lundi 25 septembre 2017

115- En defensa de la agricultura

EN DEFENSA DE LA AGRICULTURA

Francia es desde varios años, el crisol de una curiosa evolución del pensamiento hacia la alimentación. No quiere decir que sea el único país donde se observa este fenómeno, pero es probablemente donde es más violento, más extremo y también, y es más grave, más institucionalizado.


Sabes, querido lector, que soy francés, productor de frutas fuera de Francia, en España (más de uno me ha llamado traidor).
Aprovecho muchas veces artículos o comentarios procedentes de Francia. Espero que mis 78% de lectores no franceses no se harten de ello.
Pero es que lo que se está produciendo en esos momentos en Francia es ejemplar de lo que no se debe hacer o no debe dejar que se haga.
Espero que los demás países tendrán la fuerza y la inteligencia de no dejar que las cosas se desmadren de esta manera.
A fin de cuenta, todo el mundo  está perdiendo, sobre todo los agricultores, por supuesto, pero también el conjunto de los consumidores, es decir finalmente 100% de la población. Y eso, sin contar los daños medioambientales a largo plazo que ocasionan esas derivas ideológicas sin ningún fundamento científico real.

La excepción francesa. Los franceses son orgullosos de sentirse excepcionales. Hay una excepción francesa en cuanto a la cultura, una suerte de resistencia frente a la invasión de la cultura anglo-americana en la literatura y sobre todo en el cinema y la música.
Y cada vez que un hecho particular pone por delante una característica de Francia con respecto a otros países, se vuelve a sacar una y otra vez la excepción francesa, siempre en una faceta positiva y gratificante.
Es cierto, existe actualmente una excepción francesa. Pero esta es taimada, negativa, destructiva. Existe una verdadera depravación en la relación de la sociedad civil con su agricultura.


Y no creo que los franceses tengan derecho de sentirse orgullosos de esta relación, próxima a la inquisición, en la que el único pensamiento aceptable es ecológico, en la que la manipulación de la opinión pública es cuidadosamente organizada por lobbies que se niegan a llevar este nombre, en forma de “movimientos ciudadanos” o de organizaciones ecologistas, con el apoyo incondicional de la mayoría de los medias, televisión, radio, prensa escrita y digital, el conjunto bajo la mirada benevolente de los políticos en el poder sea cual sea su orientación ideológica.


La situación se ha vuelto tan tensa que los agricultores llegan a oponerse entre ellos.
Observo aquí, en España, en mi entorno, que existe una verdadera complementariedad entre los distintos sistemas de producción. La agricultura ecológica ocupa un sitio creciente, pero no se hace, o solo raramente por oposición a la agricultura convencional, pero más bien como una orientación diferente, una elección deliberada, y sobre todo una adaptación a un mercado en constante crecimiento.
La sociedad civil española es globalmente orgullosa de su agricultura, de sus progresos, de sus éxitos, de su pluralidad, y de la calidad de los alimentos que capaz de producir.
La agricultura evoluciona en su conjunto partiendo de una agricultura industrial, todavía presente en algunos sectores, especialmente para algunas producciones como los cereales o el algodón, hacia una agricultura más respetuosa, agricultura de conservación, producción integrada o agricultura ecológica.

No hay motivo para oponer los métodos de producción. Son complementarias. Las únicas evoluciones imprescindibles, son las que afectan a la erosión de los suelos, a la utilización de los recursos hídricos, y los problemas de contaminación. Pero para eso, ya lo he comentado en varias ocasiones, la mejor vía no es solamente la agricultura ecológica.


Acabo de leer un libro muy interesante, corto, conciso, muy claro, de fácil lectura, muy documentado, muy instructivo para quien quiere aceptar sus constataciones.
“Plaidoyer pour nos agriculteurs” (Alegato para nuestros agricultores) es escrito por Sylvie Brunel y publicado en francés en la colección “Dans le vif” por las editorial Buchet Chastel.


Hoy, te propongo la introducción, que es un bien resumen de la situación, y mi opinión con respecto a un problema no agrícola, pero con repercusiones tremendas.


“Un grito de alarma y un alegato.

