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A Good Article:

"....The Aurora Borealis could be seen as far East in front and as far West
behind the plane as the window would allow. We were at 32,000 feet above the
Atlantic Ocean between the US and Europe. Only God could speak into
existence such a beautiful thing.

The public health officer at the Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) airport asked
me for my yellow card as proof of a yellow fever vaccination. Since I did not
have one he said I must receive one for $11.00. I did not as there was no
vaccine in the fridge. I went to collect my two suitcases. No suitcases, either.
The computer said that one was in Dallas and the other one was in Brussels.
Welcome to West Africa. Lubbock, Dallas, Chicago, Brussels, Abidjan,
Bouake takes appproximately 35 hours of travel with 20 on an airplane and 5
on a bus. The bus ride was through beautiful country: pineapple, rubber
plantations, forest, and crops.

By this time, Barry Baggott had found me and we went to the hotel for the night.
The next morning we took the five hour bus ride to Bouake. I had arrived for a
three weeks stay at the Ecole d'Etudes Bibiques et Agricoles to teach the
students organic, biointensive, raised-bed gardening and farming. This can
double or triple the production on a farm. The students have to farm the land
that has been loaned to the school to produce vegetables and meat for
themselves and to sell to help support the school. They want to start meat
production with guinea pigs and rabbits. The school has the use of four plots:
land where the school will construct facilities which has springs for irrigation; a
very small area beside the rented church building; a small plot owned by a
non-member with springs for irrigation; and approximately ten acres about six
miles from the school owned by a member of the Church of Christ. Each
student has been loaned a bicycle to use personally and to ride to class and to
the farms to work. We had a welding shop build a bicycle trailer to use behind
any of the bicycles for transporting cargo, vegetables or whatever.

All of the students grew up on a farm and over half of the students are presently
farming in their villages. One came in early to be my translator (Francis). He
grows cacao (chocolate), corn and small amounts of other crops. He has
chickens. Several students grow upland rice. The school property already has
swamp rice growing which they will use. My first day with the students we had a
session in the classroom. Then the last day with them we went back to the
classroom to give more information, clear up any misunderstandings and let
them ask questions. One had previously done one or two of the things I taught
so that was a help.

The big farm is totally covered with brush. That is - grass, weeds, trees and
vines up to eight feet tall. I bought a machete and went to cut brush with them...."

It is the hardest farm work I have ever done. Normally, all this vegetation is
burned and I convinced them that it is their fertilizer. No burning, ever. They
must compost the materials or use it in the beds for mulch. We piled the brush
into rows and built a raised bed between the rows. After it composts, they will
go back and build a raised-bed where the row of brush is now.

The other times we were on the school property or the big farm hard at work
building raised-beds. I took with me 20 packets of seed from home. Most of
them the students had never heard of. They were very eager to make use of the
unfamiliar varieties of seeds. We planted the seeds as soon as a bed was
ready.

A young man who works for Barry asked me to visit his farm, a city lot, and tell
him how to improve it. Walking to and from it, six blocks, I pointed out all the
organic matter (grass, leaves, limbs) people had left out for the trach trucks to
pick up, but which could be composted to fertilize his soil. He later told Barry
that he never dreamed all that was free fertilizer and it was everywhere.

I wanted some velvet bean seeds to use for cover crops and/or intercropping.
We went to an agriculture research farm just outside Bouake. It took three trips
over four days to get them but we got 2 kilos of seed. Normally they do not give
out seed. Through a member of the church who works at the rice research farm,
we were able to get two other varieties of velvet beans. Francis and I went to
the oil mill to buy cottonseed meal to use as a nitrogen fertilizer on their crops.
The security guards said come back on Monday. Monday, we went back and
after passing through three security guard gates we were allowed to see the
man who could sell to us. He wanted to know how many tons we wanted to buy.
I told him we just wanted a sack full. He gave us the name of a dealer. We went
by the dealer and they said they had cottonseed meal. Since we were traveling
by taxi, we told them we would be back in Barry's car. When we went to buy it, it
seems that they do not have meal, they have only cake/cubes. We took it.

I ordered a number of free periodicals in English and in French and samples of
several others to be sent to the school. I left three copies in French and one
copy in English of the textbook I use. I have an extensive library and Barry is
translating three of the best articles into French for them and for me. I am
sending them a yoyo (weed cutter) which they had never heard of which will
make their weed cutting so much easier. The welding shop make a garden fork
and can make any tool they need. I will be sending a tool catalog to them so
they can make other tools to reduce the work involved. Africans farm with the
daba which is a short handle (18 inch) hoe/shovel and a machete. Both are
back killers. Most of the land in Africa must never have had a tractor used on it.
Farming in Africa is very different from our temperate climate farming.

I plan on more trips like this so I am preparing a case in which I will take
samples of various hand tools with me. I will have two handles (a short T-handle
and one long handle) which I can interchange among all the forks, rakes, hoes,
shovels, yo-yo, etc. We will just show the welder what we want made. Also, I will
take with me certain seed (non-hybrid) such as spaghetti squash and any
others I know they don't have. I telephoned a peanut grower in Portales, NM and
he sent them some Valencia Peanut seed.

Barry ordered a soil-cement brick machine ($100.00) to use to make brick for
the construction of the school class building and housing. Brick are made of the
soil from the ground at the building site and with 6 to 10% cement added. It is
equal to a fired brick. They make a durable, inexpensive building.

Barry was interested in introducing solar cookers to the people but I had
brought only a little info on them and no plans for making one. I had made one
at home and in the Dominican Republic. We tried making the new design from
a photo and it did not work but we used it to show people the principle. They
were really interested and I have sent plans for the box cooker and the new
panel cooker. It saves buying charcoal.

I introduced to them the idea of pitcher irrigation to produce a crop during the
dry season. An unglazed clay pot is buried up to it's neck in the garden. Plants
are planted around it and it is kept filled with water from a hose or stream. The
water seeps out directly to the roots. Metal or plastic can be used by punching
holes in each side.

My three weeks working with the students were the three most rewarding
weeks that I have had since returning to the USA after ten years abroad. What I
have taught them will enable them to be more productive and I told them that
their income will be much greater. They agreed. Their neighbors, seeing their
crops, will be coming around wanting to know more about the way they manage
their farms. These men can change the way farming is done in the Cote d'Ivoire
over the next several years for miles in every direction from their villages. The
big farm is on the main highway from Bouake to Abidjan which will be viewed
by thousands of people each day.