Sarah here, finally! But it's going to be a short one (Jordan does such a good job at blogging, and is usually writing up a blog when I'm lesson-planning at night, so I'll try to do a better job of blogging in the future :)
Just wanted to send some fun links of songs that we hear here in Ghana! Some are awesome, some not so much...you decide :)...enjoy!!
Azonto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTUIlOudlHI
I love my life - DeMarco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM7J6aEWlPM
I'm teaching you the thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q15TA1BbUk4
(What is *da ting*, you may ask?... I'll leave that up to you to decide :)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
A head full of ideas
Jordan here: So I just finished a long training session in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. All of the Natural Resource Management volunteers came from around the country to learn about how to write grants, to bring up issues and concerns at sites, and have meetings with groups that wouldn’t be together except for a large-scale training. After 4 months at site, Sarah and I have developed a bunch of ideas for potential projects and meaningful things. This training, seeing and hearing about what other people are doing and want to do, just inflated my ambitions. We had a session about how to report all we’re doing. It seems simple, but since we’re technically a government organization, its quite complicated. Essentially, Washington wants to know how many people we’re reaching and how to quantify the difference we’re making. The more numbers on this difference, the more Peace Corps seems like a group worth funding with your taxes J Regardless, I figured I should start jotting down all the things that would be worth reporting. Then I started adding ideas I haven’t done yet and the page filled quickly! Its overwhelming. They also had a session with our PC Medical Officer presenting info about managing stress and she handed out a sheet of a typical emotional timeline that a PCV follows. It’s pretty spot on, outlining the roller coaster of feelings. One day we’re down in the dumps wishing we could be at home under a blanket, tv and familiar food. The next day, we’re completely energized by this whole experience and thinking about staying an extra year. Some days you’re vulnerable, the next you’re invincible. This week was no different. One session inspires me to want to write a grant, contact NGOs, and rally the village troops behind my cause. The next session, I overhear a different Volunteer talking with their Ghanaian counterparts about the progress they’re making and what they’ll do next. Then I second-guess my efforts and feel like I should just hang out and let everyone else make a difference. It has been great to actually make some progress with the Volunteers working with producers of shea butter to get organized and talk about how we want to empower our groups to inprove their product, and reach bigger buyers. Plenty of other things need to be done, but we need to start somewhere. I also have a few grants we want to write (one being a way that friends and family have the ability to donate to, wink wink) and a lot of groups to educate. Now I’ll head to another 2-day training on dry-season gardening and then finally head home to Tarsor and my wife I haven’t seen in a month. I love talking to people here about ideas and getting advice etc., but no one understands me like Sarah. So you can see how a head full of ideas and a village and a wife awaiting my arrival, I can’t wait to get back…
It’s a small, totally different world after all!
Jordan here: I’ve come to realize that experiences here in Ghana fit into 2 categories: ones that make me say “wow things are completely different here that in America” or “wow things are pretty much the exact same as in America”. I’d like to share a few examples I’ve saved up. As a disclaimer, many of these things are specific to our village and their values.
It’s a small world after all:
1. Junior high-aged girls still go to the bathroom in groups.
2. The stars in the BWCA and at our village knock me off my feet equally.
3. The long series of greetings are all just a formality. In other words if someone asks “How are you?” your response of “I’m good” doesn’t actually necessarily mean you’re in a good mood.
It’s a completely different world here:
1. Proximity of living space is much smaller. In other words, your “bubble” in America in which strangers should not enter doesn’t really exist here.
2. Although homophobia is ever-present, its totally cool for men to walk around holding hands yet male to female displays of affection of any kind are usually avoided. Men sleep in different rooms as their wife/wives.
3. Small boys and girls (anywhere from 2—10 years old) go and buy alcohol, cigarettes, and razors for their parents and no one bats an eye.