Durante 20 años, he trabajado con ONGs que se enfrentaban a graves crisis alimentarias. Luchábamos contra las hambrunas y contra el hambre crónica, que sigue azotando a millones de personas en el mundo.
Comparados con la amplitud del problema, nuestros medios eran irrisorios. Sin embargo salvábamos vidas y servíamos de centinelas, alertando al mundo sobre las victimas olvidadas. El hambre es un asesino silencioso que la abundancia nos ha hecho olvidar, cuando sigue activa donde la pobreza y la falta de medios siguen siendo realidad.

Luego regrese a Francia para trabajar. Y descubrí una situación que me dejó estupefacta: ahí, los que nos alimentan son maltratados. No pasa un día sin que el trabajo agrícola este vilipendiado. Sin embargo gracias a él, nuestro pequeño país ha adquirido su independencia alimentaria e incluso se ha convertido en un gran exportador de alimentos. Pero, cuando la “marca Francia” se mantiene en muchos países del mundo como una señal de calidad, hablando de vino por supuesto, pero también de semillas, lácteos, cereales, carne bovina o manzanas, los franceses abuchean su agricultura, tomando el riesgo de verla desaparecer.

Necesitaba entender. Comparar mi experiencia del hambre ahí, a la realidad del campo aquí. Pues me fui para ver cómo trabajan esos agricultores tan criticados. Recorrí la Francia rural, hablado con cientos de personas, visitado muchas explotaciones. Pregunté, investigué. Sin prejuicio y con tenacidad.
Por todos lados, encontré gente apasionada, hombres y mujeres que adoran su trabajo y ponen todo en obra para entregarnos una alimentación de calidad. Agricultores, fruticultores, ganaderos que dedican su vida a sus fincas, a sus campos, a sus huertos a sus animales. Y que sufren tremendamente de sentirse tan despreciados, tan incomprendidos.

Este libro es un grito de alarma y un alegato. ¿Habremos olvidado el miedo a faltar? ¿Sabremos todavía lo que es caer enfermo, o incluso morir envenenado, por culpe de una alimentación inadecuada?
Mientras el clima cambia y la población no para de crecer, es urgente que cambiemos de actitud para salvar nuestros campos y los que nos alimentan. El tiempo nos es contado.”


Aconsejo claramente la lectura de este corto libro, perturbador para quien se interesa a la alimentación, la agricultura, el medioambiente, y para quien desea o acepta cuestionar algunos valores habitualmente admitidos en las sociedades occidentales. Una gran patada en las ideas preconcebidas.
El libro no toma partido por una ideología u otra. Estudia una situación cada vez compleja y difícil, en la que el público, pero también los propios agricultores, tienen cada vez más dificultades para distinguir la verdad de la mentira.

Sylvie Brunel nos habla de pesticidas, de residuos, de contaminación, pero también de evolución demográfica, política, comercial e incluso de geopolítica.
Explica los problemas y los errores del pasado, pero también las evoluciones y los cambios realizados o en curso, los progresos, los profundos cambios que la agricultura ha implementado.
Habla de los riesgos sanitarios y de la seguridad de los alimentos.
Es que la problemática agrícola toca todo eso y las decisiones políticas e ideológicas de hoy, a menudo guiadas por motivos afectivos, ideológicos, pero no científicos, tendrán numerosas y graves repercusiones en el futuro.
Y aunque este libro sea muy centrado en la agricultura francesa, una amplia mayoría de las informaciones que ahí se encuentran se puede extrapolar a muchísimos otros países del mundo.
Desgraciadamente, en mi conocimiento, no ha sido traducido todavía, y en consecuencia solo está disponible en francés.
Es una lástima. Quizás pueda tomar otros temas del libro en el futuro para traducirlos, para que puedas disfrutar del poder de análisis de Sylvie Brunel.

115- Une défense de l'agriculture

UNE DÉFENSE DE L’AGRICULTURE

La France est depuis plusieurs années le creuset d'une curieuse évolution de la pensée vis à vis de l'alimentation. Ça ne veut pas dire que ce soit le seul pays où l'on observe ce phénomène, mais c'est probablement celui où il est le plus violent, le plus extrême et aussi, plus grave, le plus institutionnalisé.


