Through the Lens, Burkina Faso

DIG started working with the Lamizana Military Camp in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in March 2013. Our focus was to address the nutritional needs of the hospital’s HIV patients through the construction and implementation of a demonstration garden that focused on training participants in sustainable agriculture and nutrition for people living with HIV. The project is halfway through and we’ve been thrilled with the progress to date. Check out some photos we’ve captured along the way.

Ouagadougou site from above
Site before DIG intervention

Site before DIG intervention

Early Group Trainings
The group gets their tools!
Digging garden beds
Breaking ground.
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The group resting in the shade 
Setting poles for the fencing
Getting our water source established (well with a pump to a storage tank)
Starting to see some green.
Practicing organic pest control
Planting nursery beds and planing for crop rotation
Finally starting to see some harvest!
Trellising 
Giving shade where needed
And so much more to harvest
Let the cooking and nutrition classes begin! 






We have loved working with this group and look forward to the months ahead left in our project. A special thank you goes out to Steve Bolinger (DIG’s Program Director for this project), Salam Sawadogo (DIG’s Program Coordinator for this project), the Department of Defenses’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Program which funded this initiative, the Burkina Military and A.M.E.S (Association Militaire d’Entraide et de Solidarite), the US Embassy in Burkina Faso, and all the amazing community members who have labored with us through this program and work with us daily in the garden despite hot days and a lot of physical labor.