West African Agriculture

[Tatanka Yotanka]

With so much fertile land its an injust to have reliance on foreign imports for basic food items.

Looking for info on cooperatives, community organizing, ideas and dialogue about empowering this beautiful and fertile Sub-Saharan region.

What has worked in other communities, technology of permaculture etc...

 

[Andrea Van Scoyoc]

This is just a stab in the dark, but you might check places like OxFam, and also try some clean water project sites.

Just Google something like, "farming and clean water projects in Africa."

Searches like that will usually lead you to some useful information.

Just take your time in researching and if the organization is passing themselves off as a charity, be sure and check Charity Navigator to see how they rank.

You'd be surprised how many famous/well known so-called, "charities" have absolutely rotten ratings.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[Tatanka Yotanka]

Thanks for the input, much respect.

I've worked with Oxfam in West Africa, they do great work given the current system but it still carries the dependence of an NGO industry and global political economy. Still has too much of a colonial vibe to take root in communities with life beyond project budgets and deadlines.

Our team is drawing from various sources throughout history, the fundamentals come from Paulo Freire and his cultural fusion centers for Adult Education with English as a second language.

Although the question must be answered at a local grass-roots level, I want to learn from experience of others throughout time and space to know how best vulnerable populations can self-advocate, organize, and take ownership concerning health and livelihoods.

3 activities we're embarking on is adult education (Social Fusion Centers), vocational training, and agriculture. It seems like we need to connect all of these...Power to the people..., but how?

The opening speech in this clip describes the type of Freedom, Equality, and Justice we're advocating for.

Thomas Sankara, Upright Man (Burkina Faso)