In this interview, we hear from Norah Deming. Norah is working as a Peace Corps Agriculture volunteer in Senegal. What Norah shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Norah talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Norah’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Can you tell us more about serving as an Agriculture volunteer in Senegal?
Agriculture volunteers are busiest in the rainy season from July to October. In the rainy season, we distribute improved varieties of corn, cowpeas, millet, sorghum, and rice from the Senegalese Agriculture Research Institute. Farmers who receive seeds include us in their work. In the fields, we clear debris, spread manure, plow with draft animals, weed, and harvest. Since farmers in my village have many decades of experience, I think of myself more as a student of each farmer’s expertise. Outside of the rainy season, I spend the majority of my time with farmers at a local market garden or middle school students in our Gardening and Environment club.
A typical day starts with a hot cup of coffee at 6 am. I like to wake up early to soak in the few cool hours in the day. I’ll join a farmer who is heading out to work in their field or visit neighbors who manage small home gardens. In these kitchen gardens, folks grow okra, eggplant, tomato, hibiscus, moringa, mint, basil, lettuce, and radishes.
I come home around noon to get out of the sun. During these hours, I’ll read, call a friend, watch a show, do art, or talk with my host sisters. After lunch at two, people lounge a bit and converse over afternoon tea (attaya). At three or four in the afternoon, I tend to go to the garden, visit a friend, or work at the middle school until the sun starts going down. I like to run before sunset, when the heat of the day fades to a tolerable temperature. At night, I’ll have my bucket bath and wind down with my host family.
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Senegal?
Before I even considered applying to the Peace Corps, I was specifically interested in going to Senegal. Two primary topics made me curious about Senegal, and I could not get the full picture about these topics simply by reading articles from afar.
Solid waste management is a challenge in Senegal. Unlike the US, Senegal does not have the privilege of exporting their trash to other countries. This prevailing threat to the environment affects important industries like fishing and tourism. There is a steadily progressing movement against plastic pollution in the country. The activist and educator Modou Fall, aka the Plastic Man, campaigns for a planet with fewer single-use plastics. As with many movements, the next generation carries the torch. The first driving question was, what does youth environmental education and activism look like in Senegal?
My second driving question was related to the role of women in agriculture. Like many countries in West Africa, Senegal sees citizens emigrate and migrate internally for safer living conditions or better work opportunities. I was curious how men migrating out of rural communities affected the conventional gender roles in agriculture. Women may be responsible for managing fields when men in the household work elsewhere. In Senegal, do women now have more ownership of land and equipment? Does the changing role of women in agriculture positively affect their autonomy?
At my previous job, I worked with RPCVs who described their experiences of building deep relationships in the local language, collaborating with work counterparts, and living with host families. Their stories made me interested in joining the Peace Corps. Becoming a volunteer offered me the chance to explore my questions by working alongside women farmers and environmentally minded students. In my daily work, I delve into the topics that initially sparked my curiosity about Senegal.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation
Senegalese Homes
I live with a host family made up of a mother, father, uncle, and six children. In our home compound, stand-alone bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen surround a large sand courtyard. This open space is where family members do food prep, pray, wash clothes, play with kids, and watch soccer games on TV. In the center of our courtyard, under the shade of a large tree, we roll out a woven mat and eat lunch together around the bowl.
Within the home compound, I have my own personal space that includes a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and an enclosed outdoor area where I grow plants and do laundry. I have electricity and a water spigot. In the kitchen, I cook with produce from my garden or the local market. A perk of living in a more “urban” site is proximity to boutiques that sell staple foods and even refrigerated beverages.
CIF and Counterpart
A short distance from my home compound are the homes of my Cultural Integration Facilitator (CIF) and Counterpart. The role of CIF is designated to a well-respected individual who can assist the volunteer during their first three months at site. My CIF, Nogaye, helped me tremendously. She showed me important places and introduced me to people in the community. We’ve become great friends over two years. The role of Counterpart is designated to a person who has technical experience in the volunteer’s sector. I was connected to Saliou, a community leader, farmer, school director, and multi-talented legend. He and his family have become like a second host family to me. I would be lost without Nogaye and Saliou!
