Update: Promoting Food Security

  One of my goals in coming to Mali was to develop a more “real” understanding of food insecurity, a subject that I have studied extensively in the classroom both in my undergraduate and graduate programs. Certainly it is one thing to know that the three pillars of food security are availability, accessibility, and utilization, and quite another to wonder where you’ll find your weekly supply of vegetables or why Malians think that a full belly is a nourished one. Building on this improved understanding of food insecurity is a strong desire to do something about it, and so much of my time in Mali thus far has been focused on promoting food security. However, for whatever reason, I have not mentioned much of this work on the blog, so without further ado…

Masters Thesis – Though it’s been a while since I mentioned it, some may recall that I am a Masters International PCV. This program enables people to start their graduate degree for one year in the States and then complete their program in the Peace Corps by writing their thesis (or equivalent) while serving. As a current Masters student in agricultural economics from Michigan State University, I have had the opportunity to tap into research already being done by my professors in Mali. Currently, one project is looking at the relationship between cotton and cereal production, an important topic in a country whose second top export is cotton. To build off of its quantitative findings, I will conducting a similar survey in my own village (Kongodugu) and following it up with focus group discussions with farmers in Bambara. This work will hopefully help to inform Malian policymakers with how to best address current problems with food insecurity and instability in the cotton industry.

Food Security Task Force – Peace Corps itself also has a Food Security program, which is supported by a training budget and a small staff. To help improve the program, a volunteer-led task force has been established to meet periodically and provide feedback. In December, the task force held its leadership election, and I was fortunate enough to snag the top spot, a position lovingly labeled “Food Security Czar.” Since then I have met twice with the task force and, after much deliberation, we have pushed forward various previous to Peace Corps staff including how to equip volunteers with practical resources to help them train their villages on food security related activities.

FS-CAT – Moreover, I just recently completed the Food Security Community Assessment Tool, which will be given to the newest round of PCVs. The tool will help volunteers assess available resources in their village and help them determine which particular aspects of food security are their village’s strengths or weaknesses. The FS-CAT will also help link volunteers to some of the practical resources the task force is pushing forward. I will be presenting the FS-CAT to the PCVs next week in Bamako, so hopefully it goes over well.

Village Work – Lastly, in all the work that we do in our village, we keep food security in mind. This is not difficult since, as we learned from our PACA meetings, Malian’s daily and seasonal calendars are based around farming and eating food. Thus, a huge variety of projects and activities can be food security focused. Topics like gardening and composting can improve food production while others, such as nutritional foods and hand-washing with soap, can improve food consumption. We have also talked about it specifically on our radio show.

So even though none of this work sounds particularly exciting, it occupies too much of my time to simply not be mentioned in this blog. Hopefully, I will try to be more vigilant about updating y’all on continuing this food security work in the future. :) Thanks for reading.

-James

Update: PACA & Community Priorities

As Jim mentioned in a previous post, we recently held two 2-day PACA meetings  in Kongodugu and Duguba in order to help the village choose development priorities, aka reasonable goals and projects that could be completed in the next few years. James’s meeting consisted of many educated “functionaires” very accustomed to shiny NGO meetings. This meant that these well-educated Malians who were already leaders in this larger town had a LOT of ideas about how to improve the town and the challenge was to reconcile the differences and help different groups of people agree to work together.

 

Participants split into groups based on gender and age and developed a daily calendar, seasonal work schedule, community map, and priorities which fit their group. Food Security was one of the main topics of discussion and everyone agreed that it was something they wanted to work toward in Duguba. Then, the Malian Peace Corps trainer brought everyone together and helped them to combine and  rank their collective priorities, and start thinking about an action plan for making improvements to the community, all this while keeping the crowds attention and energy up with stories and jokes that only a Malian could pull off. After extensive discussion and voting, Duguba decided that food transformation, microfinance, education, and gardening would be its top priorities. Therefore, in the past two weeks Jim has started talking to the women’s association about solar drying fruits and vegetables and hopes to organize a training in the near future.