I’ve also noticed there are many things you can buy here that are, relative to buying in America, really expensive or really cheap. I’ll try to share some examples we’ve noticed:
Really expensive here:
1. Cheese
2. Hamburgers
3. Pizza
4. Jelly/jam
5. Coffee
6. Apples
7. Chocolate
8. Vegetables
9. Toilet paper
10. Deodorant
11. Shampoo
12. Potato chips
13. Cereal
14. Eggs
15. Electronics
16. New cars
17. Grapes
18. Phone/internet credit
19. Magazines
Really cheap here:
1. Hard alcohol served in, essentially, plastic bags.
2. Breakfast in our village
3. Shea butter
4. Yams
5. Pineapple
6. Tailored clothes
7. Getting shoes fixed
8. Bike repairs
I’m going to keep this thread open, as examples arise all the time. Stay tuned…
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Moringa Inc.
Jordan here: So its getting to that time in our service timeline that we all have any idea of what our community (in our opinion) needs and also what our community thinks they need/want. Some of these things are near impossible for us to bring to them. For example, the Kulfuo chief wanted me to build a borehole (hand water pump) or wanted me to build a dam. Hmmm, I had to explain to him that Peace Corps acts with grass-roots change and not large-scale NGO type projects with big bucks. Its understandable since most of the white people they see are representing big companies or NGOs.
Peace Corps placement committees explained my primary project would be working with women's group on shea nut and shea butter production and processing. A bit vague when I realized there's a whole lot more about the whole system of shea I needed to understand. There's a whole culture established over generations and generations of this already in place that will be difficult to change. I think I'll save another blog post for talking more on this.
However, another potential project was developing use of moringa in the village. A little background: Moringa is a tree that grows quite well in hot, dry places in the world. For example, sub-saharan and saharan Africa (where we are). Its leaves don't create a lot of shade, it grows fast, and is a very hardy tree. The most peculiar thing is the leaves (especially) and other parts are very useful and contain a ridiculous amount of of essential nutrients! This tree has been used as a way to combat malnutrition all across Africa. A very large campaign was run through Senegal. Powder made from grinding the dried leaves was instructed to be added to breast-feeding mothers' food as well as food children older than 6 months were ready to eat. The health of the mothers, stressed from depleting nutrients, and the quickly growing children increase weight and have fewer illnesses. People who used the leaves in their food or teas have more energy, strength, and a whole slew of positive outcomes when taken regularly. The leaves are medicinal as well! When added to soap, it helps to cures certain rashes and irritated skin, much like aloe or shea butter. The tree is also great here since it can be incorporated directly within crops since its shade doesn't significantly affect sun radiation needed for crop growth. The benefits seem to go on and on...
So as I investigated my community I immediately noticed a handful of the trees around and assumed the people were aware of their benefits of the tree. Turns out they had no idea and were just planting for decoration. Since it was a fresh topic, I decided to try to educate and see how receptive they were to trying to incorporate moringa products into their daily lives. An NGO in Tumu called SILDEP (Sisalli Literacy Development Program) was drying the leaves and adding dried lemon grass as a tea. I bought some and brought it back to circles drinking tea on a regular basis and the stuff was fabulous! They wanted to buy more and it gave me an opportunity to tell them they could make it themselves. I also explained they could make soap with it that is far superior to the local soap they make. They were very quickly interested in how to start making it and selling the moringa-based products.
The interest in making things from tree leaves gave me a chance to tell them about my/our plan to start up a large tree nursery. With the community's help, we could plant plenty more moringa trees to allow them to make these products on a larger scale. They loved it and now I'm just trying to reach out to the right resources to make sure the project comes through.
So God willing, we'll have plenty more trees that they'll appreciate and protect from bush fires and won't cut down for farmland. This achieves one of my personal goals of enriching and protecting the environment. It would also serve to achieve another goal of helping others to help themselves. If trained well, and managed well, a livelihood could be developed for people here who struggle to make ends meet. They could be healthier and more financially stable. Who knows, that income could send students to high school who might not have been able before.
