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Drought in West Africa
Please collect
vegetable seeds for Gambian villagers at Harvest Festivals
The
2011-12 West African drought resulted in severe crop failures in The
Gambia, with an overall reduction in production of about 70%. In
some villages the harvest failed completely, and even where a
harvest was gathered, there was only enough for about 2 months'
food. Normally the farmers are able to provide food for 4-6 months
before the villagers need to purchase from outside. Prices of
locally produced food soared, and large increases in world food
prices mean that imported food is also very expensive.
We first brought you news of
this food crisis back in April, (see more details on
this news page) when we suggested you could help by
purchasing one of Pageant's Ethical Gifts, such as a sack of rice,
or some gardening supplies.
The
drought has also reduced the availability of seeds for planting future
crops and here we may be able to help. A few years ago, a number of
schools and churches used their Harvest Festivals to collect packets
of seeds to send to us, for Pageant to take out to The Gambia.
(see details on
this news page) Harvest Festivals mostly happen about mid-September, and the best
time for sowing vegetable seeds in The Gambia is after the rains
have finished in October. This coincides with the regular visit of
the Pageant team, who can take out the packets of seeds. So if you
are associated with a church, school,
scouts or guides group or similar, you still have time to
organise something. Also, if you are visiting a garden centre, look
out for packets of seed being sold off cheap at the end of the UK
sowing season. The most popular seeds to send to The Gambia are
tomatoes (specially the large ones), onions, carrots, cabbage,
lettuce, aubergines, peppers, parsley and courgettes.
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school children with packets of donated seeds
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seedbeds ready for sowing
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more of the school vegetable garden
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some really healthy vegetables
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Most
Gambian schools have vegetable gardens, which not only serve as
teaching aids, but also supply produce for the school kitchens -
helping to feed the children. You can read the story of how Pageant
helped one school to set up some vegetable gardens on
this page.
If you can collect any packets of seed, please
send them to Pippa and Ian Howard, Old School, Worthing Road,
Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex. RH13 9DT. The packets
will be taken out when the Pageant team next visit The Gambia towards the
end of October. These seeds will be of immense value to both school and village gardens,
helping to alleviate the effects of the food shortage in these
communities.
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