 

Doing PACA in Kongodugu was a horse of a different color. We started by drawing a community map. However, since only about 10 % of the people at the meeting were literate this could have been a very intimidating exercise for them. Instead, the Peace Corps trainer adopted the training to their needs. We gathered leaves, ash, and rocks, and made a map of our village by drawing every landmark in the dirt and labeling them with little pieces of paper.  I helped people write their names down and place their houses on the map. We used the map as a springboard into topics such as why open defecation is bad, how drinking water gets contaminated, washing hands with soap, etc.

 

On day two in Kongodugu, we split into groups of men, women, and youth to discuss village priorities for development. It was amazing to see the women get involved. Three of the 15 women had started literacy classes only last year, so they helped their group slowly make a list of changes they wanted to see take place. Still, it was easy to see that the women and the youth were thrilled to have a voice in village life, a place traditionally reserved for older men.  Each group presented their list and after much discussion and voting led by the Peace Corps trainer, we decided that fixing the old broken water pumps, farming equipment, improving women’s handicrafts (shea butter, cloth dying), and education would be our focus.

The success of these meetings has led to a whirlwind of activity in the last few weeks as people are finally excited and motivated to get started on some of these priorities.  Therefore, last week, we found a blacksmith who knows how to fix pumps, obtained a diagnosis of the problems, got a quote on purchasing new parts, and met with the village chief to explain what needs to happen if the village wants to move forward.  The big challenge now is to see if the village can raise the relatively expensive sum of money to serve as Peace Corps’ required community contribution. If so, we plan on submitting a grant proposal to Peace Corps and following through on the project.

 

 

~Joye (and James)

Update: On The Air

“An lamenbagaw mandi, Aw ni su. Aw ka kene? Somogow don?”

So begins every program of the Achata & Numujo radio show here in rural Mali. Now into our second week, Joye and I have successfully aired four half-hour radio shows. Every Thursday night, Joye (Achata) leads the discussion on health and education, and every Sunday night, I (Numujo) lead the discussion on environmental protection. For example, last week Joye taught me about germs and hand-washing with soap, while I taught her about how to start a successful compost pile. Moreover, during the show, we play some American tunes and talk in a way that promotes the values of equality and affection in a marriage. Thus far, the reviews have been extremely positive. Throughout the radio’s broadcasting area, we are constantly stopped and complemented on our Bambara, and it is not uncommon to hear people repeat memorized segments of the show that they found particular humorous. While a lot of work to record two half-hour shows in Bambara every week, this encouragement has convinced us that this will be meaningful and promising work going forward, which is a tremendous blessing.

We have also been keeping busy in these last few weeks planning and completing our village’s PACA (Participatory Analysis for Community Assessment) meeting. In short, PACA brings together a diverse set of community members to discuss village strengths and then what villagers themselves can do to help improve their situation. In a culture where only old men make community decisions by appealing to NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) for money, this is a very different way of community organizing. In PACA, old men, old women, and youth are all represented, which often means that a different set of village development priorities emerges. For example, old men never are sent to go fetch water, so why would working pumps be a priority for them?

To organize the meeting, we had to invite key community leaders, who in turn invited larger groups of people. For myself, who works in Duguba (15kms away), this was particularly difficult since it involved multiple trips back and forth. We also to provide snacks to participants since the meeting went from 8am to 1pm, which was another fiasco, particularly in Duguba where they are used to NGOs providing large meals after every formation. Lastly, we had to organize with a Peace Corps trainer to come in to lead the meeting, which was challenging, but worth it, since as a Malian he was able to say things we could not because of both language and cultural barriers (ie. So if you don’t wash your hands after the bathroom, and then you eat lunch, what are you really eating? Poop!). At the end of both meetings, the villagers collectively selected and ranked a set of development priorities which we will now work with them on to complete. For Duguba, the 1^st priorities was food transformation activities, and for Kongodugu (where we live), it was fixing the broken down pumps in town. These are great footholds for where to guide our work.

