The Rural Voice, 1987-12, Page 19their homes, dependent on younger
family members for support.
In 1981, a group working for the
Christian Blind Mission Intemational
(CBMI) of Stouffville, Ontario, did a
survey in an isolated area in southem
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta)
located between two large rivers. In a
population of 75,000, there were about
2,500 blind men and women, 200 with
leprosy (treated), and another 150 who
were victims of polio.
Because these people are illiterate
but capable of learning other skills, it
was evident that the priority was to
assist them to contribute to the family
labour pool to produce more food and
to help them feel that their handicap is
not a burden to their families.
The area had practically no infra-
structure: no roads — only tracks
passable in four-wheel-drive vehicles
— no hospital, no running water, no
electricity, no input supply stores.
Our first priority was to build a centre
from which to begin an agricultural
extension program. Housing, a water
supply system, an office, a workshop,
grain storage, and livestock corrals
were built on a parcel of land in the
central administrative town, Zabrh.
In five surrounding villages we built
smaller units — housing and storage
where extension agents are now living
to supervise neighbouring blind farm-
ers' co-operatives. Local carpenters
and masons were employed to build
the structures we designed, which
were adapted to the tropics.
In the first year, 1981, we super-
vised the construction and familiarized
ourselves with the area, the people,
their farming techniques, and the
working languages, French and an
African language.
Most of the farmers cultivated
their crops by hand with a short hoe.
The cultivation occurred in the rainy
season from May to October. In-
digenous crops include millet and
sorghum, which are the staples, and
peanuts, beans, and soybeans for
protein. All of these crops, being
somewhat tolerant of drought, are
adapted to the West African savanna.
Yields vary according to the amount
and intervals of rainfall.
In terms of livestock, a large
number of cattle and sheep are reared
on free range for cash income and as
•
Hank and Rose Koskamp with (left to right) Joanna, 7, niece Stephanie,
Raphael, 9, and Nadege, 5. They have settled into farming at R. R. 4, Ripley.
an investment. During the dry season,
from October to May, there is no rain
and some farmers have small market
gardens in stream valleys, producing
vegetables for home use and onions
for cash, which are marketed by mid-
dlemen to the capital city. These gar-
dens are irrigated by water drawn from
shallow wells or dugouts, with enclo-
sures made from the sorghum stalks.
No fertilizer or chemicals are used
because prices are prohibitive, so the
soil lacks organic matter. Shifting
cultivation is the general practice:
fields are cleared in the savanna bush
and cultivated for several years, then
left fallow. Only smaller plots around
the "compounds" (family living
quarters, granaries, and livestock
corrals) are manured before planting.
Almost all the blind farmers live or
lived in poverty, having no assets such
as livestock and managing to produce
only enough to eat — or depending on
handouts when food was short.
The program we proposed, and
received funding for, was to organize
the farmers in co-operatives which
would offer credit in the form of
livestock and implements, seed, and
other inputs to increase the farmers'
acreage and yields. To begin the
program, we hired young farmers who
had some schooling and were able to
work with blind farmers, a task that
requires patience and the ability to
communicate well. Today, 10 staff
members are responsible for training
DECEMBER 1987 17