The Gambia Analysis And Interpretation

Below are case studies for each of the projects visited, drawn together from the information provided in the interviews with the women.

Old Jeshwang

This project was set up without funding from the Gambian authorities or NGOs. The owner of an abandoned farm has given local women permission to use his land. Each of the women raised their own start-up capital, mainly through loans. The project is not run as a co-operative - each of the women keeps all of the profit which she makes. Approximately 30-40 women work at this site.

Each of the women has 5 raised beds measuring approximately 2m x 2m. They use one as a nursery bed, and 2 wells are shared between 4 women. To begin cultivation the women bought seeds from farmers and at the markets, but they now use seeds from their harvested crops to reduce costs. Crops grown during the dry season include onions, aubergine, bitter tomatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, water melon, hibiscus, peppers and cassava. Rice is grown during the wet season.

The women use the elephant grass, which they clear following the rice harvest as a free mulch. They would prefer to use peanut shells, as these also act as a fertilizer, but this would incur delivery costs. Some fertilizer in the form of peanut shells, cow and chicken dung, is used but with reluctance due to the cost.

Approximately one quarter of their produce is for their own consumption and the rest is sold at Serekunda market. The money they raise is used to buy fish, meat and rice to supplement their diet and to pay rent and school fees. Their profits also have to cover the cost of replacing tools and carrying out repairs.

Bakau

This project is run as a co-operative and is much larger than the site at Old Jeshwang. It was set up in 1984 with funding from Canadian NGOs who paid for wells to be dug, installed a number of concrete wells and provided seeds and tools. The NGOs were involved in funding for the first three or four years but now the project is self-sustaining. 500 women work at this location; each has ten beds measuring approximately 1m x 6m. There are 400 wells at the site but only 300 of them were useable. The cost to repair each well is 700 dalasi.

The co-operative is overseen by a council of the elder women at the project. Each woman is expected to work from 7am until 7pm seven days per week on her plot. If she is unable to attend she is expected to send someone else to work on her plot. There is no initial membership fee and they do not have to contribute a percentage of their earnings. However, when any of the women has a 'programme', such as a naming ceremony or wedding, each of the women is expected to contribute a fixed amount, usually around 50 dalasi, to pay for it.

During the dry season crops grown include tomatoes, aubergine, cucumber, carrots, peppers and spring onions. During the wet season, rice, maize and couscous are grown. The women generally employ a mixed farming method so that they have crops to harvest throughout the year. The women consume approximately 90 per cent of their produce, selling the remainder either directly at the market in Bakau or to middlemen who come to the site. In the case of the middlemen, the women fix the price of each crop for everyone in the co-operative to prevent competition between members. During the dry season cabbages are also grown for sale, through middlemen, to hotels for staff meals.

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