Fertile Ground

Thursday June 3rd 2010

Akpafu Odomi is a charming mountain side community, approximately 2000 individuals in size, in the heart of the Volta region. Because of its geographic location, it is blessed with both fertile soils and heavy rains. Community members harvest rice, maize, cassava, cocoa, groundnuts, banana, oranges, grapefruit, coconut, and various types of vegetables. During my stay, I was able to join farmers in going to the field nearly everyday. During the first two days, I worked closely with a rice farmer named Charlotte.

It all started with an invitation to visit the community’s nearby rice plot. Early in the morning, we made our way from Charlotte’s home to the rice field, following a winding dirt path through the forest. She assured me that the field was nearby, yet I was surprised to see that the field, a 40 minute walk from her home, fell into the ‘nearby’ category.

Once we arrived, Charlotte insisted that I stand at the edge of the field. She was under the impression that I should just look at the field— not actually do any work. Of course, I was under the impression that I hadn’t just walked 40 minutes in the beating sun to get a visual on a +5 acre rice field.

I was frustrated that I had inadvertently wasted Charlotte’s time, and also that my interest in farming wasn’t being taken seriously. Charlotte was very against me farming– she thought the idea was ridiculous and that I was crazy for wanting to participate. I insisted that I join her on the next occasion that she would be farming, and after some debate, I was able to convince her that I was in fact willing and able to help.

The next day we again made our 40 minute trek to the field. Little did I know that our outing was about to become a memorable adventure. Less than 10 minutes after arriving, the skies opened up and we were greeted by a full on African rainstorm. My clothes felt instantly soaked. Charlotte cut down a huge banana leaf that I used as a makeshift umbrella, and not wanting to appear like too much of a whimp, I agreed to continue on with what we had set out to accomplish. In moments like this one– walking along the shoulder of a bumpy Ghanaian back road in a torrential downpour, in size too large rubber boots, with a banana leaf umbrella, life strikes the perfect balance of hilarious and challenging.

The valley where the rice is planted is very swampy– great for a high yield, not so hot for human locomotion. Wading through the swamp, with each step your foot is immersed in thick clay-like mud that requires a few shimmies before being set free. At first I was all smiles, laughing with Charlotte as we made our way through the mud. Gradually though, as the novelty of the mud wore off, I realized that it was zapping all of my energy– it took a lot of effort to move through the swampy environment and I quickly became tired. Combined with the constant threat of falling on your bottom, travelling through rice fields is both an exhilarating and exhausting experience.

I was quite relieved when we reached our desired location and we were able to take a break from moving. The break was short-lived, though, as Charlotte began transplanting the seedlings and weeding the field simultaneously. Because I was just learning the ropes, I stuck with transplanting the rice. This was quite straightforward: grab a seedling, dig a small hole in the mud with your finger, and insert the roots. I learned that it’s all about the spacing– neat and tidy rows with evenly spaced stalks. I thought I had it in the bag, only to notice at later inspection that my lines were totally askew. Regardless, I was very proud of my work at the end of the day.

Charlotte is pushing for change in her farming community. She’s setting an innovative example by taking the risk to plant a new variety of rice seed, and by experimenting with her farming techniques. She is a smart, resilient woman who has the best interest of her family always at the forefront of her mind. It takes only moments to realize that she has an incredible work ethic and is tough as nails. Between taking care of her growing family, planting and harvesting rice three times a year, farming cassava, and acting as treasurer of her church, I left Akpafu Odomi exhausted after just a small glimpse into her life. To say that she inspired me during my stay would be quite an understatement.

Thanks for reading,

Erin

Eyes Wide Open

Tuesday May 11th 2010

I’ve been in Accra for approximately 48 hours. In that small amount of time, I’ve said goodbye to 15 beautiful JFs heading to Tamale, had a crash course in the Ghanaian language Twi, visited the busy Madina Market on my own, and spent a day at the ACDI/VOCA ADVANCE office in Accra.

Ghana is very different from Canada.  The air is dense and hot, and the pace of life is quite fast– taxis are zooming around, narrowly avoiding accidents, and using their horns quite liberally as a means of communication. There are tons of noises and smells wafting around me that I’m not used to, and I’m getting way more attention than I feel comfortable with. Thankfully, people are very friendly and willing to help me out when I have questions.

Navigating Madina Market on my first full day in country was no small challenge. In the spirit of pushing my comfort zone, I was dropped off at the entrance to the market by my coach, given a list of incidental items to look for, and was on my way. Some of the vendors I interacted with included a woman and her daughter at their vegetable stand, three women selling fabric, a family run shoe shop, and a small hybrid stand both offering haircuts and selling phone units. Along the way, I ran into quite a few people dancing and celebrating, heard a lot of people calling me obruni (white person), and was hissed at several times. Some of the most surprising sights included several bowls filled with tiny crabs crawling around, large chunks of meat/ animal hide being periodically doused with water, and the incredible amount of imported rice being sold everywhere. Most of the rice seems to be imported from Thailand, China, and the US.  Overall the market was a positive experience and I’m looking forward to heading back sometime soon.

This week I am spending most of my days being introduced to the ADVANCE team in Accra, and working with my coach and her colleagues to learn more about market facilitation, knowledge management, and systems thinking. This is allowing for my thinking to become more sophisticated, and I’m really enjoying the challenge. Overall I think that what I’m learning for my in-country training will allow me to be a better detective during my placement. As a bonus, the ADVANCE office is beautiful, and is likewise filled with lots of lovely people!

My true placement begins on Thursday. I’ll be based out of Hohoe district in the Volta region working with ASRuD. ASRuD is currently involved in 5 value chains: rice, maize, soya, pineapple, and mango. On Thursday I’ll travel to Ho to visit the ASRuD regional office, and to meet a few of their managers.  On Friday I’ll then head to Hohoe to meet my counterpart Benedictus and begin the 2nd stage of my  placement. Over the weekend I’ll be setup with a place to stay and settle into life in Hohoe.  Stay tuned for more posts on how things pan out for me in the Volta region!

Thanks for reading,

Erin

Note: I’m gradually updating my Flickr site with pictures, so be sure to check out the images at the bottom of this page!

Placement Logistics

A quick introduction to what I’ll be working on in Ghana:

I’ll be contributing to EWB’s Agriculture Value Chains (AVC) team by working on ACDI/VOCA’s  ADVANCE project, in partnership with a local NGO called Associates for Sustainable Rural Development (ASRuD).

The Ghana Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) Project  exists to increase the competitiveness of various value chain commodities in Ghana, as well as to provide technical assistance and training to value chain actors, such as farmers, processors, and aggregators.

ASRuD is currently partnered with the ADVANCE project, and is attempting to implement a value chain approach at the field level.  My work will be to analyze what is and isn’t working at ASRuD, and help ADVANCE staff design appropriate interventions to make communication between the two more effective.

I’ll be spending approximately 4 months in Ghana (May – August 2010) and will be living in the beautiful Volta region.

Hope you have a better idea of what I’ll be up to this summer.

Thanks for reading,

Erin