Look At This
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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.
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