Name: Anna Skaggs
Post: Zagnanado
Date Submitted:
Contact Information: 97.51.51.81
Pick up Location: Parakou
Project Description: The Centre de Promotion Sociale of Zagnanado is starting a garden to generate income for the center, as there is none now. Requests have been made multiple times to the Beninese Family Ministry but we have seen nothing for our requests. A group has already been created out of women in the community who have agreed to work the garden for the center. Half of the proceeds will go towards the CPS and the other half will be divided among members of the women’s group. CPS proceeds are intended to go towards funding other projects the CPS initiates; ranging from food and necessary materials for demonstrations at community baby-weighings to helping pay for students’ school contributions if they are unable to on their own due to family situations.
Dates of Project: First of June until end of growing season –with hopes for it to continue even after that
Number of People Involved: 8 women in the group and the boss of the CPS. (9 total)
Budget:
| Item | Number | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Palm and Wood for Fence | 50 | 15.000 |
| Labor for Fence Construction | 1 | 5.000 |
| Clearing of the Land | 1 | 1.000 |
| Watering Cans | 2 | 7.000 |
| Wire for Fence | 1 Roll | 3.000 |
| Garden Hoe | 2 | 1.600 |
| Normal Beninese Hoe | 2 | 1.200 |
| Seeds (Carrots, Lettuce, Cabbage, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Green Beans) | 6 Packets — 4g of Seeds in Each | 7.000 |
| Moringa Seedlings | 5 | 7.500 |
| Total | 48.300 |
Amount Requested: 48.300 CFA
Comments
GAD Coordinator Comments: Recommend funding
GAD Financial Officer Comments: I like the project and agree with the recommendation. However, I would like to see that Anna is either providing training in keeping accounts or knows that the women are already capable of this, and has a designated person(s) who will be responsible for tracking the funds and ensuring profits are used for the purposes stated. Otherwise I worry that once produce starts being sold no one will keep accurate records of how much profit is being made.
Closing Report
Thanks to GSP, the CPS of Zagnanado now has a garden and a fence surrounding it. The purpose of the garden is to generate income for the center so it may be self-reliant for future activities.
The project faced two predominant challenges. The first was difficulty organizing the women of our newly-established groupement who were going to work the garden for us and receive half of the profits from the products when sold. Groupement mobilization after the initial meeting was non-existent so the saclage was paid for instead of done by the women, and the garden bed preparation and seeding was done by me and friends of the CPS. Despite there not being the transfer of skills and education like I wanted, and participation by the women, I am pleased the garden is finally established. And now we have transferred the gardening responsibility over to students who are all associated with the CPS because of their requests for the Responsible to send in demands for their school contribution to be paid for. It is my hope that hey will learn about gardening and responsibility through their participation. Already they have taken owndership of it by dividing up times to water it each day, and a student has offered to supplement what’s already planted with seeds he has at his house.
The second difficulty was the slow pace of fence construction due to simply slow labor, but also the man constructing the palm panels suffered a back injury. Fortunately it was eventually finished.
There were changes in the budget, and the money that remains is being returned to GSP. A pleasant fortune was that all of our seeds were free. My mom surprised me by sending a lot of seeds when she heard of the project, and I attended a moringa formation and received hundreds of moringa seeds afterwards. Unexpected expenditures were the saclage of the land as a result of the womens’ lack of participation, and also the cutting of huge limbs of trees that were in the garden space.
Lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, moringa, cucumbers, and carrots have all sprouted already, and the CPS has earned its first deposit (50 CFA!) from its products.
Budget:
| Item | Number | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Saclage | 1 | 1,500 CFA |
| Materials for fence construction | 1 | 13,500 CFA |
| Tree-limb cutting | 1 | 3,000 CFA |
| Garden hoes | 4 | 2,400 |
| Watering can | 1 | 3,500 |
| Iron for fence | 1 roll | 4,000 CFA |
| Labor for fence construction | 1 | 5,000 CFA |
| Total | 32,900 CFA |
Returned to GSP: 16,100 CFA
