eg General Report, May 2021
Over the past few weeks, I had several meetings with the everyday gandhis (eg) team, visited the permaculture site, watched the culture troupe practice, met with the traditional women and talked about their significant role in eg and the dream circles, as well as arranged a Mobile Peace Team meeting in Foya. An overview of these activities are as follows.
Permaculture
The team is working tirelessly to entirely relocate the permaculture (PC) demonstration site into the lowland to increase productivity. Farmers passing by are mesmerized by the designs and type of farming. Astonished by the freshness of the fruit and vegetables, anyone who came across the garden’s harvest was eager to know how they were produced.
As a result, several towns and villages have already propositioned eg for PC training. The team is considering training these towns and villages during the next planning season. At this time, interested towns and villages will come to the eg demonstration site for training, and will be monitored during implementation in their respective communities.
Another improvement in this sector is poultry farming. Mohammed is working hard to expand our operation and generate income for eg. We now have over 25 country chickens, which he is kindly requesting eg to build a larger space for, separate from the forest and PC site.
Culture troupe and traditional music
I am thrilled by the performance of the culture troupe, especially the dancers. Some talented new members have joined the team, whom sing and dance from the heart alongside the older members. As the troupe grows, new ideas and trainings are emerging to improve their performances and ensure their songs carry the peace message of eg.
The troupe is actively training two towns where drums and instruments are being made (Lawalazu and Johnny Town on Kolahun Road). The towns are pleased and grateful to eg for restoring their cultural activities, which were nearly lost after over a decade of no culture troupe activities.
Dream circle and traditional cleansing
Thanks to Jallah Sawo, Pa Mamadee, the traditional women, and the rest of the team members, they have taken the dream circle and all traditional aspects of eg to the next level. They are committed to having a regular dream circle and carrying out sacrifices to protect eg and its staff, Lofa County, and Liberia in general. While visiting, there were several cleansing ceremonies of eg compounds (old and new), medicine was taken out of the compound buried by an unknown person to destroyed eg and nothing good should come out of it.
Renovation
The fence and bathroom renovations are complete, and Morris and the team did exceptionally well with the job. The entire compound is now secured from intruders, and eg’s private activities are no longer open to the public.
Mobile Peace Team
On May 9, 2021, we conducted a three-day cross-border meeting with community teams in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. The meeting was held in Foya and was intended to reawake eg Mobile Peace Team activities to promote peace among the three countries, which has been difficult to conduct in the region since the Ebola and Covid pandemics.
The meeting was focused on upcoming eg events such as environmental protection (nursery preparation in border communities and tree planting), soccer peace games, cultural festivals, domestic violence awareness, dream circles, permaculture, and discussion about local issues facing the communities such as a current land disputes between Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The various teams from the three countries are planning and working on the activities listed above for implementation within 4-5 months. Events will be held in various bordering towns one after another, with Sierra Leone taking the lead to be the first host during the dry season.
Honestly, the meeting was fruitful, and every participant was grateful for the discussion and embraced the idea of maintaining peace in the region.
Recommendation from the meeting includes:
Make eg t-shirts for all members (with eg logo)
Make eg ID card for all members
Designate a direct communication line (telephone)
Secure transportation for eg Liberia, which remains a significant obstacle to expansion.
コメント