In The Gambia millet is called Coos, and pearl millet is the most widely grown type of coos. It has been grown in Africa since prehistoric times, and it has been suggested that the area of domestication was the Sahel zone of West Africa, which is just north of The Gambia and extends eastward across the continent.
Coos is a grain belonging to the grass… ....READ MORE | 2 Comments
I live on the North Bank of the Gambia River about five miles from the river crossing to the South Bank near Soma. When I arrived in country fifteen months ago this bridge was under construction, and I was told would make the ferry crossing a thing of the past. The official opening of the bridge was January 21, 2019, which unfortunately was a day I needed to… ....READ MORE | 1 Comment
This is another post about a RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer), although her service was more recent than the three previous RPCVs I posted about. I met Beth in May of 2018 when she arrived in The Gambia, to follow up on Solar Suitcases that were installed in rural health clinics, for her masters program at Duke University. Her schedule included traveling upcountry, and I invited her to… ....READ MORE
A luumoo is a weekly market that has almost everything a rural Gambian needs. The Farafenni luumoo is about two kilometer outside of the city center, and most people travel there by horse cart for five dalasis – less than ten cents US.
Luumoos are overwhelming for me, because I look like a tourist and someone to be taken advantage of. In the year I… ....READ MORE | 3 Comments
Holidays in The Gambia are very different from the US for many reasons. First of all, it’s hard to relate to seasonal holidays when the difference from one season to the next here is minimal. There are some Christmas decorations in Kombo, but nothing up country. The commercialization so prevalent in the western world is absent here, which is… ....READ MORE
My worksite is at an Agriculture Senior Secondary School (ATC), and the school strives to involve the students in all of the agriculture activities. The school recently purchased ten bee suits, and now there are opportunities for the students to get up close and personal with bees. Currently, there are four bee hives at ATC, and the students helped harvest the honeycomb from one of… ....READ MORE | 1 Comment
I visited the Abuko Nature Reserve recently, and had a peaceful couple of hours enjoying this beautiful place so close to the chaos of Kombo. It is The Gambia’s most visited tourist attraction receiving approximately 33,000 visitors per year, although while I was there I only saw five other tourists. One interesting fact is that it is the nearest tropical forest to Europe.
I was particularly intrigued about this place, after learning… ....READ MORE | 1 Comment
I participated in the Gambia Teachers Institute (GTI) one day conference, with three teachers from my Senior Secondary School in Farafenni – the Agriculture Technical College (ATC). The event was hosted by the Banjul American International School (BAIS), and included various sessions focused on practices for effective teaching, and other skills applicable to Gambian educational contexts. The primary focus of the sessions was on inquiry-based education… ....READ MORE
When I told an Oregon friend I was going to be a PCV in The Gambia, she said her brother had been a PCV there. I reached out to Dave Dupras to ask if he could connect me with other RPCVs from the early 1970s, and the two previous posts about Paul & John, resulted from Dave’s introductions. Dave had his camera stolen while in service (see story… ....READ MORE | 1 Comment
John Wilson was a PCV in The Gambia 1971-73, and has graciously shared his memories and photos about his time in West Africa.
John arrived in Banjul in late June 1971, after graduating with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Akron, Ohio. His group of PCVs were mostly science and math teachers. John says that… ....READ MORE