This project is made possible through the partnership of WATER CHARITY and the NATIONAL PEACE CORPS ASSOCIATION. 
This project page has been redacted at the request of the Peace Corps.
Location
Dayxxx, Fatick Region, Senegal
Community Description
Dayxxx is a rural village of 300, located in the southern part of the Fatick region. It is primarily a Mandinka village; however, Seerer, Bambera, and Pulafuta ethnicities are also found in Dayxxx.
Regardless of ethnic group, everyone in the village makes a living from the land. The work of the farmer is never finished. With the change in season, the bush is alternatively an aquamarine sea of onions or a medley of earthy tones from peanuts and grains. Farming efforts are aided by semi-seasonal rivers in the rainy season and a high water table during the dry season. Dayxxx is full of hardworking people, yet there is always a challenge to provide adequate nutrition.
Problem Addressed
The primary issue within Dayxxx is the lack of protected, improved water available spaces in which one can farm. Throughout the Senegalese gardening season, there is alternatingly either not enough water to consistently garden, or there is not sufficient protection against roaming livestock.
During the busy rainy and cool seasons, women and children wake up before daybreak to walk to the fields to spend the entire day, ensuring animals do not destroy their produce. This is a large time commitment to protect their fields, day after day, coupled with the low availability of spaces with a water source often leads to lower productivity and subpar levels of nutrition within Dayxxx. The Women’s Group of Dayxxx is one of the most motivated groups in the village, yet they lack any space to collectively garden. Empowering this group is a strong step towards ameliorating this situation.
Project Description
This project is to build a well to provide water for the women’s garden. It will work in tandem with a second project with outside funding that will cover the purchase of fencing materials.
The goal is to increase access to nutritious foods through the creation of a women’s garden immediately adjacent to Dayxxx. This project will increase the scale of rainy season gardening, which is often conducted on marginal land at a great labor cost, and the diversity of dry season gardening, which in Dayxxx is often constrained to only onions.
The location of this garden space is a 15-second walk from Dayxxx along the main access road to the fields. The project will decrease the large workload currently dedicated to non-productive agricultural activities. At the moment, significant amounts of time are spent in transit to the old gardening space and dissuading animals from said space. This workload falls almost completely on the women and youth of Dayxxx.
Water Charity funds will pay for the materials, transportation of material and labor costs of hand digging a concrete-lined well.
Dayxxx will contribute to the project by donating land for the garden. The Peace Corps Volunteer, in partnership with his counterpart, will coordinate construction activities. The community is also securing funding for the fencing, as well as for tools and seeds to work the garden.
Upon completion of the physical garden space, the PCV will implement a cross-sectoral teaching schedule of related agriculture, health, and business training by utilizing the expertise of regional volunteers and pilot farmers. These steps will lead to sustainable use of the garden space, self-sufficiency and enhanced capacity for skill sharing long after the PCV leaves.
Project Impact
300 people will benefit from the project.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
P. Jones
Monitoring and Maintenance
The Women’s Group will monitor the well upon completion, perform necessary maintenance, and control access.
Let Girls Learn
While not an official Let Girls Learn project, it accrues to the benefit of women and girls. The time saved in irrigating the garden, together with the nutritional and economic benefits that accrue, work toward making it easier for girls to remain in school.
Fundraising Target
$700
Funds raised in excess of the project amount will be allocated to other projects in the country.
Donations Collected to Date
$700
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded through the generosity of the G3 Foundation, of Costa Mesa, CA, USA.
