With Aïssa and her relatives (1987)

Aïssa and I (2007) 

Just left wondering… Where has the past two decades gone?

Here are a few highlights from the Nigerien racing season ending at the Zinder track:

Zinder - one of the most laid back race tracks in the world

A traditionally dressed horse with multiple decoration

Horse and rider heading through the crowd 

A well photographed pair!

Traditional musicians

For other posts on horse racing in Zinder, click here.
For more highlights from the track, stay tuned!

It’s been dry and hot all day, and then all of sudden - it started to rain!

And as I would never do in Sweden, I went out of the office (had to turn off the computer because of the thunders anyway) and enjoyed the rain!

But after a while, the shower got too intense - although the temperature was lovely, and I joined Tabita on the inside looking out the precious drops falling from the sky…

Lol, it’s got to be in Niger where rain is so exclusive it’s entertaining!

Although this rain was wasted (it’s too early for anyone to sow), I can’t wait for the rainy season to start for real! Even though the first month of it will be hot as well as humid. But then… things will get soooo green, after a long, uncomfortable dry season, that change is just worth soooo much!

Copyright Eden Foundation 2008

Dressed up and showing his new watch, Saadu poses between his Eden trees in the heart of the Tanout department: trees that he has sown himself and that are now generating an important income for his family.

Trees in Niger are an asset, and fruiting trees even more so. Eden has an extensive social documentation in the are that we work in, and it has been my great joy over the years to see the living standards rise - in the least developed area in the least developed country in the world, a place where agricultural experts would claim that man cannot survive from the land as the rainfall is too low. I would not be surprised however if these tree-sowing pioneers in a generation or two be will be way richer than people most, because they have found something that gives them hope: a solution that is totally adapted to their means and needs and which is allowing them to lead a more sustainable life by the day. No one tells the Eden farmers what to do with the money they earn or how to invest it. No one tells the Eden farmers how to live their lives. We are not here to influence the population into changing their culture, but to offer them the means that will enable them to lead a sustainable life. Eden’s solution is simple. We offer drought tolerant seeds to motivated farmers, seeds of species that will give food even in times of needs. We give advice on preventive health in all our villages, which has reduced child mortality in our villages considerably (for reference, see the Eden Think Tank article When Malnutrition is Labeled as Famine). And then we watch how they take matters into their own hands and start finding solutions with the means that they now have available to them, means that come from the trees they have sown on their fields.

I am proud of the Eden farmers and I am full of expectations to see what lives their children will be leading… I end with a quote from Salamatu Baraka, whose family started working with Eden eleven years ago:

“I’m so happy when you come to visit me! I am very pleased with the produce we get from the seeds you have given us. We eat the fruits and use some of the branches to make mats, ropes and things like that. This takes us through a lot of difficulties. I often show others what we are getting through Eden, so that they will understand the benefits. I tell them to follow your instructions so that we in our village will reach a high level of productivity. Direct seeding is a successful way of establishing plants in our area, and if you just bring us more seeds, we will do our best to sow them!”

Salamatu Baraka - Copyright Eden Foundation 2005

On Monday, we went back to the field station to continue the work that was started some ten days ago.

Image from September 11th 2007

Although I love the field station when its green, I love it just as much when it the grass is dry and many of the trees has shred their leaves. It is a vast and serene area that makes you forget about time and allows you to ‘feel the moment’. And you guys all know how much I love that!

Ah, no visit to the field station without a typical Western pose…?

We were back to continue the work that had been started, and this time there was much to work on.

Preparing for the coming season, where the new plants will be sown

Fixing the bars that have suffered from the heavy winds…

Nothing like the sun setting in Tanout!

On Sunday, I went to the race track with another expat. I had asked Ali to ride Arwen straight to the track, and then Tom (who rides an ex race horse by the name Luke) and I took the longer detour through the Zinderien bush, which gives the best of both riding worlds…

It was the grand finale of the two week racing session that has been going on in Zinder.