Vous savez, mes chers lecteurs, que je suis français, producteur de fruits hors de France, en Espagne (plus d’un m’a traité de traître).
Je reprends souvent des articles ou des commentaires en provenance de France. J'espère que mes 78% de lecteurs non français ne s'en lassent pas.
Mais ce qui se passe en ce moment en France est exemplaire de ce qu'il ne faut pas faire ou ne pas laisser faire.
J'espère que les autres pays auront la force et l'intelligence de ne pas laisser les choses déraper de cette manière.
Au bout du compte, tout le monde y perd, surtout les agriculteurs, bien sûr, mais aussi l'ensemble des consommateurs, donc finalement 100% de la population. Et ça, sans compter les dégâts environnementaux à long terme que provoquent ces dérives idéologiques sans aucun fondement scientifique réel.

L'exception française. Les français sont fiers de se sentir exceptionnels. Il y a une exception française concernant la culture, une sorte de résistance face à l'invasion de la culture anglo-américaine dans la littérature et surtout dans le cinéma et la musique.
Et dès qu'un fait particulier met en avant une caractéristique de la France par rapport aux autres pays, on ressort inlassablement l'exception française, toujours sur un aspect positif et valorisant.
C’est vrai, il existe bien actuellement une  exception française. Mais celle-ci est sournoise, négative, destructrice. Il existe une véritable dépravation dans la relation de la société civile à son agriculture.


Et je ne crois pas que les français soient en droit de se sentir fiers de cette relation, proche de l'inquisition, dans laquelle la seule pensée acceptable est bio, dans laquelle la manipulation de l'opinion publique est savamment orchestrée par des lobbies qui refusent d'en porter le nom, sous forme de "mouvements citoyens" ou d'organisations écologistes, avec l'appui inconditionnel de la plupart des médias, télévision, radio, presse écrite et digitale, le tout sous le regard bienveillant des politiciens au pouvoir quel que soit leur orientation idéologique.


La situation est devenue tellement tendue que les agriculteurs arrivent à s'opposer entre eux. J'observe, ici en Espagne, dans mon entourage, qu'il y a une vraie complémentarité entre les différents systèmes de production. L'agriculture biologique occupe une place croissante, mais elle ne se fait pas, ou seulement rarement par opposition à l'agriculture conventionnelle, mais plutôt comme une orientation différente, un choix délibéré, et surtout une adaptation à un marché toujours plus demandeur.
La société civile espagnole est globalement fière de son agriculture, de ses progrès, de ses succès, de sa pluralité, et de la qualité des aliments qu’elle est capable de produire.
L'agriculture évolue dans son ensemble à partir d'une agriculture industrielle, encore présente dans certains secteurs, en particulier pour certaines productions comme les céréales ou le coton, vers une agriculture plus respectueuse, agriculture de conservation, production intégrée ou agriculture biologique.

Il n'y a pas de raison d'opposer les méthodes de production. Elles sont complémentaires. Les seules vraies évolutions indispensables, sont celles qui concernent l'érosion des sols, la qualité des sols et de l’eau, l'utilisation des réserves hydriques, et les problèmes de pollution. Mais pour cela, je vous en ai déjà parlé à plusieurs reprises, la meilleure voie n'est pas uniquement l'agriculture biologique.


Je viens de lire un livre très intéressant, court, concis, très clair, de lecture facile, très documenté, très instructif pour qui veut bien en accepter les constats.
"Plaidoyer pour nos agriculteurs" est écrit par Sylvie Brunel et publié en français dans la collection "Dans le vif" aux éditions Buchet Chastel.


Je vous en propose aujourd'hui la préface, qui résume bien la situation, et mon opinion concernant un problème non agricole, mais aux implications énormes.


"Un cri d'alarme et un plaidoyer.

