Work without machines...

Since the rains began on June 15th, the villagers have been engaged in an array of physical labor during the days. Most of this work has been farming, but there has also been a few other village-wide projects that have stolen their attention for a couple of days. As you would expect, the difference between how work is performed in America and in Africa is striking, and I figured that I would post some pictures to help illustrate this:

Construction of an earthen berm/diversion dike around the fish pond

Back when Engineers without Borders came out to my site last May, we discussed with the villagers the need to construct a 'jɛgɛ dumuni yɔrɔ' (fish feed area). I had been working specifically with Sorti, the 'jɛgɛ mara yɔrɔ ton sigi ɲɛmɔgɔ' (fish pond committee president) and effectively the acting 'dugutigi' (chief-of-village) to schedule and plan this work. He selected July 1st to begin this work.

I thought we were going to construct the 'jɛgɛ dumuni yɔrɔ' on this day, but the villagers decided the more pressing concern was that when the rains increase, the area around the fish pond will flood, allowing the fish to escape. So the villagers instead spent the morning of July 1st constructing an earthen berm/diversion dike upstream of the pond along the northern side, where flooding is a major issue. The earthen berm will direct all rainwater to a couple of channels allowing rainwater to enter the pond (this is our only water source), and at these channels fish netting will be installed to prevent fish from escaping. Unfortunately, this work has not yet been completed, and the 'jɛgɛ dumuni yɔrɔ' was tabled for another day.

On the right, off in the distance, a dirt stockpile can be seen. The men used 'faliw ni misiw wɔtɔrɔw' (donkey and cow/bull carts) to haul dirt from the stockpile to the dike location, seen on the left.

A picture of men working at the stockpile. They used 'falow' (tools with wooden arms and metal blades used for agricultural purposes) to hack away at the stockpile, loosening the material. They then used 'peluw' (shovels) to fill up the carts.

A picture of men working at the earthen berm location. On the right, men are unhitching a donkey from the cart to allow the cart to be tipped, unloading the soil.

Construction of a dirt road

As the rains began, a problem with the road leading from our village to one of the small satellite villages, and the adjacent rice fields that most of our villagers work, became evident. A large section of this road regularly floods with the intense rain, making travel difficult. So the villagers decided to begin constructing a new roadbed along this section on July 4th, finishing the following day.  I contributed by spending the day shoveling.  It is back-breaking work without machinery, that's for sure.

Men using 'falow' to loosen up dirt for a trench on one side of the new roadbed, while other men use shovels to dig out the loosened soil and place it in the center, building up the roadbed.

'Faliw ni misiw wɔtɔrɔw' (donkey and cow/bull carts) were also used to haul in additional soil for the new roadbed from a local pit location.

This project was a village-wide affair, with many of the men taking a day off from the fields to contribute. It was a tag-team type affair.  As one man tires, another is ready to replace him on the 'falow' or shovel.  This community-type mentality helps ease what is still an incredibly laborious affair.

At about mid-day, the men had the idea that they could speed up work by using a 'misiw shɛri' (bull plow) to dig the trenches on either side of the road. This also helped to lay out the road itself, although this was done by eye. No measurements whatsoever were taken to ensure a constant size.

A shot of the new, unfinished elevated roadbed with ditches on either side.

Men shoveling dirt onto the new elevated roadbed.

The finished product. At the fork in the road, the new road is on the right, while a portion of the old road is on the left.  Predictably, compaction was a major issue without machinery, so the new roadbed quickly became afflicted with all sorts of ruts and pot-holes. Therefore, motorcyclists and bicycles have opted to continue to use the old road until the new one settles. The villagers do plan to fill in the ruts with additional dirt at a later date.

Work in the 'tiga ninguru' (soybeans, I think) fields

This work is effectively the same as I described in my previous post on June 23rd, but the crop is different. Here, a 'tiga ninguru' (soybeans, I think) field are being tilled ('chi kɛ') and seeded ('dani kɛ') by Baysa and Tayluru, respectively. I assisted them with the seeding.

Work in the 'ɲo' (millet) fields

These men are performing 'ɲo shiɛn.' This process involves the use of a 'falow' to slash away any weeds from the rows of millet stalks. They asked me to help, but I declined. They work awfully fast at this, and I was worried I would slash away at the actual millet plants themselves.

Work in the 'malo' (rice) fields

Shaka Katilɛ tilling ('chi kɛ') his rice field. This process is similar to the one used in the millet fields.

The rice fields are found in lowland areas, where canals, such as the one shown here, were previously constructed by NGO's to irrigate the land. Later in the rainy season, these fields will be flooded by use of these channels. In the distance a dike can be seen stretching across the channel. Dikes such as these have been built by local fisherman during the dry season to trap and catch fish.

This picture shows the rice fields.  In the distance is the large earthen berm built up along the perimeter of the fields. This berm isolates the adjacent village from the waters once the field is flooded.