It was also my very first sight of Sudanese horse racing. The Sudanese (which looks like a cross between a barb and an arab horse) to not run together with Nigerien barbs, as they are much larger in size. Only the very richest in Niger have then, which is no surprise as a Sudanese horses eats about four time as much a Nigerien barb. They are known for their combined strength and speed and I was thrilled to see them racing!

There were only four of them, but that didn’t make the race any less enjoyable!

Passing the tribune for the first (of two) times-

The white Sudanese with the black mane immediately took the lead, and held it for most part of the race.

Towards the finish, the bay Sudanese was about to run past him-

…but the most dominant of these stallions would have none of that! And once he’s scared off his opponent, he eased past the finish line. Lol, some of these racing horses are true divas!

Number three (Maya’s neighbor) was pretty tired when he passed the finish line…

The team of the second place holder did not seem all that happy about the finishing… But who can blame the horse when you’ve seen the opponent’s body language…?

Team Ishtar however (who doesn’t race unless there are no drugs involved) was doing well, with the mares Arwen & Sahara looking beautiful as ever! And Ali was one proud rider, as usual!

Ishtar did take her pregnant mare for a run, and made the whole racing community shake their heads… But hey! Arwen is still months away from foaling, and if you ask her what she wants, it’s to stretch those powerful legs of hers and feel some speed… And I’m not one to deny her what she wants!

Yesterday’s post about the Niger 2004-05 Famine Scam debate going in Norway has been updated with the following link:

Norwegian People’s Aid goes self-critical, published in Bergens Tidende on May 3rd, 2008

It is an interview with Petter Eide, the secretary general of the Norwegian People’s Aid whom after the Tabloid debate that followed the day after The Famine Scam had aired, went out on national television, saying that it was OK to exaggerate crises in order to raise funds.

In my chronicle Egeland, you owe an apology published in Bergens Tidende on April 28th, I write:

I am chocked by the lack of interest towards the intended receivers of this aid, and the appalling lack of interest in the needs of the country in question. Instead, representatives such as Petter Eide of the Norwegian People’s Aid, claim that it is morally acceptable to exaggerate crises in order to get the Western world to donate more. But it is really OK to comprise with the truth? Problems are simplified and over-dramatized, so that the larger aid organizations can offer a very simple solution, a real “quick fix” to global poverty and misery.

Esther Garvi, Eden Foundation

In the article Norwegian People’s Aid goes self-critical, Eide responds:

I am sorry for using words and expressions that may have caused misunderstandings. Of course, I do not condone lying.

Petter Eide, Norwegian People’s Aid

Here is what I initially made of the whole aid debate, after our meeting in Tabloid (posted on March 5th):

There is a whole debate going on about the aid organizations’ handling of “emergencies”, and the thing is, we can never forget that we are dealing with real human beings here. They may be poor, and they may be illiterate (hence they have no access to our studios and no means of putting their foot down when other people belittle them), but that does not make it OK to claim that they are dying of hunger and distribute food, when in fact they are not at all dying of hunger, but suffering from difficult diseases and other things related to their harsh situation.

Having read up on what Norway is left wondering about, I can only say that this from my side is not an issue about whether or not to engage in the poor, because I really commend anyone who wants to do something for the poor. But in order to help someone, you need to know what that person needs and wants; and you can absolutely never go into a situation and start meddling with the marginal coping mechanisms that that society has, only to retreat when your object no longer wins the sympathies of the masses. And believe me, the Western World tires easily of things that lack action.

Esther Garvi, Eden Foundation

In the article Norwegian People’s Aid goes self-critical, Eide continues:

…It is better, cheaper and more effective to prevent crises, rather than reacted to them. But all journalists think that it is better to write about an [ongoing] aid campaign rather than what is being done to prevent the crisis. It’s a dilemma, for we depend on attention to get money.

…what the researchers must understand, is that we need to finance our work. We use a lot of resources to raise money.