Pendant 20 ans, j'ai travaillé dans des ONG qui étaient confrontées à de graves crises alimentaires. Nous nous battions contre les famines et contre la faim chronique, qui continue d'affecter des millions de personnes à travers le monde.
Comparés à l'ampleur du problème, nos moyens étaient dérisoires. Néanmoins nous sauvions des vies et servions de sentinelles, alertant le monde sur les victimes oubliées. La faim est un tueur silencieux que l'abondance nous a fait oublier, alors qu'elle sévit toujours là où la pauvreté et le manque de moyens restent des réalités.

Et puis je suis revenue travailler en France. Et là, j'ai découvert une situation qui m'a sidérée: ceux qui nous nourrissent y sont maltraités. Pas un jour où le travail agricole n'est cloué au pilori. Grâce à lui pourtant, notre tout petit pays a acquis son indépendance alimentaire et il est même devenu un grand exportateur de nourriture. Mais, alors que la "marque France" reste dans bien des pays du monde un signe de qualité, en ce qui concerne les vins, certes, mais aussi les semences, les laitages, les céréales, la viande bovine ou les pommes, les Français conspuent leur agriculture, prenant le risque de la voir disparaître.

Il fallait que je comprenne. Que je confronte mon expérience de la faim là-bas à la réalité des campagnes ici. Alors je suis partie voir comment travaillent ces agriculteurs si critiqués. J'ai sillonné la France rurale, parlé avec des centaines de personnes, visité de nombreuses exploitations. J'ai questionné, j'ai enquêté. Sans parti pris et avec ténacité.
Partout, j'ai vu des passionnés, des hommes et des femmes qui adorent leur métier et mettent tout en œuvre pour nous livrer une nourriture de qualité. Des cultivateurs, des arboriculteurs, des éleveurs qui consacrent leur vie à leurs fermes, à leurs champs, à leurs vergers, à leurs bêtes. Et qui souffrent terriblement de se sentir si méprisés, si incompris.

Ce livre est un cri d'alarme et un plaidoyer. Avons-nous oublié la peur de manquer? Savons-nous encore ce qu'est tomber malade, voire mourir empoisonné, à cause d'une alimentation inadaptée?
Alors que le climat change et que la population continue d'augmenter, il est urgent que nous changions d'attitude pour sauver nos campagnes et ceux qui nous nourrissent. Le temps nous est compté."



Je conseille vivement la lecture de ce court ouvrage, perturbant pour qui s'intéresse à l'alimentation, l'agriculture, à l'environnement, et pour qui souhaite ou accepte de remettre en cause certaines valeurs couramment admises dans les sociétés occidentales. Un grand coup de pied dans les idées reçues.
Le livre ne prend pas parti pour une idéologie ou une autre. Il décortique une situation de plus en plus complexe et difficile, dans laquelle le public, mais aussi les agriculteurs eux-mêmes, ont de plus en plus de mal à pouvoir distinguer le vrai du faux.

Sylvie Brunel nous y parle de pesticides, de résidus, d’OGM, de pollution, mais aussi d'évolution démographique, politique, commerciale, et même de géopolitique.
Elle explique les problèmes et les erreurs du passé, mais aussi les évolutions et les changements réalisés ou en cours, les progrès, les profonds changements que l’agriculture a mis en œuvre.
Elle parle des risques sanitaires et de la sécurité des aliments.
C'est que la problématique agricole touche tout cela et les décisions politiques et idéologiques d'aujourd'hui, souvent guidées par des motifs affectifs, idéologiques, mais non scientifiques, auront de nombreuses et graves conséquences dans l'avenir.
Et même si ce livre est très centré sur l'agriculture française, la plus grande majorité des informations qu'on y trouve est extrapolable à de très nombreux autres pays du monde.
Malheureusement, à ma connaissance il n'a pas encore été traduit et n'est donc disponible qu'en langue française.
C’est regrettable. J’en reprendrai peut-être d’autres passages dans l’avenir, pour les traduire, afin de vous faire profiter de la puissance d’analyse de Sylvie Brunel.

dimanche 24 septembre 2017

115- Defending agriculture

DEFENDING AGRICULTURE

France has for several years been the crucible of a curious evolution of thought with regard to food. This does not mean that it is the only country where this phenomenon is observed, but it is probably the one where it is the most violent, the most extreme and also, what is more serious, the most institutionalized.


