Training of Trainers take two

On Sunday Abdoulie, Johnson, Aloysius and I - driven by Ba Sarjo - left the cool Kombos for sultry Soma. There we met Godfrey, Eliazer, Jane and Mwelu and, as a team, settled in to train 22 extension workers on groundnut production, farmer field school techniques, and monitoring and evaluation. 

The centre was really quite nice - a lot more comfortable than our last Training of Trainers venue. I shared a little house with Jane, with a private bathroom and efficient shower - a luxury compared to last year's shared toilet and bucket bath system. 

My room

Our little house

We were much better prepared this time round; we had met before hand and agreed who would train on what, and prepared the timetable as a group, which reduced some of the stress and anxiety that had been displayed by some of the volunteers at the previous training session. Each presenter developed a powerpoint presentation ahead of the training and delivered their modules with confidence. 

The conference room

On the first morning (Monday) I was asked to chair the opening ceremony, and I held a session in the afternoon to collect some information for baselines and indicators. I was then free until Wednesday but spent the time helping to coordinate trainers and participants, slipping outside occasionally for a delicious mango! They were so plentiful and delicious it was hard to stick to the one a day rule! 

Chairing the opening ceremony

It was so hot in Soma compared to the still cool Kombos, so we started early and scheduled the afternoon sessions to finish shortly after lunch. This meant the evenings were our own to wander around or lie down and escape the heat in whatever way we could. On Wednesday it was 44 degrees, and night time temperatures remained high - usually 36 degrees until at least 10pm and not dropping that much lower through the night. Electricity was only available (apart from in the training room) between 8pm and 1am so sleeping at night after 1am without a fan was challenging! Thankfully the place was mosquito free so I was able to sleep without a bed net and feel the slight breeze coming through the window.

An evening walk to the river

The place was surrounded by goats (including two very new ones that were born while we were there) sheep, cows, and lots and lots of children. I was mobbed on several occasions for pictures, and everywhere I went heard shouts of 'Toubab Toubab'. Being the only white woman in the whole training camp and village I was fairly easy to spot and rarely able to hide from the children's attention! 

New kids...

Crazy kids!

So, now that the Training of Trainers has been completed, our team of extension workers and lead farmers will head out to hold farmer field schools on improved groundnut techniques. Hopefully this will improve the quality and quantity of groundnuts grown in The Gambia, and raise income levels for some of the poorest farmers.