Makeni, Makeni, Makeni!

I arrived in Makeni on last week Wednesday. Overall, it was a smooth trip. The trip was on "good roads," as opposed to the bumpy, pot-hole-ridden streets of Freetown. I got in at about 9pm, and a volunteer from the WHI office in town put me and my bags on a motorcycle taxi(or "ocada") to take me to the Women of Hope International guest house (a ministry for disabled Sierra Leonean women that is not affiliated with WHI). It was my first time riding a motorcycle, and it felt even more treacherous because of the blackness of night, and the bumpy streets. But I made it to the guest house alive. The next morning I woke early in order to make it to the WHI office in time to make contract-signing visits with Steve, the Mango Outgrowers Project Coordinator. These visits, which were also made by motorcycle, because they are easier to navigate in rural areas, were arranged to finalize farmers' agreements to supply mangoes to Africa Felix Juice (AFJ) company. The Mango Outgrowers Project (MOP) has found that farmers are very willing to sell the mangoes, and that there are plenty of mangoes to be sold. The main issue is the price that AFJ wants to pay for the mangoes. Currently, farmers sell mangoes to middlemen called "marketeers," who pay farmers 300 leones/mango and sell them for 1000 leones/mango in Freetown. (1000 leones=$0.25). AFJ wants to pay farmers 4000 leones (~$1) per 22kg crate of mangoes. The average mango weighs ~.5kg, which means that farmers who sign with AFJ will be receiving a fraction of the price/mango that they receive from marketeers. The draw of AFJ, however, is that the juice company promises to pay the same price throughout mango season. Currently, in peak mango season (May-June), when the market is flooded, mango value significantly decreases. At this time, farmers will give buckets of mangoes away for free. Those that are not sold or eaten simply rot. AFJ and MOP are seeking to facilitate a more consistent mango trade that both brings in more revenue for farmers (because they will be able to sell more mangoes than they did before), and distributes their income across mango season (instead of just at the beginning and end). The creation of a mango market promises to have many benefits for rural communities in Sierra Leone. In addition to the increased revenue, AFJ is creating job opportunities for rural youth. Urbanization has been a huge problem in many African countries in recent decades. Because there are few opportunities in rural areas, young people travel to the cities like Freetown, and to a lesser extent, provincial capitals like Makeni, looking for jobs. But when they get there, many times, the most lucrative opportunities available are criminal. They are disconnected from family and friends, so they look for support by joining gangs. Many of these young people would prefer to stay in rural areas, but their life situations make it impossible to do so. The creation of opportunities in rural areas, like the ones offered by AFJ, gives young people the reason and opportunity to stay and invest in their hometowns. Last week, I met a man whose son had actually moved back to his village (Matuflie) from Freetown in order to manage and oversee the mango harvest, an position that wouldn't have been necessary before AFJ came to town. Stories like this give me hope.