KT in The Gambia

Just a few pics of typical activities in my family’s compound.  My Ba (short for Baay or father) slaughtering a goat with helping hands from Hassan, Dembu and Sarjeko. This pregnant goat was slaughtered after Ba determined that its babies had died in the womb. The goat was otherwise healthy as far as could be determined. If the goat had been sick or injured it would have been hauled to the field for the vultures to eat. My understanding is that it is contrary to Muslim teachings to eat a sick or injured animal. It is also their practice that men conduct the slaughter. The women may undertake butchering but the men ( or boys) kill the animal.  Ah, the cycle of life! A few weeks later here is the two day old offspring of another goat in my family’s menagerie.  Mam Hoja doing laundry. This is how I do mine as well, although I sit on a short stool. I can’t fathom how these women can so easily maintain this position for hours at a time - doing laundry, weeding...

Fetching water for the fields We are officially in the "cold" season now. Yesterday it didn't even reach 90 degrees! Eighty-eight was the high I believe, although it's forecasted to return to the 90s tomorrow. It is also the dry season (~ Nov thru May/June) and a time when there is a 2-3 month lull in intensive work on commodity crops. We just wrapped up the groundnut harvest in Dec and it will be a month or two before the cashew fruits ripen. This is the time of year when the weather and seasonal cycles of farm work are most conducive to gardening.  Gardens are most commonly the women's projects but not exclusively. Gardens provide nutritious food for the food bowl and hopefully produce enough surplus to sell locally, either in village or at the closest market. There are two weekly pop-up markets, or "lumos" within a few kilometers of my village - a small one to the east on Tuesday and larger one to the west on Saturday.  But the...