Transcript Effective Visual Aids for Coaching Non-Literate Subsistence Farmers in Mali By Amy Druse In Collaboration With Florence Dunkel, PhD Montana State University - Bozeman and Assa Kante l’Institute d’Economie.

Effective Visual Aids for Coaching
Non-Literate Subsistence Farmers
in Mali
By Amy Druse
In Collaboration With
Florence Dunkel, PhD
Montana State University - Bozeman
and
Assa Kante
l’Institute d’Economie Rurale (IER)
Mali
• Independent republic nation in
West Africa
• Country rich in natural resources
including: gold, salt, limestone
and granite
• Country rich in culture with
various ethnic groups which
include: Malinke, Bambara, Soninke,
Peul, Tuareg, Moor, Songhai
and Voltaic
Demographics
• 80% of population are
subsistence farmers
• 64% of the population in
• poverty (earn less than
$1 a day)
• 46% illiteracy in urban areas, and up to 99%
in rural areas
Problem
• After years and years of continual aid, why is
Mali not yet flourishing?
• Why are they not competing in world
markets?
• How can we improve traditional ideas of aid to
better benefit Malian farmers and people?
Calderisi, R. The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working. Yale University Press. 2006
Focus
• The Mali
Agribusiness
Network is about to
launch.
• One Network goal
is to bridge this
gap.
Hypothesis
The impact of aid projects such as those created
by the Mali Agribusiness Entrepreneurial
Incubator Network will increase dramatically
with addition of effective visual aids which
may include photographs, movies and slides as
well as taking a “farmer first” approach when
introducing new ideas to the subsistence
farmers.
Methods
• Participatory and holistic discussions in Village
• Participatory Process = develop a relationship with the village,
provoking questions that may lead to the discoveries of
various problems or solutions that may be of interest to the
villagers
• In-Depth Individual Interviews with the villagers on
what types of teaching styles they prefer.
• Ex. Taught by aid volunteers, taught by other villagers, using
props, seminar style etc.
• Interviews were conducted through translations by IER
scientists
• Surveys were developed in collaboration with Florence Dunkel
and Assa Kante prior to village visits
• Interview CLIC (Community Learning and Information
Center) and Peace Corps leaders to determine what
methods of teaching and visual aids they have
found productive
• Follow up to the Bougoula study - analyzing the
three Bambara videos
• Determine how they are used, whether the villagers liked
their content, how they are distributed, and whether or not
they found them useful
Extern Rebecca Cooper is given a tour of the village of Sanambele
Externs and mentors work with the villagers of Sanambele
Photograph by Denise Dahl
Results
Past Methods of Acquiring New Information in the Village of
Senambele
70
63
60
40
28
30
27
25
18
20
18
12
10
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Pos s ible Source s of Inform ation
D
em
on
st
ra
ti o
ns
Su
pp
or
tS
er
vi
ce
s
Le
tte
rs
Vi
de
os
TV
R
ad
io
et
te
rs
gs
ee
tin
N
ew
sl
on
en
si
M
Ag
en
ts
ay
or
M
Ex
t
er
-to
Fa
rm
er
Fa
rm
C
hi
ef
0
Vi
lla
ge
Number of
50
Women
Men
Past Methods of Acquiring New Information in the Village of Bougoula
68
70
60
40
32
Men
Women
30
20
er
-to
Fa
rm
er
0
0
0
0
0
0
Le
tte
rs
0
Vi
de
os
0
C
hi
ef
10
0
0
Pos s ible Source s of Inform ation
D
em
on
st
ra
ti o
ns
Su
pp
or
tS
er
vi
ce
s
TV
R
ad
io
et
te
rs
gs
ee
tin
N
ew
sl
on
en
si
M
Ag
en
ts
ay
or
M
Ex
t
Fa
rm
0
Vi
lla
ge
Number of Villagers
50
Preferred Methods of Receiving New Information in the Village of
Senambele
70
60
43
40
34
33
Women
Men
30
24
20
15
0
0
8
7
8
0
7
0
0
0
0
Le
tte
rs
0
15
Vi
de
os
8
10
0
0
0
0
