Microgardening & Microlending

Part of our trip involves doing a short internship in a field of interest to us. We have groups doing healthcare, art, music & dance, education, and women’s issues. The obvious choice for me would be healthcare, which I love, but already devote the majority of my life too. So instead I am focusing on women’s issues, another big interest of mine. 

Next week (Mon-Wed), my group will intern at the Association des femmes Juristes, an organization that provides free legal help to women pursuing issues of divorce, domestic abuse, etc. I think it will be a great learning experience as I have many questions about the rights of women in this country. This afternoon we spent a few hours at an urban agricultural site that utilizes a concept called “microgardening.” The organization takes empty spaces in the city and turns them into a support system for low-income women living on the outskirts of Dakar. It was amazing to see such green in the midst of city life.

The plants are grown on these table structures, and crops with quick turnaround time (about a month) are chosen to maximize productivity. We saw heads of lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, and mint being cultivated.

When a woman is chosen to participate in the program, she is given 4 tables to plant as she pleases, along with the seeds, tools, fertilizers, and training she will need to be successful. The entire project is fully funded by local and overseas organizations so women do not have to pay any start-up costs. The vegetables a woman grows can either be brought home to her family or sold as extra income. It seems there is potential to make quite a bit of money too (at least by standards here):

1 head of lettuce = 500 CFA ($1) x 25 per table = $25 per month

1 bell pepper = 125 CFA ($0.25) x 3 per plant x 25 per table = $18.75 per 3 weeks

1 table of mint = $40 per week

Mint is very popular here because of its use in tea. With growth time of about a week, it has the potential to bring in several thousand dollars of income a year.

The money is exciting, but the project is much more than just a business. It creates a community of strong women who are able to support and help each other.  They learn about financial responsibility and investment.  Although their seeds and tables are always provided for, they are asked to chip in with the monthly water bill. It gives these women an opportunity, a chance to obtain a specialized skill and something they can strive for success in. Women who do exceptionally well are asked to train the new members as they are accepted. The garden we visited currently “houses” the gardens of 8 people, but more such gardens exist around the city. I think as long as funding is available, this project will only continue to expand and benefit women. Our guide was actually the only man who participates in the project. He works as a guard at a bank across the street. In exchange for watching the garden, he was given 4 tables of his own.

This project seems to be an extension of the concept of microlending (microfinance). Microlending was a revolutionary idea by Dr. Mohammad Yunnus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for it in 2006. It involves extending small amounts of money ($100-$1000) to groups of women, just enough capital to allow them to start a small business. The women keep meticulous records of how much money each member in the group has received and hold each other accountable to eventually pay it back. Having a business allows these women to support their families, and the loans are paid back with interest 97% of the time. It has been a hugely successful program. One of my favorite websites is www.kiva.org, where you can learn more about microfinance and even extend loans to groups of women in the country of your choice!

Although the women participating in microgardening never have to pay back their start-up cost, the idea of providing women with the resources to start their own small business is the same. It is all about the opportunity. 

We did see a bit of protesting yesterday on our way back from the garden. Things burning in the street, dumpsters tipped over, police standing guard. Although the president’s proposed constitutional amendment was withdrawn, the worry is that now the people will be calling for his full resignation from office. Once the tide of unhappiness and desire for change has been unleashed, it can be hard to stop. Things seem back to normal today though.

P.S – Last night I ate a cheeseburger with a fried egg on it.Whoever invented this is my hero.