A Bond With My Host Siblings
As the youngest child in my family, I never lived with younger siblings and never had the role of “older sister.” One of my favorite parts of living with my host family is the bond that formed between me and my younger host sisters. I appreciate the little moments with them. In the evenings, we make sweet ginger milk and kettle corn. When it rains, we play in the mud and rinse off in the water pouring off the roof. At night, we watch Wolof dramas on TV or stretch on the yoga mat.
It is easy to let feelings of loneliness creep in when far from the people who know you best. My host sisters really prevent me from feeling lonely because they constantly make efforts to know me and include me. It’s difficult to come to terms with my service ending in a month, because I’m not ready for the goodbyes.
4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?
Our house is a kilometer from the town center. My favorite route home weaves through a sandy landscape sparsely populated with bushes and thorny trees. For multiple weeks, I kept running into a woman on that path who would be collecting plants to make natural remedies. One day, she told me to come visit her house because there was something she wanted to show me.
Curious, I walked over the next day and was welcomed by her granddaughters. In the center of the home sat a majestic cotton tree. Kumba emerged from a shed with many tools in hand and a palpable enthusiasm. She proceeded to show me her traditional craft of processing raw cotton and spinning the fibers into string. Slowly and methodically, she spun the cotton into spools while she simultaneously supervised the chores of her grandchildren.
She explained the string is used to stitch small leather talismans. I asked if she had taught the craft to the kids, but she replied that they were not interested. There may be limited appreciation for this craft in the younger generation, but Kumba remains passionate. I am grateful she invited me to learn about her work.
Moments like this are common in the volunteer experience. Senegal’s reputation for hospitality is well documented. Countless times, I’ve been invited to join people and found myself in random and unexpected places. Ultimately, the key is saying yes to an invitation, because you never know where it might lead you.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Senegal?
The lack of a regular work schedule can be a personal challenge.
6. What challenges did you face while working on Agriculture projects?
Water Scarcity
Farmers deal with a lack of adequate rain for their crops, which is an obstacle that leads to financial consequences and food scarcity. This year, due to late rains, farmers had to reseed their field crops because the first round died. Frequently, wells run dry and water spigots stop running. These challenges can be overcome on the home-garden scale by reusing grey water and mulching to conserve soil moisture.
Livestock Grazing
Livestock grazing is another threat to agricultural projects. In the dry Sahelian climate, few plants are available to grazing animals, so they feast on gardens and young trees. A garden can not grow without a fence or strong protective barrier, and the lack of these materials is an obstacle for people interested in starting gardens. Although animals can be detrimental to agricultural projects, raising and herding livestock carries great cultural significance. Nomadic herders have long traversed the country with their livestock. Sheep and goat meat are central components of meals served on holidays like Tabaski and Korite. The important traditions connected to grazing animals can often conflict with the need for trees and nutritious local produce.
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
Middle School Club
My secondary project is a middle school Environment and Gardening club. The club meets weekly in the school garden, which is a great venue for kinesthetic learning. Over two years, students have learned about topics such as microgardening, vegetable nurseries, seed anatomy, and single-use plastics. Working with motivated young people in the club has been a highlight of my service. I am impressed to see how students apply what they learn in the club to start gardens at home. I hope their participation in this club fosters a love of the environment and a passion for agriculture that expands throughout their lives.
Linking Agriculture and Environment
One of my favorite aspects of the work in Senegal is that volunteers are encouraged to explore projects outside of their sector. I had the opportunity to learn skills under the Environment sector framework, such as seed collection, tree identification, transplanting, and grafting. All volunteers, regardless of sector, are able to request tree seeds in the annual order, which provides us with resources to create tree nurseries at our site.
To meet demand for trees in my town, I’ve collaborated with community members to make seven tree nurseries. Saplings from these nurseries will grow to serve many functions: thorny trees are used for live fencing to protect fields, leguminous trees fix nitrogen to benefit nearby crops, and fruit trees are incorporated into existing farmland to create multilevel systems. Deepening my understanding of agroforestry has been a highlight of my work in Senegal.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as an Agriculture volunteer in Senegal?
