World Ark Magazine - September/October 2008 - (Page 27)

one of her neighbors says. Bilibili is a reasonably valuable commodity that sells at market for more than millet alone. At harvest time, it is an attractive draw and makes the harvest a bit of a celebration. Even though the rainy season brings very hard work, it is a time of relative plenty, when the wells and rivers are full, the fields are productive and fodder for animals is readily available. The worst times are during the dry season, when the lush green landscape transforms, almost overnight, into a desert. During the dry season, farming continues, especially if the yields have been low during the rainy season. The villagers grow crops suited for those conditions, like a special variety and those with a bicycle or motorcycle might be able to sell goods in Maroua, 27 miles away, but very few of the villagers can afford such amenities. Despite the best efforts of a community that depends on each other, it remains difficult to overcome the stultifying effects of the drought. Breaking the Cycle People who live here are seeing little benefit from the international efforts to repair the environmental and economical damage in the Lake Chad River Basin. The U.N. and other international organizations started working with countries in the basin several decades ago. In 1998 an environmental organization called the Civil strife erupts where resources are scarcest. Indeed, experts have attributed conflicts throughout these areas to the worsening environmental situation. of millet. Still, yields are very low. As one of Mme. Mederbeh’s neighbors says, “Eight months out of the year is the hard part.” Other resources are scarce also. The well often dries up entirely during the dry season. If this happens, Mme. Mederbeh walks more than a mile to dig water out of the empty riverbed. She also has a small flock of sheep, which she calls her “savings bank,” and can sell one if she needs emergency funds. There are virtually no other options for earning a living. Those who can scrape together a small amount of capital may be able to sell goods at the market in Meri, four miles away, Global Environment Facility mapped out a 20-year plan to change waterdiversion policies and repair the land, but implementation of this plan, according to the U.N. water report, has been “very slow.” There are significant obstacles to such efforts, not the least of which is finding a way to unify and motivate a vastly varied and fractionalized region which includes eight countries, each with its own interests and (often conflicting) policies, and numerous regional and tribal groups, many of which are nomadic, either by tradition or necessity. Infrastructure is slight and information dissemination poor, making it difficult to educate people about the issues and institute broadranging policies. As government organizations and international development groups forge a comprehensive plan for the At the peak of the dry season, women and children must dig water from dry riverbeds. region, work goes on at the ground level to help people make the most of their scant resources and protect the fragile environment. Mme. Mederbeh is one of the leaders of Femmes Ambitieuses (Ambitious Women), a group of 26 women and one man working on a new project with Heifer International to improve nutrition, create more income opportunities and restore overused soil and vegetation. The group is still in the training stages, learning how to use manure to fertilize crops and plant nitrogenfixing trees called vederbia, which help restore nutrients to the soil. Although some of the farmers’ habits, like overusing the land, can be inadvertently destructive, they also have many good practices. Oliver Shey, a livestock development officer for Heifer Cameroon’s Far North office, says a goal of the program is to build on the knowledge that the group already has. It makes the training easier, and the lessons more salient. For example, they already collect the high branches of the vederbia tree for their animals. And, he says, “They know the vederbia trees are good for the soil,” and this will help as they begin a vederbia seedling project. Ultimately, the group will receive 104 sheep of a sturdier species than they currently have. The flock will be bred primarily to sell, with the money going to raise the standard of living of the project participants, improve their diets and provide them with some capital to begin cottage industries in the village. One of the main focuses of the training is to substantially reduce the impact of livestock on the land. The group will learn low-impact grazing techniques, like saving crop residue for feed, and how best to preserve feed for use in times of drought. The group’s strength is their sense of community. “If they had donkeys, they would rent them to members of the community for cheaper [than the September/October 2008 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org 27 http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - September/October 2008

World Ark Magazine - September/October 2008 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked and Answered Digging Up the Past Not a Drop to Drink Facing the Ogres of Progress Mixed Media Heifer Bulletin Heifer Spirit World Ark Market Calendar First Person

World Ark Magazine - September/October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.