Petter Eide, Norwegian People’s Aid

I see the point that Tarje Iversen Wanvik, former campaign leader of Kirkens Nødhjelp, makes in the chronicle Aid in crisis:

The aid industry depends on financial donations in order to run its business. But in the way that they raise money, as well as how they deal with issues of poverty, they are in danger of tearing down the credibility of the entire industry.

Tarje Iversen Wanvik

We are going back to the field station today to finish off the work that was started when we were there last.

Will probably have some nice pictures to blog about when we come back.

In the meantime, I leave you with a fresh picture for the field taken by an Eden field worker as he passed a well on his way to an Eden village.

Copyright Eden Foundation 2008

There’s a fresh debate going on in Norway right, touching right into the heart of aid politics. It all started with a chronicle I wrote that was published in Bergens Tidende on April 28th, entitled Be om unnskyldning, Egeland.

Here are a few quotes from the chronicle that translates to ‘Egeland, you owe an apology‘:

…for despite claims of having acted under good pretenses, a great wrong has been done to a people who have had its leadership publicly discredited on the international scene, its sensitive economy disrupted by an invasion of foreign food distributions and its local food culture ridiculed on international television. An excuse from those responsible would be in place, but now that the tide has turned, the voices of the actors previously so fond of the cameras seem to have gone mute.

…And so I ask: has the man who blatantly took credit for having resolved a famine that never was, nothing to say to his defense?

Esther Garvi, Eden Foundation

The debate that followed can be found here.

Other related articles include:

Media distorts the image of Africa, published in Bergens Tidende on April 29th, 2008

Our prejudices rule, published in Bergens Tidende on April 29th, 2008

Harmful aid, published in Bergens Tidende on April 30th, 2008

Norwegian People’s Aid goes self-critical, published in Bergens Tidende on May 3rd, 2008

…I am sorry for using words and expressions that may have caused misunderstandings. Of course, I do not condone lying.

…It is better, cheaper and more effective to prevent crises, rather than reacted to them. But all journalists think that it is better to write about an [ongoing] aid campaign rather than what is being done to prevent the crisis. It’s a dilemma, for we depend on attention to get money.

…what the researchers must understand, is that we need to finance our work. We use a lot of resources to raise money.

Petter Eide, Norwegian People’s Aid

Aid in crisis, published in Bergens Tidende on May 3rd, 2008

Aid organizations have problems with both communication and action. There is a huge difference between what they say, what they want to do and what they actually get done.

Tarje Iversen Wanvik

Why is Egeland silent? published in Bergens Tidende on May 4th, 2008

There was a crisis in Niger, published in Bergens Tidende on May 4th, 2008

Journalists want the television aid galas to end, published in Bergens Tidende on May 4th, 2008

To watch the Norwegian version of the Famine Scam, click here.

In the Western world, the notion of civilization is mostly focused around technological success, but in the least developed area in the poorest country in the world (that would be Tanout, yes), you will find a world totally different from your own. Here, people have time for each other, the poor laugh and the children are full of life.

Copyright Eden Foundation

It hasn’t always been like this, for when Eden arrived in Tanout twenty years ago, the population had been struck hard by the serious droughts of the 80s, and desertification was a widespread problem. Wanting to get rid of the birds that ate their crop, farmers were cutting down their trees at an alarming rate. Hardly any new trees were established as it was generally believed to be something that only God could do. Man sowed the millet and God sowed the trees – and if they did not get any more trees, it meant that God did not want them established. A sense of resignation spread, which people – including the children – grew accustomed to.

Copyright Eden Foundation 1987

In 1987, Eden arrived and set about researching plants that could tolerate drought and give food. It took four years for the first farmers to approach Eden and ask for help. Those were nine brave pioneers who had seen the positive effects of the trees at the field station and wanted us to help them establish their own. Today, Eden has served 2,500 families in 129 villages through passive transfer alone. Passive transfer means that we never advertise our work but wait for people to see the benefits first-hand or to be convinced by a devoted Eden farmer with personal experience. When the farmers then come to us, we are ready for them and will serve them with seeds and instructions, but their own dedication is the foundation for their success.

