Audio postcard: Reality radio in Mali
Hi,
I’m Erica Pomerance, project advisor for the FarmQuest radio reality project here in Mali. This photo was taken in the village of Tingole Banankabougou where I accompanied project coordinator, Lamine Togola, to interview candidates for the project. Here we see 18-year-old Kafune Mariko, wearing white, along with her local advisor, Alimata Diarra, who is an experienced hand at raising goats. Kafune wants to raise goats like the majority of women in her village do, but she has no animals to start her herd.
During this meeting, Alimata made Kafune a gift of a she goat and the village chief offered her a billy goat so Kafune can start her project. Alimata also explained that goats breed every seven months and usually have two kids at a time. If Kafune buys another couple of females she could easily have ten goats within a year. Goat milk and goat meat are very popular in Mali. An idea we have is to encourage Kafune to try producing goat cheese, which is something Touareg women in northern Mali already do.
FarmQuest is an exciting project which aims to encourage youth in rural Africa to choose farming as a career. The project follows the progress of six young candidates, three men and three women, through a radio reality series produced by Radio Fanaka and broadcast to over 100,000 people in the region of Fana. Listeners are encouraged to call in, leave comments, and vote for their favourite candidates.
This is Erica Pomerance speaking to you from Mali in West Africa.
Learn more about FarmQuest here: http://www.farmradio.org/portfolio/farmquest-promoting-farming-as-a-sustainable-employment-option-for-youth-in-mali/
