Bragging

November 9th.

The rainy season has finished.

The harvest is also almost done.

I organized an evaluation meeting for compost effect.

Until now, 3 workshops have been held where about 70-80 YANTA women participated.

I could have visited each woman's house and asked the effects individually...

But first of all, there are too many to do it...

Plus, collecting the results wasn't the only purpose of holding the meeting:

1．Bragging (sharing with) their own effects or results to other women ;

2．Hearing other women's stories to know different effects or results ;

Through these 1.2．, I wanted that they stimulate each other to continue the compost making.

3．Inviting other YANTA women who haven't participated to workshop but been interested in compost to give a chance to hear such positive effects and to creat their motivation to start.

To have as many women as possible at the meeting, I tried to pass the information everywhere by visiting several YANTA associations' leader's house and telling about the meeting at YANTA center every time I passed there.

On the day, at the time to start the meeting...

Well, as usual...

There were only a couple of women...

I thought that maybe the information hadn't passed well...

I waited for 30min, 40min...

Little and little, women started to come over.

One hour later, there were about 50 women in the room.

I had expected a bit more but we started the meeting.

Gradually, more and more women were coming in the room.

At the end, the room was pretty packed !

I could feel that it the compost was a big interest for them.

The bragging their results went well.

Many workshop participants spoke out the effect of their compost :

Better yield of cereals (maize, millet, peanuts, beans, etc) than last year ;

Income source (a woman sold her compost to another woman) ;

Creation of small vegetable garden at home (planting tomatoes in the garden, adding compost around mango/papaya trees) ; etc

At the end, a group of women who are volunteer to become compost promoters was identified in front of all.

Next day, promoter workshop took place (to next blog...)

more and more...

Since September, my compost partner, Yé organises a huge training of awareness raising for the danger of using urbain solid waste for farms and of production of organic fertilizer. The target is more than 800 farmers formed in several associations who have some fields in a state forest, mainly under cashew nuts trees.

His training is presented in a local newspaper.

He has been a great help for my compost work, I wanted to contribute in some way for his work.

So I participate in the training as much as possible for different associations.

During the week of theory, he used photos that I had used for my compost workshops for awareness raising through discussions about problems of solid waste treatment in agriculture.

Also he introduced my way of compost production as one of options.

Most of them, especially male participants had never heard of that.

They seemed very curious and asked many questions about it.

I was happy to see their interest.

There was even a guy who started preparing the base of compost at home on the same day when he learned about it !

During practical phase, I have been following the process of compost production of an association by taking photos of each step.

Dig a square hole of 3m x 3m x 1.5m

Put ingredients :

Ash

Stem of corns

Fresh straw

Stem of corns again and water

Wastes of domestic animals (cow, pig and chicken)

Water again

Women who belong to the group participate in the way they can.

Water backets relay

This is one ray.

Fill up the hole with 3 of it.

At the end, cover the surface with stem of corns (start of fermentation)

2 weeks later, first turning.

Remove each ray seperately.

Put them back in the way that the bottom ray comes on top and the top goes at the bottom to let the fermentation equally.

2weeks later, 2nd turning (watering in the middle of the 2 weeks)

Remove and refill them in the same way.

The quantity of the compost has become already 2/3 of the beginning at this moment.

Then 2 more turning in 2 weeks and in a month in total 4 times.

Following the process is very interesting for me because it is 1st time practical experience.

I take just photos by observing the process but the work is physically very hard.

But through this training, I really hope that farmers continue the work even after the training for better food production and soil protection (fertilization).