Two quick notes before I get too far:
1. Check out the new Goodreads section on the right side of the blog. If for some reason you were interested in what I've been reading while in Mali, there you go!
2. We've been having problems at the post office recently...many of our packages have been opened and have had materials stolen from them before they reach Kita. If you send a package, please tape it such that it is difficult for me to open. I've also heard that writing Bible verses or religious symbols on the package can keep it from getting opened. Worth a try I guess.
Alright, what have I been doing the last month? I have completed my first true "project" as a Peace Corps Volunteer. At the beginning of May, I received small project assistance (SPA) funds from the Peace Corps to hold a training about the production of high quality shea butter at my site. While the logistics of the training (and getting straight answers from our trainers) were a bit of a pain to organize, the training seemed to be a success. 5 women and 1 man were invited from each of 4 different villages. With a few people added here and there, 31 people participated in the training. During the first day, the trainer discussed how to produce high quality shea butter starting with the gathering of nuts and ending with going to the market to sell shea butter. As I have mentioned in a previous blog post, if women are able to produce high quality shea butter, they are more likely to sell their product for a high price. They may even be able to sell their product in an international market. But, since international market standards are so high, shea butter must be produced following strict guidelines. Many of the practices we discussed are relatively simple, and do not require a big jump from how women in my village currently produce shea butter. This means that creating a high quality shea butter is well within the reach of the women producing shea at my site. Here is a picture of the women gathered together for the training:
Here is a picture of our trainer, Oumou, using pictures to describe good shea butter practices during the training:
During the second day of the formation, the women made shea butter following the practices they had learned the day before. Oumou closed the training by talking about how associations should be run, and how the women can improve their association. Many women remarked that they had learned a lot, and hoped we could hold similar trainings in the future. As we enter the rainy season in Mali, shea fruit is beginning to ripen. I will be excited to see the women who attended the training implement the practices they learned. Here is several women making shea butter on day 2 of the training:
All of the women involved in the training gathered together:
The weekend following the shea training, Mama, a Peace Corps employee, came out from Bamako as part of our PC Food Security project. Mama helped my homologue (work partner) and I to conduct several meetings with both the Women's Association and Men's Animal Raiser's Associtaion at my site. We used a process called PACA, or Participatory Analysis for Community Action (see the Peace Corps PACA manual here). Rather than simply asking community members what they want, PACA begins with appreciative inquiry and community assessment activities. The idea is to encourage community members to recognize all of the resouces that they have in their community (health clinic, schools, mayor's office, water pumps, grinding machines, mosques, market, etc.) and to recognize that they are already participating in many work activities that they can be proud of (producing shea butter, selling meat, selling produce from the women's garden, etc.). Ideally, this would turn the focus of the meetings from "We need this, we need that, we have nothing, we have no money..." to "What resources can we use within our community to improve our situation, and what outside help would be most useful and most likely be successful in helping us to improve our livelihood?" Here are several pictures of bott the men's and women's groups working on drawing a map of their community in the sand. They identified all of the major buildings and resources available to them within the village:
The meetings seemed very successful. Mama encouraged myself and my homologue to lead a large portion of the meetings, which instilled us with confidence that we can complete similar meetings on our own in the future. While I know these meetings were just the beginning of many conversations that will be had with these two groups in the community, we were able to identify initial project priorities for the two groups. The women would like help to improve the wells in their community garden (the wells currently collapse each rainy season, and most have dried up during the hot season). The animal raiser's would like help in starting a bank for animal fodder in the village. I will let you know how these projects proceed (or don't) in the future. These meetings were a great way for me to continue to understand my community. I wish that this could be available for every Peace Corps Volunteer, but earlier in their services (I'm almost 9 months in!). PACA is a great tool, though can be very intimidating during your first few months of service. With the help of a Malian PC employee who both understands the language and culture of my community, we were able to complete PACA much more successfully than I might have been able to do alone with my homologue.
Alright, I'm headed back to site, I'll try to write that entry about weddings during the next couple of weeks!