You know, my dear readers, that I am French, fruit-grower outside France, in Spain (more than one has called me a traitor).
I often pick up articles or comments from France. I hope that my 78% of non-French readers don't get tired of it.
But what is happening in France is exemplary of what should not be done or not allowed to be done.
I hope that the other countries will have the sufficient strength and intelligence not to let things slip in this way.
In the end, everyone loses, especially farmers, of course, but also all consumers, and ultimately 100% of the population. And that, not to mention the long-term environmental damage caused by these ideological drifts without any real scientific basis.

The French exception. French are proud to feel exceptional. There is a French exception concerning culture, a sort of resistance to the invasion of Anglo-American culture in literature and especially in film and music.
And as soon as a particular fact puts forward a characteristic of France compared to other countries, the French exception, always on a positive and rewarding aspect, is untiringly revealed.
It is true, there is currently a French exception. But this one is sly, negative and destructive. There is a real depravity in the relationship of civil society to its agriculture.


And I don't believe that French people have the right to feel proud of this relationship, close to the Inquisition, in which the only acceptable thought is organic, in which the manipulation of public opinion is cleverly orchestrated by lobbies that refuse to bear the name, in the form of "citizen movements" or environmental organizations, with the unconditional support of most media, television, radio, print and digital media, all under the benevolent gaze of politicians whatever their ideological orientation.


The situation has become so tense that farmers are able to oppose to each other. I observe, here in Spain, in my entourage, that there is a true complementarity between the different systems of production. Organic farming is becoming increasingly important, but it's not being done, or only rarely, as opposed to conventional agriculture, but rather as a different orientation, a deliberate choice, and above all an adaptation to an increasingly demanding market.
Spanish civil society is generally proud of its agriculture, its progress, its successes, its plurality and the quality of the food it's able to produce.
Agriculture in general is based on industrial agriculture, which is still present in certain sectors, particularly for certain crops such as cereals or cotton, towards more respectful agriculture, conservation agriculture, integrated production, or organic agriculture.

There is no reason to bring the methods of production in opposition. They are complementary. The only real necessary evolutions are those related to soil erosion, soil and water quality, use of water reserves, and pollution problems. But for that, I have already spoken several times, the best way is not only organic farming.


I just read a very interesting book, short, concise, very clear, easy to read, much documented, very informative for anyone who wants to accept the findings.
"Plaidoyer pour nos agriculteurs" (Plea for our farmers) is written by Sylvie Brunel and published in French in the collection "Dans le vif" by Buchet Chastel.


I am now proposing the preface, which sums up the situation well, and my opinion on a non-agricultural problem, but with enormous implications.


"A cry of alarm and a plea.

For 20 years, I worked in NGOs that were facing severe food crises. We were fighting against famine and chronic hunger, which continues to affect millions of people around the world.
Compared to the magnitude of the problem, our means were derisory. Nevertheless, we saved lives and served as sentinels, alerting the world about forgotten victims. Hunger is a silent killer that abundance made us forget, while it's still raging where poverty and lack of resources remain realities.

And then I came back to work in France. And there, I discovered a situation that stunned me: those who feed us are mistreated. Not a day when agricultural labor is nailed to the pillory. Thanks to it however, our very small country has gained its food independence and has even become a major exporter of food. But while the "France brand" remains in many countries of the world a sign of quality, as far as wines are concerned, but also seeds, dairy products, cereals, beef and apples, French berate their agriculture, taking the risk of seeing it disappear.

I had to understand. Confront my experience of hunger there with the reality of the campaigns here. So I went to see how these criticized farmers work. I traveled through rural France, spoke with hundreds of people, visited numerous farms. I questioned, I investigated. Without bias and with tenacity.
Everywhere, I saw enthusiasts, men and women who love their craft and make every effort to deliver quality food. Farmers, fruit-growers, breeders who devote their lives to their farms, their fields, their orchards, their animals. And who suffer terribly to feel so despised, so misunderstood.

This book is a cry of alarm and a plea. Have we forgotten the fear of missing? Do we still know what it is to fall ill, or even die poisoned, because of an inadequate diet?
As the climate changes and the population continues to increase, it is urgent that we change our attitude to save our countryside and those who feed us. We're pressed for time."


