The Women’s Collective of Battra Ndialla Market Garden after their first harvests in June.
Off the main road to Keur Soce sits a small village called Battra Ndialla. Here families work hard during the short three-month rainy season to grow and harvest staples (such as millet, squash, and peanuts) and store them for future consumption. Families struggle with food insecurity here because this rural agricultural area lacks other economic opportunities and climate change is making subsistence farming more difficult and less profitable.
With the installation of a solar powered pump, the existing well is used to water the market garden, providing nutritious vegetables for all in the community.
In the middle of the village sits a simple well that has faithfully supplied all the water needs of the community for years and years. With a rapid refresh rate, this well and community were well suited for a market garden, they just needed a little help to get it started. Thanks to a grant from Vibrant Village Foundation, Altrusa International, and Altrusa Club of Albany the community of Battra Ndialla got their garden!
Signing the Memorandum of Understanding with the community of Battra Ndialla.
In October of 2021 we formalized our partnership with the community leadership and the Women’s Collective who would ultimately take on the day-to-day care of the garden.
Construction began shortly after that and we took this time to assemble the women’s leadership team and start the initial garden training with one of our Garden Technicians, Babacar Sow.
While they waited for the watering basins and solar pump to be installed the women prepared the grounds and identified their family plots inside the garden. Supplies arrived including wheel borrows, watering cans, rakes, and cultivation tools. Seeds also arrived and with the help of Babacar (Garden Technician) they selected their first crops, prepared compost to enrich the soil, and anxiously awaited the day the water would be turned on.
BEFORE: The water basin is installed and the barren ground is ready to be cultivated.
AFTER: You can see the water basin in the center surrounded by food producing plants.
They didn’t have to wait long, just two months later – December 2021—all the construction was complete and the solar pumps effortlessly brought fresh, clean water to the garden! Senegal has an abundance of sun and a warm climate which makes year-round food production possible. Already the women have harvested over 12,000 pounds of produce! Of this about 25% is used to feed their families and the extra 75% is sold in local markets, increasing household income by 25%. Our technicians are on-site daily, providing training and guidance for all participants ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed.
“This garden is very important for us. We gain a lot from it. When we harvest we can eat and sell. We are no longer worried for vegetables; we have them all!”
This is just the start for Battra Ndialla. In addition to vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant, okra, and lettuce they are also growing hearty root vegetables like carrots and turnips. Fast growing herbs such as mint are a cash crop and sell quickly in the market.
Live-fencing trees are started in planting sheaths inside the garden. These trees will replanted around the perimeter of the garden to protect it from wind and animals.
The women are also planning for the future by planting live-fencing that will reach maturity before the existing chain link fence deteriorates in the harsh elements. This live-fence will protect the garden from the strong drying winds as well as from roaming cattle, goats, and sheep that can level a garden in a short time. Soon the women will start planting fruit producing trees such as papayas and mangoes which will not only provide delicious food, but also fortify the soil and protect from it from erosion.
“Since this garden game here. We are all happy. We gain money through the garden, we sell some and cook some.” - Binta, Garden Participant, Battra Ndialla
We celebrate with Battra Ndialla Women’s Collective for their great success this first year, and we look forward to their continued leadership, growth, and creativity to strengthen their communities. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.