Support Goundam Farmers' Sustainable Future

Mali, a landlocked country in the Sahel region of West Africa, is currently ranked 188 (out of 193) globally in the current UNDP Human Development Index , indicating high levels of poverty and food insecurity. In addition, the country is significantly affected by climate change, as the rapidly expanding Sahara desert transforms previously arable land and vibrant rivers and lakes into dry desert areas with minimal rainfall. The town of Goundam, in the Timbuktu region of Mali, sits in the middle of such a region. In previous generations, the fertile soil of Alkayabangu, previously located near the Tele Lake in the outskirts of Goundam, was able to support a wide range of crops that provided nutritious food for the entire town of Goundam. But tragically, over the last 50 years, this lake has shrunk considerably with diminishing rains each year. These days, what remains of the lake is far from the town, making it nearly impossible to use the land for farming, livestock, or any other essential livelihood activities.

What has the community done so far to tackle this challenge? On behalf of their community, a group of 60 farmers organized themselves into a local farmers association, mobilizing their existing tools and resources to resume agricultural production in the area. The group mobilized their own internal contributions, which have been used to purchase seeds, rent local water pumping machines, and recruit workers to help dig irrigation channels and do other farming tasks. Through these locally generated efforts, the residents of Goundam and surrounding villages are now able to buy, sell, and cook with a wide range of foods, including fruits and vegetables. In the words of the group members: During the periods of harvest, it is [now] very common to see fruits and vegetables on the market place of Goundam. People now cook with more vegetables; and families, especially children and pregnant/lactating women, eat more nutritious food, thanks to the project. The project itself has gained national attention, with several episodes of media coverage of its activity, and the group continues to grow: in the current 2024-2025 farming season, an additional 25 women have joined the group, bringing the total to 85 members.

Our Request for Your Support: The farmers association now wishes to expand its activities, helping to ensure that more residents of the area benefit from its products, and that farming can take place year round in a sustainable manner that does not destroy the soil’s nutrients. In order to do this, they need WATER: more stable, effective, and reliable irrigation sources that can transfer water from the lake to the perimeter farms across the area. This would include an irrigation pump, which would be managed and maintained by the group: preferably solar powered, which would be more sustainable for the environment, more suitable for the land, and less expensive to maintain.

If we successfully achieve our goals, food security will be a reality in the Goundam area, and in the in the region of Timbuktu.