From a small permaculture farm to unpaved roads in Burkina Faso

The AIDMR welcomed us five and a group of five Burkinabé students to their farm for a three weeks volunteering. The association promotes agro-ecology and permaculture around Burkina Faso to reduce the dependence on chemicals which eventually degrade the quality of the soil. In the early 2000s, Monsanto heavily invested in Burkina Faso and sold to many farmers powerful fertilizers which over the years turned out to be money sinkholes and eventually led to waste once powerful soils. The AIDMR helps some farmers in this situation to develop sustainable and natural techniques. We worked on mornings when the temperature is lower to help the farm grow by mostly weeding as this is the main task to do during the rainy season. We spent our free time doing social activities with the community, building small constructions around the farm like an oven and a table and exploring around.

We started our week of tourism by visiting local Scoot associations and iconic places around the capital. Our friends from the farm brought us to various places and introduced us to a local chief with who we shared some wonderful time. Our biggest mistake was to rush into a restaurant without thinking as we were starving as soon as we left the farm. The food turned out to be delicious but the mix of rice and minced meat made some of us very sick for the rest of the stay as our bodies were not prepared for this kind of food. Besides that, we had the wonderful experience to sleep inside a classroom in a school as the Burkinabés traveling with us knew the school owner who kindly offered us to sleep there while the children were in vacation.

To wrap up this trip, we had an immersive experience in the nature with a local guide to discover some wonderful waterfalls and rock formations in the south of Burkina Faso. The weather there is very different from the dry and warm weather from the north! The nights that we spent there were a very interesting experience as heavy rain brought flooding into our accommodation and unfortunately damaged some of our electronic equipment. It was also the first time that we had the opportunity to ride motorbikes and was a fulfilling yet challenging experience as roads were mostly made of dirt and we had to cross several rivers. Once we arrived to the entrance of the parc leading to the waterfalls, we felt like there were not so many tourists exploring these undiscovered wonders. After a full day of hiking, it was time to pack up our bags a start our long way home, bringing with us a load of unforgettable memories...