So I started thinking, I wonder if people in America would like these products ie a highly nutritious all natural food flavoring, all natural tea and all natural moisturizing soap. In essence high quality products produced by people that could really benefit from the business. Then over the holidays, Sarah and I gave some soap and tea to Kelsey for a Christmas present. I knew she'd like it because she had done a lot of research on moringa before coming to Ghana for a class proposal. She looked at me and said "I think we should bottle this and sell it back home" and a kernel of interest brewed between the three of us about bringing this back to America and developing a business that could be for-profit but still make giving a fair price to the producers in Ghana. A whole slew of benefits started to come. More trees planted, protected, less burning, more business for women, more education on nutrition and health etc etc besides the fact that I think we could really make a great product that is relatively new market in back in America and Canada. A little research showed only a few decent sized companies online selling moringa products. Given the choice, I think people would prefer one that gives back to a community that needs the help.
Kels had just been reading a book written by Blake Mycoskie, founder of Toms, a shoe company that gives a new pair of shoes to kids in developing countries that don't have shoes. For every pair you buy, Toms gives a pair away, One for One they call it. His book encourages entrepreneurs to make giving a main part of their business model and everyone wins! When she finished it, she gave it to me and I was very inspired. Now we truly want to give this business a shot, starting small of course.
Here's where you come in. Our fabulous supporters back home can be our guinea pigs :) I know some people have asked about wanting to send things, or donate to us for a project etc. Kelsey will head home to Canada in August and Sarah and I will visit America for Christmas 2012 and we want to drag home some products and try selling them. Then we'd like to hear what they thought about the product, the story behind the business, and if you think we would be able to sell more of it. Our 'pie-in-the-sky' vision would be a sustainable for-profit business partnering with villages producing the products for a fair price. We would be completely transparent with where the money was going and we'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this venture.
One option would be to contact us saying you're interesting in buying some products and trying them so we can tell our groups that we can guarantee we will buy some of their products if they work to become organized and make the products. I think that would help to jump start their confidence in the investment. I made a Facebook page called Moringa Inc. and I invite you all to follow it and get involved. If you're interested in buying something, be it soap, tea, or the powder, let me know and I'd love to be in contact with you! You can also leave a simple comment on the blog saying you would be interested in trying them out and I'll keep you involved every step of the way.
Anyway, there will definitely be more to come with the progress of the whole project, but I would love to have you all be supporters and hear your thoughts on making this successful! A simple comment saying you'd be interested in the project and/or putting an order in will give me the enthusiasm to push this awesome idea. Stay tuned!
Peace Corps placement committees explained my primary project would be working with women's group on shea nut and shea butter production and processing. A bit vague when I realized there's a whole lot more about the whole system of shea I needed to understand. There's a whole culture established over generations and generations of this already in place that will be difficult to change. I think I'll save another blog post for talking more on this.
However, another potential project was developing use of moringa in the village. A little background: Moringa is a tree that grows quite well in hot, dry places in the world. For example, sub-saharan and saharan Africa (where we are). Its leaves don't create a lot of shade, it grows fast, and is a very hardy tree. The most peculiar thing is the leaves (especially) and other parts are very useful and contain a ridiculous amount of of essential nutrients! This tree has been used as a way to combat malnutrition all across Africa. A very large campaign was run through Senegal. Powder made from grinding the dried leaves was instructed to be added to breast-feeding mothers' food as well as food children older than 6 months were ready to eat. The health of the mothers, stressed from depleting nutrients, and the quickly growing children increase weight and have fewer illnesses. People who used the leaves in their food or teas have more energy, strength, and a whole slew of positive outcomes when taken regularly. The leaves are medicinal as well! When added to soap, it helps to cures certain rashes and irritated skin, much like aloe or shea butter. The tree is also great here since it can be incorporated directly within crops since its shade doesn't significantly affect sun radiation needed for crop growth. The benefits seem to go on and on...