Furthermore, this month saw the continuation of a few things we have already reported on. I continue to help the tailors in Duguba organize their cooperative and set reasonable goals for buying new machinery, and Joye continues to teach weekly health lessons to a community school. She has already successfully taught them how to build a hand-washing station and make a cheap oral rehydration drink that will help their families fight against the number one killer of small children here – diarrhea.

Lastly, to end on a positive note, this month we made a couple improvements to our living situation. Since hot season is quickly approaching, we bought a small wooden bed that we have started using to sleep outside underneath our thatch hangar, which has significantly improved the quality of our sleep. Also, we were graciously given a banana tree, which we planted near our house and surrounded by mud bricks to protect from the donkeys. With a lot of water, and a little luck, we should have bananas in about six months! Still waiting on a compound wall and a roof for our magazine, but we are hopeful that they will come soon.

Thank you for reading and your continual thoughts and prayers! Have a great day!

-James (& Joye)

Culture: Malian Fashion & Clothing

As a predominantly Muslim country, Malian clothing is often considered very conservative by western standards. However, relative to many other Islamic countries, the mode of dress here is very loud and expressive.  Markets are filled with brightly colored cloth and people take great pride in their clothing and appearance, so much so that if you tell someone you would like to take their picture, they often will ask to change clothes first! 

Ready made outfits are generally not sold and people buy fabric instead to take to their local tailor. So the first challenge in creating a Malian outfit is finding the right design, amount, and quality of fabric. First, there are 3 qualities/types of fabric : fancy, vacksy, and bazin. (in increasing order by price). So its important to know what you want beforehand so you can bargain with the vendor.  Bazin is often worn by the “big-shots” from Bamako but only for very important holidays for rural villagers. Most rural villagers settle on making a nice outfit made   out of a brightly colored vacksy, and those who are low on cash settle for fancy. To the left, our 2 favorite  Woso (fried sweet potato) ladies model Bazin and Vacksy outfits :)

Next, once you’ve settled on what you would like made with the fabric, you bring it to your tailor and explain. Do you want embroidery? a zipper in the back? a lining? Thats all going to cost extra. You chat and bargain over the price and once you’ve come to an agreement, you get measured and you’ll have a finished outfit within the next week. 

But what do people order at the tailor?

Women wear long wrap-skirts known in french as pagnes. This is basically a 2m x 1m piece of fabric tied around the waist. Only rarely and only in big cities have I seen Malian women in pants. In general, it’s simply not done here. Still, I get away with wearing pants in my village when I’m doing manuel labor or riding my bike because I’ve explained to my neighbors that I simply don’t know how to do those things in a skirt. The pagne is usually accompanied with a matching shirt made from the same material. Often shirts are long and loose, covering the shoulders.  However, the younger generation is starting to wear more western looking designs, like spaghetti straps, etc.  Women also wear bright colored head wraps, required if you are married. However, though I cover my head for very formal ceremonies, I’ve decided to pull the “tubabu” card in this area because its too hot to keep a head wrap on all the time! 

There are a few rules that are too essential to leave out :

Rule #1: Cover your knees. This is so important! If a woman takes off her shirt to breastfeed her child in public, people won’t even take notice. But if she shows her knees, everyone gets very uncomfortable.

Rule #2: Tie your skirt on the left side of your body. Only prostitutes tie on the right side as a way of advertising.

For men, the wardrobe is much more western. Men wear long cotton pants (never shorts except for playing soccer) and a collared shirt, often made of a Malian fabric. Formal wear for men is a long flowing Boubou (imagine a shirt that extends to your ankles)  and matching pants. Older men will often add a small prayer cap for extra style points.

