In August 2008 Celina Guich of Niapele went over to Liberia to investigate the farm side of things. Now I had been thinking, its just too easy. we need a challenge. Celina rose to the occasion. From an email 28 August:
‘I have returned from Liberia and have been to the site of the future CAMES school in Bong County. I have sent a link to the photos in a separate email…OK—so —the land is essentially a forest that will completely need to be cleared in order to develop it as the the site to build the school and the future site for the farm…We could only see the land from the dirt road we were walking on, as you can see from the pictures I sent. And looking to the left where the land is, its just looked like a big green rain forest.’
That’s not such a bad thing. It means we will potentially have building timber longer term, and can get some sustainable cycles happening. But it also means we have a major clearing exercise ahead. The survey is now much more important, as we need to clear the appropriate areas. Celina also did a lot of fine work in her time with Charles Mulbah of Cuttington University, which has a first class agricultural centre specializing in the West African environment. She left with the farm and agriculture roadmap well advanced.
Another item for the list: are there graders that can be leased in Bong County? (I am going to feel real silly if grading is done here by oxen on an acre basis.)