2 full Landcruisers took off from the village to go to the land, about 20 peeople altogether. I know there is a lot of interest in this block from sponsors and volunteers, so I’ll detail things a bit. If you’re not into land then feel free to skip ahead.
The land is a nearly square block of 100 acres, about 640 metres per side. The southern edge is on the Suakoko-Yandawon Feeder Road, an east-west running road. This road is easy to find as it is the market road, the only real junction off the highway. It joins Suakoko and Gbengaye. The SW corner is 1100m from the junction. The SE corner is 640m east of that along the road, ie 1740m east of the junction, and has a ‘Soap’ tree. Boundary corners are marked by a ‘Soap’ tree here, which is a traditional tree used only to mark boundaries. Finding a Soap tree is like finding a fence line or pegs in the ground while walking. They have a keen eye here and if you plant a sapling, people still see it. The SE corner has a Cutting tree (distinctive) on its corner, with a Soap tree on the way. Dont ask me if Soap trees grow natively in random places and confuse things, I don’t know.
The SW corner is a swamp with a stream, and apparently a lake in rainy season, and is the lowest point on the block. It is perfect for rice growing. From there the land rises easterly and northerly, but the western edge stays low. The slopes are gentle, say 5%, with few sudden rises.
Everything grows here. There are 2 main soil types. The lower parts have a rich black organic topsoil a few centimetres thick, with a heavy wet grey clay underneath. The water table is not far from the ground here and is over ground level with rains. The upper parts have a red sandier soil which crumbles when rolled into a ball. In between one slowly transitions into the other type. Charles bought a soil auger and we took a few core samples.
I saw dense native rice, cassava, bananas, planteins, palm, pineapples and potatoes, all in abundance. This is a VERY fertile place.
The thing to do would be to draft a land usage grid. A 10×10 square grid gives acre lots. The rice would be the SW corner. Due to the land topology, the school and farm complexes would appear to be best situated in roughly the centre of the block. I estimate the school complex to be around 3 acres, the soccer field another 2, and the community centres maybe 1. Then there are farm buildings and sheds, another 3. teachers houses would spread over another 4 acres. So 12 acres is for buildings and football field. Of the rest, there are tall trees on the upper parts which could be sustainably grown and harvested for wood, and the lower parts would be for crops. Farm and school complexes in the centre. A road would need to be built from the roadway to the centre of the block. The school buildings would need to be on graded terraces, which the Bangladesh guys can do. I am really hoping that the survey includes a contour map. Otherwise it would be good to return to the block with a handheld GPS and map each acre lot. Maybe the engineers could survey the land as well for us. Did I mention I am not a fan of acres? Its a given here though.
So the land exists, it has a location, it has a topology, and is good fertile land. Together with Charles and Niapele, I think we have enough to start the land usage plan.