One thing that  many Americans don’t realize is that a huge amount of our second hand clothes get flown to developing countries and are sold in local markets. They’re known as the “dead tubab” clothes because before they knew better, people thought the clothes came from white people who had died. Who else would have so much to give away? Now, whenever a word is misspelled or a shirt is printed upside down, they send the leftovers to developing countries like Mali. We often laugh when we see arrogant teenagers striding around in an Avril Lavigne or Madonna tshirt. Our previous host mother constantly wore a shirt advertising Ice Cream Sundaes for a local shop— torture in a place where you can’t get Ice Cream! The other day we even rode our bikes past a man wearing a University of Michigan jacket. It is very common to see these “dead tubab” clothes being mixed and matched with traditional clothing.  Our favorite example of this is a tiny little 7 year old next door who wears this huge coat when the temperature dips below 70 degrees F :) Adorable.

 

~Joye (and James)

Culture: Joking Cousins

Malian oral tradition tells of a wise king who ruled centuries ago during a time of widespread tribal conflict. Before his kingdom tore itself to pieces, the ruler had to think of way to stop the bloodshed while still allowing some outlet for ethnic tensions (a crucial element to peace-building that is often overlooked today). The king’s solution was an unusual one, but it seems to have worked. He declared that rival tribes become “joking cousins,” and that they had full permission to tease each other in a non-personal and non-threatening way.

Today, the concept of “joking cousins” is still very much alive. In fact, this blog post is long overdue, as it is a Malian cultural oddity that we experience on a daily basis. However, we have prolonged posting about it because the idea of a “joking cousin” is extremely foreign to Americans, and thus, can be difficult to fully explain. The basic concept is this: every family name has a set of other family names (former rival tribes) which they are explicitly supposed to make fun of for no other reason than it’s funny.

So, for cultural integration purposes, it is critical that each Peace Corps volunteer adopts a Malian family name and participates in the “joking cousins” game. Despite being married, Joye and I have different family names - both adopted our homestay families during training – which is okay here since women do not typically change their last name after marriage. Therefore, my last name, and not Joye’s last name, is Traore (Tra-or-ay), which has two major joking cousins: the Diarra (Jar-ra) and the Kone (Kon-ay). Therefore, whenever I meet either of these two, even for – or especially for – the first time, we will immediately start making fun of each other. It does not matter if the individual is a very respected elder, a merchant, or a young baby, there is full disclosure to tease, though certain insults are more common and appropriate than others.

When we first arrived, we were surprised by how childish some of the insults were, but after a while, we too began to think they were funny. For example, bean jokes are the most popular, and yes, they are funny for the same reason they are funny in the States. Simply telling people that they eat beans or farm beans is considered a low blow, though sometimes the jokes can get creative, like “even people in America know that Diarras like beans.”  However, never tell someone that their mom eats beans; I learned the hard way that that crosses the line. :)

Some other common insults simply cut down a person’s character, such as you’re bad, you’re mean, you’re stupid, you’re head is broken, and you’re the worst. And then you a few other classics, like you eat dog, you are a dog, you drink toilet water, and you speak donkey language. Lastly, it is not unusual to hear this little number - you’re my slave - though we haven’t quite found the nerve to try this one yet.

Other insults are saved for particular family names, and unlike the generic jokes listed above, these are more the type that we Americans might consider racial slurs. Joye’s adopted family name is a priceless example of this: Samake (Sa-ma-kay), which literally means “elephant man.” Therefore, Joye is constantly teased for being a big fat elephant woman. Thankfully, she doesn’t take it personally. Other examples include the Keita (Kay-tah) family, which are teased for being peanut farmers - think Jimmy Carter - and the Fulani peoples, who are known as the cow herders and milk sellers. However, most unfortunate is the Coulibaly (Koo-li-bah-lee) family, who can be teased by anyone. In fact, just calling someone “a Coulibaly” is an insult or a comic way of meeting someone for the first time.

Understanding and participating in “joking cousins” has done wonders for our cultural integration. It has helped us make instant friends with Traores and Samakes and sparked lively conversation with all of our rivals. Furthermore, it comes in handy when bargaining (“That’s too expensive you Coulibaly bean-eater!”), and is a great way to diffuse a tense situation into genuine laughter. There is nothing quite like in the States, but Mali couldn’t live without their “joking cousins.”

-James (& Joye)