So as I investigated my community I immediately noticed a handful of the trees around and assumed the people were aware of their benefits of the tree. Turns out they had no idea and were just planting for decoration. Since it was a fresh topic, I decided to try to educate and see how receptive they were to trying to incorporate moringa products into their daily lives. An NGO in Tumu called SILDEP (Sisalli Literacy Development Program) was drying the leaves and adding dried lemon grass as a tea. I bought some and brought it back to circles drinking tea on a regular basis and the stuff was fabulous! They wanted to buy more and it gave me an opportunity to tell them they could make it themselves. I also explained they could make soap with it that is far superior to the local soap they make. They were very quickly interested in how to start making it and selling the moringa-based products.
The interest in making things from tree leaves gave me a chance to tell them about my/our plan to start up a large tree nursery. With the community's help, we could plant plenty more moringa trees to allow them to make these products on a larger scale. They loved it and now I'm just trying to reach out to the right resources to make sure the project comes through.
So God willing, we'll have plenty more trees that they'll appreciate and protect from bush fires and won't cut down for farmland. This achieves one of my personal goals of enriching and protecting the environment. It would also serve to achieve another goal of helping others to help themselves. If trained well, and managed well, a livelihood could be developed for people here who struggle to make ends meet. They could be healthier and more financially stable. Who knows, that income could send students to high school who might not have been able before.
So I started thinking, I wonder if people in America would like these products ie a highly nutritious all natural food flavoring, all natural tea and all natural moisturizing soap. In essence high quality products produced by people that could really benefit from the business. Then over the holidays, Sarah and I gave some soap and tea to Kelsey for a Christmas present. I knew she'd like it because she had done a lot of research on moringa before coming to Ghana for a class proposal. She looked at me and said "I think we should bottle this and sell it back home" and a kernel of interest brewed between the three of us about bringing this back to America and developing a business that could be for-profit but still make giving a fair price to the producers in Ghana. A whole slew of benefits started to come. More trees planted, protected, less burning, more business for women, more education on nutrition and health etc etc besides the fact that I think we could really make a great product that is relatively new market in back in America and Canada. A little research showed only a few decent sized companies online selling moringa products. Given the choice, I think people would prefer one that gives back to a community that needs the help.
Kels had just been reading a book written by Blake Mycoskie, founder of Toms, a shoe company that gives a new pair of shoes to kids in developing countries that don't have shoes. For every pair you buy, Toms gives a pair away, One for One they call it. His book encourages entrepreneurs to make giving a main part of their business model and everyone wins! When she finished it, she gave it to me and I was very inspired. Now we truly want to give this business a shot, starting small of course.
Here's where you come in. Our fabulous supporters back home can be our guinea pigs :) I know some people have asked about wanting to send things, or donate to us for a project etc. Kelsey will head home to Canada in August and Sarah and I will visit America for Christmas 2012 and we want to drag home some products and try selling them. Then we'd like to hear what they thought about the product, the story behind the business, and if you think we would be able to sell more of it. Our 'pie-in-the-sky' vision would be a sustainable for-profit business partnering with villages producing the products for a fair price. We would be completely transparent with where the money was going and we'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this venture.
One option would be to contact us saying you're interesting in buying some products and trying them so we can tell our groups that we can guarantee we will buy some of their products if they work to become organized and make the products. I think that would help to jump start their confidence in the investment. I made a Facebook page called Moringa Inc. and I invite you all to follow it and get involved. If you're interested in buying something, be it soap, tea, or the powder, let me know and I'd love to be in contact with you! You can also leave a simple comment on the blog saying you would be interested in trying them out and I'll keep you involved every step of the way.
Anyway, there will definitely be more to come with the progress of the whole project, but I would love to have you all be supporters and hear your thoughts on making this successful! A simple comment saying you'd be interested in the project and/or putting an order in will give me the enthusiasm to push this awesome idea. Stay tuned!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Sarah, Jordan & Kelsey
Christmas 2011 in Ghana
Caroling around Tamale, Ghana
Sarah & Jordan with some Christmas presents
A cashew apple. Each one of those cashews you love in your trail mix or gorp looks like this and is pulled individually for a cashew tree. The 'apple' and can be eaten. It's actually pretty sour.
