Growing Diversity – West Africa

TITLE OF EXPERIENCE: Development of traditional, wild vegetables by women from Karma

AUTHOR: Group of women from Karma and ADTAE

COUNTRY AND REGION: Burkina Faso, Karma

ECOLOGICAL ZONE: Savannah

ABSTRACT

Karma is a village situated about twenty kilometres from Ouayigouha in the extreme north of Burkina Faso where the Télem live, a devout people who have migrated towards the cliffs of Bandiagra in present day Mali. The Mossi, a farming community, also live in this villagealongside the Fulani who are herders. The Karma women's group, called Rel-wendé or 'we place our hope in God', was created in 1994 because of their becoming aware of the threat to their food supply from monoculture. The dynamism of the group draws the admiration of the villagers.

These women decided to increase the value of traditional food plants through their knowledge of ancestral cooking methods and by banning the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides from their farming practices. Priority is given to the growing of wild vegetables which contribute to people's subsistence and improve the quality of their food, compared to classic market gardening. In addition, they collect and dry a number of traditional, wild vegetables whose scientific names are not always known and which are present in fewer numbers than 50 years ago. They have created a seed bank of wild vegetables that are rarely grown. However, the lack of revenue generated by these activities and the lack of interest of other members of the population, are limiting factors.

CONTACT:

ADTAE : Saïbou OUEDRAOGO, S/C Georges ZONGO – 01 BP 3797 – Ouagadougou 01 – BURKINA FASO