Background and Progression

Background

For 20 years I lived with my husband on an organic smallholding called Home Farm on the Hampshire - Sussex border in England whilst bringing up my children. During those years I was very involved in the Green Movement and, besides running the self-sufficient smallholding, I hosted Permaculture Courses and Regional Gatherings and was an active member of the local Self-Sufficiency Group and ran the local LETS scheme.

I came to the Gambia, as most other Europeans do, as a tourist about 10 years ago. Never having liked hotel holidays, I borrowed a car and drove up country. I was amazed to find that most of the aspirations of the groups I was involved with in UK were already in place in the day-to-day lives of the village people of rural Gambia as of necessity. People with no money naturally shared their tools and utensils, and bartered commodities. Nothing was wasted and a use was found for everything. The lifestyle was simple and uncomplicated and the people, especially the children, were peaceful, free and happy. I loved everything about it - except the poverty and the lack of food. So I kept returning year after year - staying with Gambian friends in mud block houses in the bush in Jarra East and each time learning a little more about how the communities functioned and getting my ideas in place of how I could help without impacting too much on a life system that I had grown so much to respect and enjoy. For a long time I did nothing except watch and listen. Then circumstances in England forced me to sell my smallholding and the time came for me to put in place some of my ideas. I decided then to set up a garden project in the Gambia and I called it after the name of the farm I was just selling. Hence the Home Farm Project.

Progression

My first step was to rent a compound in Serekunda and get acquainted with what other NGO type operations based in the Kombo area (the city area along the coast) were doing - so that I would not be duplicating efforts and so that I could call on their expertise if needed. I have had a permanent base there for nearly 5 years. In that time I developed the Home Farm Project and set up a trial site. I also worked out ideas in design and established four trial gardens for four young men in Kiang West - reputedly one of the poorest areas in the Gambia. I have funded all these trials and activities myself, including funding the four gardens. I have used money from the sale of Home Farm in UK - not wanting to use other people's money for my own research until I was sure that my theories would produce what I hoped of them. I know of many projects that use donations to try out ideas. Every element of the Home Farm Project to date has been personally tried, tested and funded by me.