Me crawling through a small space on an ecotourism site.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Holidays in Ghana
Jordan here: We had heard that holidays that we experience in America can be a little depressing in Ghana because the hype we’re used to with times like Christmas are just not the same here. Since Christmas is probably my favorite time of the year, that made me a little nervous. Of course it would be far worse if I was by myself with no way to contact family or friends. We often compare our experience to the experience the forefathers of the Peace Corps in the 60s would have had. In our minds, we have it a LOT easier. We had the ability to come and visit our friend Kelsey who just happens to be working in a different group in Tamale. Her place is very nice and we have access to MUCH more than in our village in the way of supplies. At our request, my parents graciously sent all the supplies we couldn’t get here to make my Mom’s famous peanut butter balls. Along with that, we made sugar cookies with frosting, and even pumpkin pie! We’ve been spoiled here. Also, having internet access easily we had the ability to still skype home when the family shows up to open their stockings and pseudo-experience that with them.
Our Christmas morning here consisted of making coffee, oats with jelly, and laying in bed watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” on my laptop. We opened Kelsey’s gifts that her parents had sent along with her. She was much more patient that Sarah and me. We tore into the packages sent here with no reservation. So don’t give us too much pity for having it so rough here. As always, friends and family, here and in the States, have made our lives quite comfortable. Here, the Christians here went to church, the Muslims prayed 5 times a day as usual, and not much seemed different. Not wreaths, evergreen trees, Christmas music radio stations, and no ravenous materialistic endeavors. We did get a chance to visit the nearby Peace Corps Sub Office in Tamale and share in a fantastic potluck featuring pastas, salads, sweets, and drinks that helped remind us it was Christmas time. We spent the evening confusing local Ghanaians outside their homes and at local drinking bars by singing Christmas Carols most of them have probably never heard before. It was our attempt at achieving that 2nd PC goal, teaching Ghana about life in America J Some loved it, some were dumbfounded, but it seemed that they all appreciated our efforts.
New Year’s was a little bigger. We had met a friend from Holland, Luuc, working with a corn association company, an American working with a cotton company, Andrew, his girlfriend also from Holland, Flura, a man from South Africa managing a massive fruit company, Louie, and his wife also from South Africa, Celeste, running a school and much to our delight a fantastic meat shop (I forgot to mention that we had fabulous T-bone steaks for dinner Christmas Eve dinner from her shop). The South African couple invited us to their place conveniently located about 2 blocks away for the evening. We asked what we could bring and they said food would be there, but maybe brings something to drink. So with our Volunteer living stipends, we were able to pick up a couple 3 GHC boxes of wine (about as cheap as you can get) and walked over. Their place was beautiful and we already felt like royalty. Luuc started making cocktails that would cost 5-6 dollars in America for everyone and Celeste brought out real aged sharp cheese, Ritz crackers, and a veggie tray. We hadn’t seen any of these for 7 months so you could say we were excited. And of course, since we never know when the next time we’ll get something of this quality, we all 3 chowed much more than our fair portion. Nearly full by about 9pm, they let us know that dinner is ready. We had thought that the appetizers were basically dinner, but let the good times roll! We filled the last corners of our bellies with smoked chicken, potato (not yam) salad, vegetable salad, and cheese-stuffed bread. Now it being about 11pm and drinks are still coming and they bring out a couple bottles of real champagne and flutes. We count down the New Year, and then the music and dancing start. We’re dancing to music from Holland, Flogging Molly, Black Eyed Peas, and everything in between. Of course they had to stop the music a few times to serve everyone some pretty fantastic drinks. We had to stop taking them soon after dancing started or there could have been a mess. Thankfully the feast still in our stomachs kept us surprisingly sober and we excused ourselves around 2am and walked home. The party continued without us. We made it home, brushed our teeth and laid down to sleep unable to roll over with our full, satisfied bellies.
All in all, we had a very different, yet somehow similar experience here for the holidays. Next year we’ll be in America visiting family for the holidays. We’ve already begun looking forward to that. We hope to see you all then!
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