We are happy to have had another successful year! We had 3,000 participants this year!
This year’s main goal was to focus on increasing the quality of the project models we offer, especially with respect to sustainability.
Our mission is to use sustainable agriculture to enable communities of Burkinabe women to build independence and resilience. That is why we continued to focus on community gardens this year. Community gardens allow Burkinabe women to come together to work on a common project, which creates a support network and empowers women in the long run. Last year we built wells in order to provide the community gardens with an ample source of water. Unfortunately, wells are very expensive and are not the most sustainable solution. Therefore, we tried something new this year. We planted mango trees in the community gardens. This means that the trees slowly make the soil they are planted in more fertile and allow vegetables to grow more efficiently and sustainably on the soil below them. Furthermore, the trees provide an additional source of food, shade, and income from selling the surplus of mangos.
We still believe that our individual garden model is powerful because it allows women to improve their life using existing land and without requiring huge investments. The biggest drawback to this model is that small vegetable gardens require quite a bit of work and fertile soil. So, planting trees near individual homes could be a sustainable alternative to vegetable gardens. Mango trees provide the same benefits as vegetable gardens – they provide food and a source of income that belongs to the woman (not the man). They provide the additional benefit of being a long term source of food/income, providing shade, and, perhaps most importantly, fertilizing the soil and reducing desertification.
We are proud to say that we planted 500 trees this year!
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