Pos s ible Source s of Inform ation
D
em
on
st
ra
ti o
ns
Su
pp
or
tS
er
vi
ce
s
TV
R
ad
io
et
te
rs
gs
ee
tin
N
ew
sl
on
en
si
M
Ag
en
ts
ay
or
M
Ex
t
er
-to
Fa
rm
er
Fa
rm
C
hi
ef
0
Vi
lla
ge
Number of
50
0
Preferred Methods of Receiving Information in the Village of Bougoula
70
60
50
40
29
29
30
Women
Men
25
25
20
13
13
13
10
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0
0
0 0
0 0
Pos s ible Source s of Inform ation
D
em
on
st
ra
ti o
ns
Su
pp
or
tS
er
vi
ce
s
Le
tte
rs
Vi
de
os
TV
R
ad
io
et
te
rs
gs
ee
tin
N
ew
sl
on
en
si
M
Ag
en
ts
ay
or
M
Ex
t
er
-to
Fa
rm
er
Fa
rm
C
hi
ef
0
Vi
lla
ge
Numberof
50
Discussion
• Village of Sanambele
• Posters/Books
• Accompanied by Chief of the Village and
Extension Agents
• Village of Bougoula
• Radio/Videos
• Shown by Chief of the Village or Mayor
• Understanding the differences between these two villages
may help explain these diverse results:
• Bougoula
• Is headquarters of the Commune containing 11 villages
• has a weekly market
• has housed a CLIC since 2004
• Sanambele
• Is a smaller village in neighboring commune of Dialokoroba
• villagers travel to commune headquarters such as Dialakorba to sell their market goods
• In comparing these two village s, one small, and one
large, incorporating the Village Chief into the teaching
of new information is one of the most important
components
Bambara Video/CLIC Analysis
According to our surveys:
• No one in either village had seen any of the three
Bambara videos distributed to CLIC organizations
• Many villagers hadn’t heard of CLICs, and no
interviewees in either village had ever used their
resources
• This is caused mainly by the presentation of CLIC
information in French and English, while the majority of
the villagers speak only Bambara
Extern Rebecca Cooper helps sift and pound millet
Conclusion
• CLIC organizations were unsuccessful because of
language barrier, user cost, and lack of
advertising/awareness to the villagers
• Bambara videos were unsuccessful because
villagers were unable to view them
• Best teaching methods include: demonstrations
and letters from village chief and extension
agents accompanied by visual aids, such as
posters, books, and videos to reinforce new
information
Suggestions
CLICs
• Potential to be successful
• Poor execution
Organizations need to:
• Present their product in the native language of
Bambara
• Demand reasonable prices for the average farmer
• Advertise their product and make farmers aware of
this new resource
• Teaching/Training new information or
technologies
• Organizations need to go through the chief of
the village, gaining their respect
• Hands on demonstrations followed by visual
aids, such as posters, books, or videos
• Visual aids need to be left with the villagers
as a reference to look back on
This research could potential be the
foundation for future aid projects.
Through the “farmer first” approach and
the use of visual aids, new ideas and
technologies may easily transfer between
scientist and subsistence farmer.
Acknowledgements
My deep appreciation to IER:
Kadiatou Gamby Toure
Sidiki Traore
Abdoulaye Camara
Aissata Thera
Keriba Coulibaly
This project was made possible, in part, through the support provided by
• USDA Cooperative States Research Extension Education Service
(CSREES) Higher Education Challenge Grant Program, no. 20043841114762, Discovery-Based Undergraduate Opportunities: Facilitating Farmer-toFarmer Teaching and Learning (F. Dunkel, P.I.)
• Montana State University Undergraduate Scholars Program, 2007
(Druse)
• Montana Agricultural Experiment Station No. 161 (F. Dunkel, P.I.)
• USAID through the Office of Higher Education for Development (HED) under
Cooperative Agreement HNE-A-00-97-00059-00. (F. Dunkel, P.I.)