Tubaniso~ House of the Doves

I am back at the Peace Corps training site near Mali's capitol Bamako. We have two weeks of scheduled sessions for technical training, project ideas, and PACA practice (Participatory Analysis for Community Action). Also our work counterparts from our respective villages have joined us to attend PACA sessions as well.

Week 1

Week 2

So far the session on tree grafting has been the most helpful and engaging. I am really excited to graft some trees, particularly Mango and Shea. A grafted Mango tree can produce fruit in as little as 5 years whereas an ungrafted tree would produce fruit after about 25 years. I took pictures throughout the presentation. Our presenter was a Malian man that spoke Bambara. He put together a grafting kit and takes it with him wherever he goes.

Our presenter with his Graft Kit Bag

He said we should keep a grafting bag with us as well, because you never know when you might need your tools to collect branches. He was very entertaining and you could tell he was excited about his presentation.

completed graft of Baobob Tree

At T-So (Tubaniso) we are conveniently close to the big city Bamako. I have had the pleasure of going into town for dinner three times already. Pizza, banana split, falafel, wine, hummus, cheese, espresso, etc. the big city of Bamako has it all. I went to the Fourmi (a large supermarket) and was overwhelmed with the selection of shampoo & conditioners I could pick from. The Fourmi even sold dog food, I was convinced when I saw that aisle I could find anything there. I browsed a bit, but decided just to buy shampoo, postcards, a chocolate bar, and soap. I am trying to save money for traveling in Mali. While at T-So if we're not in a session, people are hanging out watching movies, tv shows, reading, playing card/board games, and playing volleyball, soccer, and basketball. If we had a bat and a ball I'm sure we would be training for W.A.I.S.T. the softball tournament held in Senegal. The sessions have been pretty long and after more than a week here most of us probably would rather be at site, but soon after our IST is christmas so many of us will be traveling to different places in Mali to celebrate together and listen to christmas tunes.