INTRODUCING THE HOPE SAKUMA VOLUNTEERS

Foday would like to introduce you to his Hope Sakuma colleagues using his antique bugle, handed down through the generations and left originally by the British a very long time ago, along with family names like Muskett and a little village that will forever be England..

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Osman, Hassan and Sheku are registering villages as independent FBO's starting at Magbolontor, Petefu, Robomp, Mamatay, Maseng, Madina and Roghenti in the south west of the Chiefdom bordering Sendugu, the Sanda Magbolontor Cheifom's capital and the team get a sneak peak at one of our nerica rice nurseries freshly germinated and flushing green. We're proud that each and every FBO (farming based organization). Hope Sakuma are registering has an almost 2/3 majority women members with an equal voice guaranteed at all levels.

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Travelling east on their registration drive the team reach Forekaria and Komeneh. En route, Osman, Hassan and Sheku stop off to see another nerica nursery, where Mama Mayila helped plant back in early January and this time the seedlings are a bit further along! To think each of these specks of green will be replanted individually in the prepared beds and irrigation channels.

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On to Kamalo for more registrations and then the team reach Mabonkareh, after encountering a little local difficulty fording the Sakuma which is deeper than it looks! Four more of our IVS teams registered. All the farmers in Hope Sakuma FBOs volunteer using their skills, their natural capital to feed themselves and ultimately earn a share of the harvest and diaspora volunteers bring their skills to the FBO researching the latest sustainable good practice and help build capacity in record-keeping and governance - a practical example of harnessing innovative volunteerism to develop a farm that empowers women and youth and is sustainable, agriculturally, financially and organizationally..

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Osman, Hassan and Sheku reach Hope Sakuma heartlands, four of the villages that joined us late 2017 Rogbin, RoRainte, RoYeima and Rogbaran, already growing groundnut, cassava and cashew to be used as a seed and stick bank to spread these nutritious crops throughout Sanda Magbolontor and now also developing six more inland valley swamps for nutritious nerica rice. The team also register members in two new villages to join, Robat and Wayila.

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The team join Mama Mayila in Manays where members from the village and neighbouring Masillah are registered to form three FBO's matching names to voter id cards to ensure no double-counting and absolutely no ghosts, even in the villages we worked with first and know best.

Moving north to the boli lands Sanda Magbolontor boli lands Mama Mayila and master farmer Andrew meet with not one village but three! Maketay, Masana and Daimba - three villages on the edge of the Sanda Magbolontor rainforest - harvesting honey in the late spring and autumn and weeding and harvesting the boli lands during the summer. Year round work for three communities and three profits a year to share - that sounds pretty sweet to us!

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