Peace Corps

I spent two years in Mali as a Peace Corps volunteer between 2005 and 2007. I entered the program skeptical of what someone without any agricultural background could do to help millet farmers in the Sahel. Fortunately, my access to the internet and freedom to spend time searching for and recruiting experts allowed me to act as an extension agent for my community and those that surrounded it. It was an extremely important experience for me. I learned about the difficult and complex choices that agro-pastoral households are making, often with little information and brutal consequences for error. There are lessons that I learned in Mali that I try to remember in my research. First, knowledge, skill, and access to resources vary widely even among households in the same community and with similar backgrounds. I believe that this heterogeneity is likely one reason that even well thought out and tested interventions have so often produced disappointing outcomes at scale. Second, whenever the solution seems simple you are probably missing most of the issue. My time in PC was life changing in a personal way as well; I met my wife in Mali. I thank the Missadiebougou community and the Peace Corps for an increadible and life-chaning experience. My time  im Mali will always be close to my heart.