PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY TWO VILLAGE TWO

December 18, 2012

A Bridge !!!!!!!

The second village of the day is located on the very top of the mountain so we slowly wend our way up the narrowing, very uneven dirt road full of holes and ruts. It is so remote I begin to wonder how the villagers found this site in the first place. Especially since they had to walk to reach it. The motorbike is a new addition to the transportation network here coming in after the war ten years ago.

As we climb the mountain the trees change and become more sparse. Vegetation is still in evidence as the elevation isn’t high enough for a desolate environment. I ask how high we will be on the top, but no one knows.

This village is called the Rice Basket of Koinadugu because it can produce three harvests a year instead of the usual two. The Peace Mothers of this village realized that they were selling the rice to the traders at the lowest price when rice was plentiful thus making very little profit.

Counting The Proceeds

They decided to buy the all rice at the low trader price from the men’s harvest (men and women each farm their own fields), sell only what they need to from their harvest and store it and all the purchased rice from the men. When the traders’ supply of rice is running low the traders buy the rice at a higher price thus greatly increasing the income of the women of this village. 

They have built a small storage bin, but are fast outgrowing it. They need a larger bin to handle the increasing amount of the harvests.

Secret Society Dancers

Three secret society women dance for us reenacting a dramatic ceremony that is part of their lives. These women are painted 1/2 in blue and 1/2 in white on their faces and torsos. Dots decorate the white portion.

The Town Chief spoke to us about his support of the women and what they do to improve the quality of life in the village. Behind every successful man is a strong woman. He said he is happy to have the women produce the money and take over the finances because if were up to the men, they would only buy another wife! Now the money is used for education for the girl children as well as the boys.

As the villagers speak to us about the wonders of Fambul Tok and what the peace process has produced they also keep saying they didn’t expect us and haven’t had time to prepare a meal. In the end they give us gifts of a live rooster and hen and a large bowl of raw rice. We all place our hands on the fowl and acknowledge the rice. Micheala tells the Peace Mother Chair how grateful we are to receive these gifts and to save the chickens and rice to cook for the next visit from Fambul Tok.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara