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This page is devoted to one of our international projects based in Koundara, Guinea. The goal of this project is to develop a method of sustainable agriculture for farmers in Koundara to replace the current methods of slash and burn farming and heavy fertilizer application. The Republic of Guinea is located on the west coast of Africa. Koundara is a small town in the northern part of the country, very close to the Senegalese-Guinean border. To view a larger map, click on the image to the right.
Background
The primary faculty advisor to ESW/MOSS, Professor Susan Martonosi, spent two years in the Peace Corps in Koundara from 1999-2001 (see picture below). When the group was looking for a site for a second international development project, Professor Martonosi believed Koundara would be a suitable location. The town of Koundara is located in an isolated area of the country, approximately a one day drive from the capital of Conakry. Professor Martonosi contacted several of her friends, including one of the directors of the non-governmental organization Volontaires Guinéens pour le Développement (VGD), which works to improve the life of Guineans and has conducted projects in Koundara in the past. VGD identified several potential projects for ESW/MOSS including solar power, waste management, preservation of biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture. Based on this, four students from ESW/MOSS, Annika Eberle (HMC '09), Rob Best (HMC '10), and Dmitri Skjorshammer (HMC '11) applied for a research grant from the HMC Center for Environmental Studies in the spring of 2008. The group received the grant, which was to cover an eight week research period in which the students would travel to Koundara and work with VGD staff and local community members to identify a suitable problem for which ESW/MOSS could derive a solution.Research PerformedPrior to traveling to Koundara, Annika, Rob, and Dmitri set aside two weeks in which to research the four problems offered by VGD and devise questions and tests that could be performed in Guinea to adequately assess the current state of the four issues. In addition, background research was performed to better understand the culture and history of Guinea. The group looked at solutions to agricultural, waste, and solar power problems faced by other nations in sub-Saharan Africa to gain an understanding of what solutions might be available to them. In addition, all three took daily French lessons, the national language of Guinea, from Professor Martonosi. At the end of two weeks, the group had compiled a thorough and well-referenced file of documents pertaining to the problems identified by VGD. Some of the resources created by the students can be found through the links below in the Relevant Documents section of this page. The references consulted by the students included other former Peace Corps volunteers intimately familiar with the Koundaran culture and environment, as well as numerous books and websites.
Mount Badiar, near Koundara A family in Koundara
Unfortunately, due to civil unrest within Guinea only days before the students were supposed to depart, Professor Martonosi and HMC administrators decided it would be unsafe to travel to Guinea. Instead, the students reviewed their research and determined based on solutions attempted in nations similar to Guinea that sustainable agriculture was initially the most promising project possibility. Their decision took into account economic, environmental, and social factors, and it was determined that reducing the use of fertilizers in the town could easily cut down the price of food and be greatly beneficial to the groundwater and rivers surrounding Koundara. Additionally, through experiments in composting, chemical fertilizer composition, and nutrient enrichment in compost, the students could easily create at HMC a solution which can be implemented in Koundara.
Based on reviewing their compiled research, Annika, Dmitri, and Rob wrote a grant proposal to solicit funding from the EPA's P3 (People, Prosperity, and Planet) program. These grants are designed to fund students research, developing, or designing solutions to real world challenges involving the overall sustainability of human society. With the help of Evann Gonzales (HMC '12), Autumn Petros-Good (HMC '09), Dr. David Becker, and Dr. Julie Bell, the grant proposal was submitted on December 23. 2008.
Current State of Research
The club was not awarded the EPA P3 grant. The project was temporarily suspended due to unstable political conditions within Guinea.
Relevant Documents
Click on the links below to read some of the information compiled by ESW/MOSS regarding sustainable agriculture and other environmental and social issues in Koundara, Guinea.
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