Prepare to be discouraged. Prepare to have failures. There’s a proverb in Wolof that translates to “Whoever wants honey must brave the bees.” This means we can only reach our goals by courageously navigating the hard parts. Agriculture projects in Senegal demand tenacity. I stay motivated by visiting home gardeners to check on their progress. Together, we celebrate the successes and observe points of concern.
By putting our knowledge and experience together, we can identify strategies for pest management and soil amendment. These collaborative efforts ensure project longevity. I feel the most uplifted when a new farmer shows me the produce they harvested. The vegetables can be a source of income or a nutrient-rich supplement to family meals. Like the Wolof proverb teaches, pushing forward with consistent effort rewards us with the fruit of our labor.
9. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
I enjoyed Pre-Service Training (PST), but it was intense. We spent 27 days in Community-Based Training (CBT) towns, and the rest of the roughly 2 ½ months were spent at the training center. In such a short timeline, trainees learn a new language, practice technical skills, attend the required security and medical sessions, navigate public transportation, adjust to the hot climate, and make new friends.
I recommend leaning into the whirlwind intensity of PST while taking adequate time to decompress. My preferred ways to take breaks were running at a nearby track in the morning and taking power naps after lunch. I am lucky to be in an amazing cohort of supportive peers, so time with them is very grounding as well. Find strategies that work for you. Take adequate time and space to recharge so you can be present and get the most out of the experience.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Senegal volunteers?
Nothing could have entirely prepared me for Senegal’s climate. To protect from the sun and heat, I recommend bringing some bandanas, polarized sunglasses, breathable fabric, an insulated water bottle, and a UPF sun hoodie. Once you arrive, you can learn from locals the best ways to stave off the heat. On the hottest days of the dry season, my host sisters dampen thin scarves and drape them over their heads. The evaporation has a cooling effect that lasts only minutes before the scarves are completely dry again.
For those who enjoy making art, I recommend bringing a good stock of supplies. Art is a nice way to connect with people, because it does not depend on language ability. I frequently run out of art supplies because of the coloring sessions I host with big groups of neighborhood kids. It can be difficult to find quality crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, or coloring books, so having backups is helpful.
11. How has learning the language been?
Being in a multilingual country, volunteers speak a variety of languages, including Mandinka, Serer, Wolof, and various Pulaar dialects. Trainees are assigned one language, which depends on the language spoken in their permanent site. I learned Wolof during PST and wanted to keep some language-learning structure after swear-in. I connected with a local English teacher who agreed to be my tutor. She helped strengthen my understanding of the Wolof language and culture.
Tutoring is great, but it is not a given. In more rural towns, it is rare to find someone who speaks English or has language teaching experience. With or without tutoring, most volunteers find that the best way to learn is just by sitting with people and recording new words and phrases. If I could give only one piece of advice, I’d say to keep a notebook nearby at all times.
Senegal gained independence from France in 1960, but schools and government administrations are still influenced by French colonial systems and language. French words are often mixed into conversation, commonly replacing numbers, months, colors, and days of the week. Prospective volunteers without a background in French would benefit from learning the basics, so it’s easier to distinguish between words in the local language and those borrowed from French. Once you are able to make the distinction, you can prioritize using the word in the local language over its French counterpart.
Final Thoughts
12. Any last comments you’d like to pass on to future Senegal volunteers?
Senegal has a deeply ingrained culture of collectivism that values the group above the individual. This is evident in the multigenerational homes, the way people drop everything to attend community events, and the shared responsibility for raising children. Communal living is apparent in the physical layout of Senegalese communities, which are mostly walkable towns with close proximity to the school, post office, garden, and market. In this more intimate and interwoven structure, people make sure to greet one another, share what they can, and practice forgiveness.
Adjusting to this societal structure brought moments of discomfort, and it still does even after two years. (Side note: It is important to establish healthy boundaries so you don’t compromise your comfort entirely.) I come from a culture of individualism, where people miss out on community and connection because they avoid what is inconvenient or uncomfortable. I will go back to the United States with a new appreciation for community, and plan to embrace the hard parts that come along with it.
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Norah’s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Senegal Government.
