Club des Meres Makeover

As a lot of you know, I've been pretty busy over here since I've returned from my trip to Ghana/Benin. I've been working on creating a presentation for other PCVs based on what I learned at the WATH exporting training in Accra. I've also been working on a three-day accounting training for a women's tailoring association, YIRIWASO (thanks to all who replied to my e-mail asking about potential donors -- I got quite a response! It's great that you all are so interested in helping Mali!). I've been teaching English twice a week to the Malian employees at CARE/Mali (an NGO). I've been giving computer lessons (mostly Word, Excel, Publisher and Internet) to both my coworkers and to a different women's association, Nieleni. I've also been helping a different women's bogolan (bogolan = traditional mud-dyed cloth) association, Sininyesigi, develop new products to potentially export to the US. (I'll be sure to let you know if they do end up exporting in the near future -- and I'll let you know where you can buy them if interested!)

On top of all this, I was approached by yet another women's association -- Club des Meres ("club of mothers"). They asked me to come visit them and help them improve their business any way I could. This association produces bogolan products, food drying (mostly onions), clothes, and much more. They also have a grade school (where I'm hoping to introduce Junior Achievement once that gets up and running in Mali).

(a bogolan tapestry created by Club des Meres)

After spending a day with them, we decided that they needed to clean up their boutique and improve their visibility. They are located waaay off the paved road, and they have no signs directing people to their store. The one sign they have above their door is painted directly onto their mud wall, and the paint is quickly fading.

Then there was the inside of the store...

It was really dirty, and all the products were balled up and tossed about randomly. They also had three tables in the center that were full of garbage. We found three shoes under there -- none of them went together.

We got rid of all the excess stuff that was in that room (the things they weren't trying to sell), and then we got to cleaning. We chased the lizards out of the store that had been sitting under the piles of garbage, and then we started working on the merchandise.

We organized all the clothes into "men's," "women's," and "children's" piles, and then selected certain clothes to be hung up on the walls. Going through all the piles of clothes, we discovered many tapestries, hats, scarves, and bedding that had been lost in the mess.

Overall, I think the women were pretty happy about the transformation. The store is well organized now and more visually appealing/shopper friendly. Hopefully they will be able to keep it clean and tidy. Now all they need are customers (which will be our next project).

Ghana and Togo and Benin (oh my!)

What a crazy few weeks it's been! The day after Sadio's wedding, I hopped on a bus with Yuri from Bamako to Accra, Ghana. We picked up Mme. Koumare in Segou en route to Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina Faso -- pronounced "oo-wah-gah-doo-goo"). After three straight days on the bus we found ourselves in Accra. We attended a handicrafts and home decor exporting workshop put on by the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH).

They actually had simultaneous interpreters there (like they have at UN meetings), since there were both French and English speaking artisans. The workshop was very interesting, and we learned a lot of good things to bring back to the artisans in Mali.

(some of the products of the artisans who were at the training)

There aren't too many artisans in Segou whose products are up to exporting quality standards, but some of the skills taught can be transferred to them (such as the concept of fixed pricing based on cost -- right now most artisans price things arbitrarily and expect to negotiate).

(Mme. Koumare and me in the ocean in Accra. She freaked out when the waves soaked her clothes.)

After the two-day training ended, Mme. Koumare headed back up to Mali, and Yuri and I went exploring. Ghana is amazing. It was strange to be in an English-speaking country again. We met tons of fun Ghanaians, ex-pats and tourists. We spent a few days at the beach at an eco-tourism hotel.

(Me, Amy (here doing MBAs Without Borders), Nick (from Peace Corps Senegal) and Andrew (an electrical engineer living in Accra) on our way to Bojo beach)

You see some pretty strange things over here. Here are a couple of the highlights:

(Ghanaians transporting a whole house on that little cart)

(They carry everything on their heads. I saw these people in the Grand Marché in Lomé, Togo. I think those bags are all empty, but that still takes talent!)

We also traveled to Elmina and Cape Coast. There we visited two castles. The Elmina castle was first built by the Portugese in the 15th century.

(Elmina Castle)

Both castles were used for holding slaves that were going to be shipped to other parts of the world (including America). We took the tours of both castles, and it was pretty powerful.

(Outside of Elmina Castle)

After Ghana, we took minibuses through Togo and into Benin. We stayed a few nights in Grand Popo, where we ran into a bunch of Beninese Peace Corps volunteers. They were really fun to hang out with, and they helped us figure out where to go on our way back to Burnkina. We also met some West Africans who happened to be either on or coaching their respective national volleyball club teams. They invited us to play some beach volleyball with them. It was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip! I got a full day of vball in (needless to say I was pretty sore the next day!).

(Volleyball on the beach. These guys were super good, but they were also really friendly -- not overly competitive)

We went northward and stayed a couple nights with a volunteer who lives in northern Benin. There we went to a waterfall and hiked up a cliff (I couldn't believe they actually had cliffs! It was gorgeous). It was soooo green down south, as well as much cooler.

(at the waterfall in northern Benin)

We finally began the long trek home. With the exception of staying one night in Ouagadougou, we traveled non-stop on uncomfortable transport from Benin to Segou (it took three days). It was great to see a more tropical side of West Africa.

I got home and spent two hours sweeping off the thick layer of dust in my house. Then I cooked dinner for the first time in three weeks and crashed. It was a fun but exhausting trip. And now it's time to get back to work!!