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Senegal

The Landscape

Most subsistence farmers in Senegal rely on rain-fed agriculture to feed their families, but with only one rainy season per year, climate change is dramatically impacting the reliability of Senegal’s growing season.

DIG’s program is based in Ziguinchor, the capital of the Casamance region in the south.  In this peri-urban area, most of our participants are farming for the first time, many defying the odds of cultivating healthy gardens in sandy soil and salt water flats.

DIG’s Commitment

DIG’s first seeds as an organization were planted in Senegal from 2006-2008. New partnerships took us to East and Central Africa where we spent a decade refining our model. In 2019 DIG returned to Senegal through a collaboration with Rise Against Hunger, the University of Washington-Senegal Research Collaboration, and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Fann.

In our return, our goal has been to deliver DIG’s nutrition-sensitive agriculture program to young mothers, people living with HIV, undernourished children, and other uniquely vulnerable groups in the Casamance region. Here, we have been rolling-out our program through the public healthcare infrastructure.

DIG has developed demonstration and teaching gardens at health clinics and direct to community groups all of which focus on three objectives; improving nutritional wellbeing, economic opportunity, and food security.

Perspective

“My home garden connects me with my community. My house became a local market and people come there to purchase vegetables. It makes me well known. Some neighbors don’t have money to purchase the vegetable and I sometimes give them free for their household. This act strengthens our social relationship. I also trained some women in gardening and the community has experienced an increased interest in gardening.”

~ Dianke Camara, DIG Farmer

Current Programs


Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture at Hospitals 

Farming Cooperatives for Local Markets 

DIG's Senegal Team


Malamine

Senegal Country Director

Malamine joined DIG in early 2021, transfering his 7+ years of experience from his home country of Burkina Faso over to Senegal. As a Master Trainer for the Farmer Field School Approach and a Masters’ in Plant Production, Malamine brings a deep knowledge of agricultural experience to our teams. Previously a Regional Coordinator for the FAO and several other NGO’s, Malamine is eager to lead the program in cultivating cross-sectoral and national level partnerships. Malamine is married and has one daughter, and his family is the most important thing for him. Outside of work, he enjoys the cinema, Malian music, and fishing.

Seckou

Program Assistant

Growing up just north of Ziguinchor, Seckou’s family are rice, bean and peanut farmers. After finishing school, he worked in Dakar but longed to return to the Casamance and returned to Ziguinchor with his wife and daughter. Since he is not formally trained in agriculture, he appreciates all of the training DIG offers to the community, both formal and on the job.

Anais

Local Facilitator

Anais is a native of the city of Ziguinchor and has been working with health clinics gardens in the city since 2006. She enjoys working with the women and young people as part of her work as a facilitator with DIG and is respected for her knowledge and passion for vegetable garden. She is a mother of two girls.

Felix

Local Facilitator

Born and raised in the Casamance, Félix has a love of gardening and has been working in the community garden north of Ziguinchor in the town of Tabi where he was first introduced to DIG. In addition to his work as a trainer with DIG, he manages a half hectare garden of his own growing a wide variety of vegetables for sale and personal consumption.

Souleymane

Local Facilitator

A native of Ziguinchor, Souleymane is fluent in Diola, Wolof, and Mandinka which allows him to communicate with a great variety of community members. He was trained in sustainable agricultural techniques in 2019 before joining DIG in 2020.

Cherif

Local Facilitator

Cherif is from Ziguinchor but has been working in the north of Senegal where he was in the Senegalese Army. After that he worked for five years at the Grand Domaine du Senegal, a large fruit and vegetable producer, where he was in charge of the composting operation. After recently moving to Ziguinchor, he joined DIG. He is married with 3 young boys.

André

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Officer

Sadio is passionate about agriculture. He has studied agricultural management, agricultural business and economics, and animal and plant production through the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research. He did an internship in poultry farming, market gardening, and argroforestry at a regional teaching farm. Sadio also has a degree in Political Science and International Relations and like to put his IT skills to use.

News from the Field: Senegal


Climate Resilience

Growing More Resilient Local Food Systems

November 2, 2021

When the pandemic shut down markets and restaurants, DIG farmers like Fernard and Cecile were prepared to fill in the gaps. Their gardens were no longer just reliable sources of food for their families, they became a critical resource for their entire community.

