Returning to Yoff

Although I was sad to leave my bed made of sticks in Faoune, I was excited to return to Yoff. I knew my perspective of Yoff had been altered along this journey. I began to recognize the privileges offered in Yoff; ones that just a week before I hadn�t seen. I found myself excited to return to my Turkish toilet. Although I�d miss my outdoor bathing with just leaves to offer privacy, I was excited to take a shower rather than pour water over my head. All these simple differences...

Mariana and Demba Mansar�

Our morning in Faoune � the third and final village we visited � started with breakfast � once again bread and coffee � and a surprise visit by Mariama, a Danish woman is the third wife to Demba Mansar�, the founder of COLUFIFA. Mariama�s visit included a beautiful song � sung in three languages � and a brief insight of her life�s commitment to sustainable living.

Leaving the Village

Time to leave already? This has been my favorite village by far. We exchanged gifts with the villagers this morning and then loaded up our tin-box on wheels. As we drive northward, we are escorted from the village by a swarm of locusts. Only in Senegal�

My Day

Last night was spent with myself, Karla, and Margot (our Oussoye village host) crammed onto one small mattress and several attempts, in several languages, to discuss the unlikely possibility of being stung by a scorpion during our stay. Karla and I both bathed in the little hut of dried palm branches with our new favorite hygiene accessories: the bucket of warm water and a coffee can to pour it over ourselves. Reunited at the home of the President of Oussouy�s ecovillage...

Oussouye

On our day of introducing Appreciative Inquiry in Oussouye, my group was able to meet with one man who has had a great impact on the village, and a group of women that have a small business making jam. Once again we were able to leave a village that was empowered by itself

Oussouye

We have left the island of Carabane in Southern Senegal and the time has come to make our way to our second destination, Oussouye. It is now late afternoon and our bus (and believe me, I use that term loosely) will be the last to head inland for the day, so we will be sharing transport with many other locals. Through all travels in Senegal, I have found that it is necessary to drift into a meditative state of sorts where I can become unconcerned with the disregard for my personal...

Appreciative Inquiry

After the previous day of trail, and thank God not too much error, us students sat around and witnessed the magic of Appreciative Inquiry. We watched as villagers came out of the woodwork to see their successes on paper for everyone to read. We backed off and made ourselves scarce, as the village became empowered by itself.

First Meeting

As we regrouped in the morning the butterflies in my stomach began to flutter more aggressively. I began to really question my role in a Senegalese village, and most importantly, how the villagers would interpret this role. Continued in ...

En Route

A real journey: Friendships were able to form as we began to build experiences together; and personalities began to open up. Our many hours en route established our strength and cohesion as a micro-community. Crossing the river to L��le de la Carabane brought out joy...

Travel Plans Revisited

So, two days later�we finally left.

Travel Plans

Our large group of somewhere near forty U.S. and Senegalese students split into two sections; students that would visit villages in northern Senegal, and ones that would travel to southern villages. I was in the southern group. With a national transportation strike heading our way, the northern group took off the night before their scheduled departure. The southern group had the same idea�but as I have learned in Senegal, plans often change. Inchallah.

First Week

My first week in Yoff was a whirlwind. We began learning Appreciative Inquiry, and continued to define the term EcoVillage. But the reality was that until we entered the field, it would all be very theoretical.

Flying to Dakar

As I woke up I stared out the window of the plane for any landmarks I�d recognize. Being an insanely curious person I desperately wanted to know where in the world I was. I knew I was somewhere between Paris � where the plane took off � and Dakar � my destination. Within a few minutes my years of staring at maps paid off. I got giddy for my first time as I realized I was entering African air. I watched as the earth slowly passed under me; I recognized the coastline of the southern Spain....

(This weblog is in chronological order)

Living Routes: Senegal 2005 January

Returning to Yoff

Mariana and Demba Mansar�

Leaving the Village

My Day

Oussouye

Oussouye

Appreciative Inquiry

First Meeting

En Route

Travel Plans Revisited

Travel Plans

First Week

Flying to Dakar

(This weblog is in chronological order)