I strongly advise reading this short work, disrupting for those interested in food, agriculture, the environment, and for those who wish or accept to question certain values ​​commonly accepted in Western societies. A great kick in the received ideas.
The book does not take sides for one ideology or another. It dissects an increasingly complex and difficult situation in which the public, but also farmers themselves, are having more and more trouble to tell the truth from the untruth.

Sylvie Brunel talks about pesticides, residues, GMOs, pollution, but also demographic, political, commercial and even geopolitical changes.
She explains problems and mistakes of the past, but also evolutions and changes that have been made or are under way, all the progress and the profound changes that agriculture has made.
She talks about health risks and food safety.
Agricultural problematic affects all this and today's political and ideological decisions, often guided by emotional, ideological, but non-scientific motives, will have many serious consequences in the future.
And even though this book is very centered on French agriculture, the vast majority of informations it contains can be extrapolated to many other countries in the world.
Unfortunately, as far as I know, it has not yet been translated and is therefore only available in French.
It is unfortunate. I will perhaps take other passages in the future, to translate them, in order to let you enjoy the power of analysis of Sylvie Brunel.




samedi 2 septembre 2017

114- Agriculture of the world - The Dogon country

AGRICULTURE OF THE WORLD - THE DOGON COUNTRY
  


Somewhere in West Africa, in Mali, between the Niger River and the border of Burkina Faso, there is a region with a Sahelian climate, where life is hard. Yet, there is a people with such rich culture, art and craftsmanship that many Western collectors know about it, often without ever having been there.

Picture: http://www.pedagogie.ac-nantes.fr/servlet/com.univ.collaboratif.utils.LectureFichiergw?ID_FICHIER=1302900519082&ID_FICHE=1317055908671 

It's also one of the regions of the world where people of different religions cohabit in perfect harmony. Islam is the most represented religion, but there are also many Christians and Animists. This religious mixture is present in towns, villages, and sometimes even within the same family.
This is the Dogon Country.

In this region, life is rough. Access to water is one of the keys to subsistence.
Social life is organized around men, shepherds, hunters, gatherers, caretakers of palaver and tradition, and women, farmers, mothers, housewives, responsible for water and education of children, and sometimes sellers of their meager surplus production or products of their own handicraft.


Agriculture is made up of small, fragmented plots separated by small track trails. The work is done by women, by hand, helped by the children when they are big enough.
Irrigation, if necessary, requires great effort, as water must be fetched first, then used for irrigation. It's only possible when water points are close enough.
It is a rudimentary, subsistence agriculture, of which only a very small part can be sold to generate income. The bulk goes directly to the family's diet.
A local association, set up in 2005 by Dogons who felt concerned about the future of their people, is in charge of building projects to improve their living conditions through the improvement of living and working conditions of Dogon women. They are the pillar of this endearing people.


ARAF-Plateau Dogon (Action for the Strengthening of Feminine Activities in the Dogon Country) is an association of 80 groups of 25 to 40 women each, to support them by education, training, technical support, supply of basic tools for fieldwork, the elaboration of local projects (one of the projects in progress is the creation of a workshop for the transformation of shea oil to butter to sale it for cosmetic uses).
Permanent actions include training in agroecology techniques. In particular, one of the objectives is to promote the modernization of agriculture, thus the improvement of the income of Dogon families, through the sale of their surplus production. But the lack of training, the lack of equipment and the lack of means are amongst the reasons for the orientation towards organic farming.


It is essential to modernize agriculture through methods and techniques that improve productive capacity without, however, creating dependence on inputs or tools and machines that are currently neither possible nor priority.
The Dogon agriculture must remain autonomous because the necessary investments, which are many, must be reserved for basic infrastructures.

ARAF's aim is to improve the productive capacity of the Dogon country's agriculture, but with a minimum investment, since the first necessary investment is the creation of a network of access to water which will allow villages and their inhabitants to improve their autonomy, to gain in hygiene, and above all to stop devoting half of their time (women and children mainly) to the manual transport of water.


