Asalam malekum and welcome back to my blog. I hope you come
in peace only.
The last couple weeks have been busy ones. Kaffrine has seen
a few light drizzles, a sign of the changing seasons. My cat’s testicles have
dropped. Soon the village will have another noisy delinquent running around
impregnating the local harlots. Tree nurseries are sprouting and moringa beds
are shooting up. I’ve been working on a grant for a small dairy operation and
it finally got approved! I’m so excited- this is always what I’ve always
dreamed about doing. The project will be in a small village about 18k away.
Oussman and I are working in conjunction with ISRA (Institut Senegalais de Recherches
Agricoles) to establish a cut-and-carry based operation. The government is
providing us with a variety of bean seeds that vines vigorously for increased
fodder production. We already have a fenced-off field for growing the beans and
several different species of leguminous trees (pigeon pea, lucena, moringa).
These will be brought to the cattle in a separate enclosure with the goal of
improving herd health and increasing milk production.
Why is this important, you ask? Despite the large numbers of
cattle in Senegal, about 90% of the milk on the market is imported. Production
of milk is severely limited by poor feed quality. Cattle roam the fields during
the day, grazing on crop residues and shrubs.
Forage is of such a low quality that a cow can barely produce enough
milk to support a family let alone provide a source of income. No one wins: the
cattle are starving, crop fields and gardens are damaged, and families still
have little income and poor-quality food.
We are striving to have a positive impact on the lives of
villagers in the region in many areas. One goal is to improve nutrition by
providing an affordable source of milk and milk products. With the marketing of
our milk, we’ll incorporate casual discussions on basic nutrition with a focus
on growing children and pregnant women. In addition, I want to use this operation
to extend Peace Corps supported improved field management techniques. The
cattle will need to spend a portion of the year grazing the fields outside
their pen for food (as is done traditionally.) This will be a great opportunity
to talk to farmers about intercropping leguminous trees in their fields,
leaving crop residues on top of the soil, and farmer-managed natural
regeneration. Eventually I’d like to integrate management-intensive grazing techniques
to rehabilitate the land, but that’s probably a couple years down the road. Finally,
there’s not a whole lot of thought or management that goes into feeding
livestock in Senegal. If this project is successful, the ranch will be a place
for interested farmers to come to learn and ask questions about caring for and
feeding their cattle in a responsible, sustainable manner. One of my roles will
be to keep track of feed composition and the effect this has on milk production
and calving rate as well as the expenses and income of the farm. This will
allow us to quantitatively show potential dairymen/women what it takes to start
a similar operation and what can be gained from it.
Now for the best part! I get to ask you for money! You can
donate through the Peace Corps website at https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-685-018. All the money will be going towards a chain-link fence for the cattle pen. We'll be planting a live fence around it as a backup and for when the chain-link finally gives out and as another food source for the cows. If you have questions, e-mail me at maier.92@osu.edu or call me at 221.77.116.9677.
Don’t forget- Your donation is tax-deductible!!!!!
Thank you:)
My Inspiration
Fighting desertification:
Management-intensive Grazing:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/gsg/
Cows:
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