During the end of November and the start of December, a few of us volunteers in Kedougou embarked on a couple trips around the region to do cashew trainings. These three trainings were follow-up for the cashew trainings we conducted in June. With the growing season over, we wanted to gather everyone who planted cashews this year or has existing cashew trees to form a growers' association (or group) in each of the three locations.
The goals of the growers' associations are to make sure people who have cashews know one another so that they can ask questions of one another, get seeds from each other, and eventually (about 5 years in the future when trees start to produce a lot of nuts) sell cashews together. Currently there are no major cashew producers in Kedougou, but a lot of people are starting to plant the trees. The climate in most parts of Kedougou is great for cashew production, so the region has the potential to generate lots of economic activity with cashew sales in the future.
My friend Eric and I attended all three trainings, biking to each one. Other volunteers nearby attended and/or helped run the events. We first went out to a Pulaar area west of Kedougou, then went to another Pulaar area south of the city. After the new agriculture and agroforestry volunteers were installed in their sites during the first week of December, we went out to Diakhanke country northeast of Kedougou.
Other than the trainings, the highlight of the trip was the 86km, 8-hour bike ride into Kedougou from my friend Andrew's site. The first half of the ride took us on rocky bush paths through Dialunke villages (Dialunke is a local language that Peace Corps does not teach), then we popped out of the forest onto a dirt road in Pulaar territory for the last 43km. Though riding through the forest was very slow (rocky, gravely, sandy), the bush path was beautiful. In total, we both biked more than 400km during the three weeks that we conducted these trainings. About half of this riding was on dirt roads, one third on bush paths, and the remainder on pavement.
Below are some pictures from the trainings and the biking:
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| Waiting for one more person to come for the group picture at the first cashew training |
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| Now that everyone has arrived for the picture, the Americans are almost the only ones looking at the camera. The woman in the back in the white shirt and purple head wrap is from my village |
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| Eric (in the bright green shirt) leading our second cashew training |
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| Me leading the Diakhanke cashew training (the third and final training) |
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| The Master Farmer talking at the training |
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| A good shot of my braided hair |
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| Every event in Senegal must have a tea maker |
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| At the cashew training |
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| The sport pants boys. This type of pants (sport pants) is probably the most-worn type of pants by men aged 20-35 in Kedougou. I was the most recent to realize their extreme comfort and versiaility |
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| Sleeping on Andrew's floor. Eric said I look like a vampire here |
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| Andrew, Eric, and me on our bike ride into Kedougou from Andrew's site |
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| Eric and me crossing the river on the way into Kedougou. The canoe in the foreground is used to ferry people (and bikes) across during the rainy season when the river floods |
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| The boat |
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| Almost across the river |
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| Andrew carrying his bike across |
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| After the 86km , 8-hour ride in from Andrew's site |
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