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Nutrition

A Partnership Conversation between Rise Against Hunger & DIG

April 26, 2021

Listen in on a lunch chat between Rise Against Hunger's ED, Barry Mattson, and DIG's Founder, Sarah Koch as they talk about DIG's work in the field and the exciting partnership between the two organizations in Senegal.

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Community Transformation

When Garden Diversity Grows Opportunity

February 23, 2021

While it’s blessed with beautiful coastal beaches and a vibrant port of trade, Ziguinchor, the 5th largest city in Senegal, has some of the highest levels of poverty, chronic malnutrition and food-insecurity in all of the country. In Ziguinchor, DIG prioritizes people living with HIV (PLWHA), 90% of whom are food insecure. This means they are more likely to miss their doctors appointments and not take their antiretroviral therapy due to hunger. On top of that, malnutrition lowers CD4 cell

Read More

Community Transformation

Back to our Roots in Senegal

November 2, 2020

DIG's first seeds were sown in Senegal over a decade ago. Now, we're back, and we've seen those first seeds grow into leaders, businesses, and thriving communities. Learn how DIG continues to adapt the program to serve some of the world's most uniquely vulnerable people. See how they are not only finding household resilience but are contributing to their broader communities as well.

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Community Transformation

Adapting for Growth

August 4, 2020

In Senegal, DIG is adapting it's program to serve students who are blind, visually impaired and hearing impaired, and the students have cultivated more than we dreamed.

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Cocktails and Castoffs

MetroFresh’s 2020 DIG Garden ~ Ziguinchor, Senegal

June 30, 2020

In 2019 at a DIG Cocktails and Castoffs event, MetroFresh, a local Atlanta restaurant, encouraged their community to help sponsor a DIG garden in Senegal. They have previously sponsored a garden in Kenya and Uganda and this year they wanted to spread the seeds of transformation in Senegal. Their support has sustainably equipped 13 uniquely vulnerable families in the city of Ziguinchor, Senegal to become food secure, nutritionally rich, climate resilient, and economically secure. Here are some of the stories

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Food Security

Transitioning field schools to safe, socially distanced learning environments using the FAO’s Farmer Field School COVID Recommendations

June 16, 2020

In the Casamance region of Senegal, lies the second biggest city, Ziguinchor. Plagued with arid soils and an inescapably long dry season, the region largely relies on an import-based food system for a majority of their needs, including fruits and vegetables. With COVID-19 disrupting critical food distribution systems, DIG’s farmer field school network has been ramping up production to fill in the gaps. In 2019, Development in Gardening, with support from Rise Against Hunger, The University of Washington Senegal Research

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Community Transformation

Saphietu – First Time Gardener

June 4, 2020

I want to introduce you to one of the amazing women in our LAUNCH Program in Senegal, Saphiatu. Saphiatu lives in Ziguinchor. She and her husband have never held a formal job. He makes money doing odd jobs primarily around electrical work when he can find it. When money really gets desperate Saphiatu mixes a homemade bleach solution to sell in the local market. They have a 15-year-old daughter and they are also shouldering the burden of caring for their

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Program Partners


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Sensorial Handicap Cooporation

APRAN-SDP (Association pour la Promotion Rurale de l'arrondissement de Nyassia- Solidarité-Developpement-Paix)

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Ministry of Agriculture/Ziguinchor Région

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AJDK: Association des jeunes pour le Développement de Kande

 

 

 

 

Help Plant Seeds That Reap Life

Help Plant Seeds That Reap Life

With your support we can grow our capacity to equip uniquely vulnerable families with the skills and experience to meet their own needs and improve their well-being through gardening.

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Who We Are

  • DIG’s Mission
  • Team
  • Board of Directors
  • Partners
  • Annual Reports
  • Contact

What We Do

  • Our History of Growth
  • The DIG Model
  • Senegal
  • Uganda
  • Kenya

Take Action

  • Donate
  • Shop DIG’s Gift Garden
  • Events
  • Cocktails & Castoffs
  • DIG Adventure Trips
  • Volunteer / Intern
  • Careers

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