Eden’s solution does not only offer the population a sustainable life; it gives hope and opportunities. When the millet fails and the men depart for their annual exodus, the women and children are no longer stranded in a sea of sand. Instead, there are Eden fruits to be harvested which provide them with a multitude of options. Twenty years have passed since our arrival and you find the children leading a rich life, despite growing up in the least developed area in the poorest country in the world. Here are some glimpses of their daily life; captured by our field workers in their daily work. I hope this will give you a good insight into their joy and give you a picture of the scope of their imagination, which has been fueled by the example set by their parents as they make use of their Eden trees in more ways than we imagined twenty years ago.

Copyright Eden Foundation

In a society where everybody is needed, there is a place for children and they cannot wait to help out. Here, group activities are the norm rather than the exception, and stress is nonexistent.

Copyright Eden Foundation

These boys are the proud caretakers of the village cows and they actually make it look easy to gallop bareback on a bull.

Copyright Eden Foundation

Lack of money does not equal lack of resources. These Eden children exhibit their handmade toys made of thin branches, grass and discarded flip-flop shoes (note the tires on the truck).

Copyright Eden Foundation

While the grownups are building a new mud house in the village, the children have produced their own miniature replica; with windows, an entrance to each of the two rooms and “logs” to support the roof.

Copyright Eden Foundation

Inspired by the different types of wells available in the area (it is often the young boys’ chore to fetch water at the wells), these Eden children have built their own models, which required first-hand knowledge and a lot of finesse. As our field worker walked by, these future engineers were busy trying out the most effective model.

Copyright Eden Foundation

Picking fruit is the favourite game of the Eden children and you often find them in their parents’ fields checking on the different species’ fruiting season…

Copyright Eden Foundation

Even fruit consumption is a group activity, and the children gather in groups to crack the nuts, after having consumed the fruit flesh. The Eden nuts are full of fats and proteins, and are an important addition to their diet. The older children share their treasures with their younger siblings, who are too small to open the nut shells themselves.

Copyright Eden Foundation

Because their parents chose to stop cutting down their trees several years ago and to direct seed instead, the Eden children now have edible trees and bushes available to them. Twenty years have passed since Eden’s arrival to the region and this generation is facing a new future, where resignation has given way to hope and limitations have been replaced by possibilities and options.

Copyright Eden Foundation

When Eden visited the MSF [Doctors without borders] centre in Tanout, their head of operation said that the number of children treated in the Tanout area was much smaller than in the south of the country, and how she had noticed that the people of Tanout had much better coping mechanisms.

Coping mechanisms means people’s ability to fall back on alternative support systems when the main activity of their livelihood fails. They are a key element in attaining a sustainable life, but short-term aid represses these as it is easier to beg than to do something about one’s situation. It is not true that the food does not exist, nor that the food available is famine food not worthy for human beings. In the Western world however, it is hard to appreciate what one does not know and the media has belittled the local food. Many poor people now dream of rice, maize and wheat; expensive crops that do not grow naturally in Niger and which are less nutritious than millet. A lot of money is wasted when wives insist that their husbands bring them “quality food” instead of local millet and the children suffer because the quantity is less and there are not enough nutrients in what they eat.

In Tanout however, our children go out in the fields and pick fruits whenever they feel like it. Their food is varied and contains energy, vitamins, proteins and fat. There is money to be earned as the fruits are appreciated and easily sold. Because their parents chose to forgo destructive environmental habits several years ago and to start direct seeding, the younger generation now have edible trees and bushes available to them, which many others lack.

- Excerpt from the Eden Think Tank article When Endemic Malnutrition is Labeled as Famine, published on the web May 2006

Copyright Eden Foundation

I think that anyone who struggles to understand why I go back to Niger year after year despite the lack of material comfort, need only see a glimpse of the world of the Eden children in order to see why the struggle for a sustainable solution for the poorest of the poor is worth all the hard work and dedication. For when a simple solution like Eden’s works, there is hope.