds in their…
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PLANTING RICE IN STRAIGHT ROWS IN SIERRA LEONE
Most farmers in Sierra Leone plant their rice by broadcasting seed randomly into a paddy. They can plant a paddy pretty quickly that way, but they aren’t rewarded with great yields. Scientists at the Rokupt Research Centre have taught members of a cooperative near Kambia how to plant in straight lines. They first grow out…
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BIOCHAR FOR TOGO
The soils around the village of Atti-Apedokoe in Togo no longer produce yields like they used to. They’ve become degraded and are gradually becoming more saline. But the villagers generate lots of organic waste. So, the Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture taught the locals how to make biochar.…
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CROSSING THE GAMBIA
The Gambia is pretty much The Gambia. Or rather the country known as The Gambia pretty much is comprised of The Gambia River and 20 klicks or so on either bank. The Gambia is the smallest country of mainland Africa and is surrounded on three sides by Senegal. The two main highways on the north…
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CELEBRATING THE RICE PLANTING
In Sierra Leone a group from the local cooperative showed me how they are now transplanting their rice seedlings in straight rows, rather than randomly broadcasting the seed. After toiling under hot and humid conditions for several hours they still had the energy to show me their musical talents as well.
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GROW YOUR OWN SEEDS IN THE GAMBIA
For most of us if we need seeds we pop into the local nursery and for a relatively small fee we can get any sort of high performing seeds. But it’s not so easy for smallholder farmers around the world. Seeds of improved varieties may not be available and if they are they can’t afford…
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BETTER PORRIDGE FOR THE GAMBIA
The people of The Gambia like to start their day with a bowl of porridge, which they call ‘mono’ in their local Mandinga language. But the processed porridge they buy in the market isn’t very nutritious. Members of a farming cooperative from the village of Jahaur, which is about half way up the country on…
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