Peace Corps Mali Spotligth
Training on Agroforestry in the Region of Timbuktu
Tammasheq, Songhai, and Peuhl residents of Gossi (Timbuktu Region) participated in a series of trainings on tree nursery management and agroforestry techniques that promoe reforestation and arbroculture in a region increasingly threatened by deforestation and desertification. The project, which included representatives of more than 20 associations, was implemented with the collaboration of the local representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and funding from Africa Sky, a United States NGO. Upon the completion of the training, each participant and fellow association members planted trees in public locations around the commune, including schools and public gardens, and received trees to cultivate in their own gardens and homes. Several of the participants have formed a tree association and started a commercial nursery, cultivating and selling trees used for both nutritional and functional purposes. For more information, see http://nataliegrillon.blogspot.com/ .