And that, the access to water is a probably long-term, but so important project!
The Sahelian climate includes a rainy season, especially during the months of June to September, during which it rains in abundance, which makes possible the reconstitution of soil reserves, and allows certain crops adapted to this climate.
One can imagine the creation of a network of canals to lead the water from the Niger River to these withdrawn areas. But it would be Pharaonic works, long and extremely expensive.
However, the creation of reservoirs and boreholes, much more accessible and requiring lighter budgets, would enable more permanent agriculture, a great improvement in food security, and a much higher level of income. By the way, this would also allow access to subjects, so obvious to Westerners, as health or hygiene services, and thus a clear improvement in the living conditions of the Dogon people.


A few months ago, through social networks, I was approached by the president of ARAF, Issiaka Konaté, to participate in a humanitarian work, through an aid in the implementation of agroecology techniques. I have no "vocation" to that, and in fact, I never did it. My life is organized around my work, which is a big-time job, as all farmers know, my family to whom I owe a minimum of presence and support, and my ancillary activities, as is the case with this blog.

We talked a lot with Issiaka. He told me about the life of the Dogon people and the difficulties of this life, the many projects that are still facing a recurring problem of financing.
Tourism was an important source of income. But since 2012 and the attacks of jihadist terrorism, this source has disappeared, blocking or delaying many projects.


I soon realized that the political and economic situation in Mali, as well as the jihadist attacks in the region, complicate Western actions and NGO interventions.
Unable to intervene directly, I decided to bring my little piece of sand to this fragile building.

I therefore proposed to Issiaka a text, illustrated with many photos, to explain the situation, and to ask the readers for economic aid.
The director of a French NGO, Gérard Cinquin, from DNPLS (From the North for the South), who works with Africa, helped us with his experience, his wise advice and the layout work, and especially through the availability of his donation platform.


Then, through my network of contacts and friends, I was able to start the work of a collaboration project with a Spanish NGO, Madre Coraje, who devotes a large part of its activity to recovering used clothes and objects to send them, in Spain and throughout the world, to communities in fragile situations who can either use them for their own needs or make them a source of income through resale.
And this is precisely why we launched this project: importing used clothes into Mali, so that sorting and selling generate, on the one hand, jobs and therefore income for a certain number of families, and especially income to finance educational and development projects. It seems simple when you have managed to make contacts.


Starting from this idea, everything is complicated. The project is progressing, but many things have had to be put in place, and investments have to be made that, for now, are putting in imbalance the ARAF budget.
It was necessary to create a company with the possibility to import, trade, and generate profits, in order to transfer them entirely to the association ARAF (non-profit association).


It was necessary to find carriers, and to solve the problem of transit from Senegal (Mali has no access to the sea and therefore must pass through the port of Dakar).
The sorting centers must be prepared and a network set up to handle the resale of clothing and the logistics necessary for their distribution.
Much of these costs has already been borne by the association, its members and a few benefactors.
The project opens up a wide range of possibilities, but for now it requires finding the financial supplement that will enable ARAF to self-finance itself and finance its projects.
This complement is very reasonable, seen from Europe, since it is less than 7.000 € (6.852 € to be exact or 8.200 US$), but seen from Mali, it is difficult to find, either in the form of loan or in the form of donation.
The banking system in Mali does not allow this type of project to thrive.


As you can see, Dogon Country agriculture needs a lot of investment, mostly low cost, because the projects are carried out by the people themselves. Now the development of this agriculture depends on the development of this people.
But this development, so that it is sustainable, must be able of being autonomous, and therefore self-financing. This is the main goal of the project with Madre Coraje.
From then on, everything will be in the hands of the Dogons themselves, and that is what is most important.

The purpose of this blog is not there, but just for once, I need you to be able to concretize this project. If you wish to participate, you can donate through the DNPLS online platform, indicating ARAF DOGON.

Your participation may also be limited to spreading this article widely. The more sensitized people there are, the more opportunities there will be for solving this small, but serious problem.

And think that a like is good, but it does not diffuse. A sharing is much better.

Thank you for Dogon Country.

Photos by courtesy of Issiaka Konaté