CREATE! field technicians interviewed Ramatoulaye Top while she was watering plants in the Ouarkhokh community garden.

CREATE! field technicians interviewed Ramatoulaye Top while she was watering plants in the Ouarkhokh community garden.

Ramatoulaye Top is 41 years old and lives in Ouarkhokh with her husband, her seven children, and her four grandchildren. She is thrilled that she has had the opportunity to participate in CREATE! training programs in sustainable agriculture and improved cookstove construction. In particular, Ramatoulaye appreciates that training has restored to the community knowledge of traditional agricultural techniques that had been lost in the past decades. “With CREATE!,” she adds, “we are our own leaders.” Ramatoulaye says, “My biggest dream is to have enough to keep my family from want.” With additional training from CREATE!, Ramatoulaye and others will be able to continue to provide for their families.

Since 2010, CREATE! has partnered with the community of Ouarkhokh to lead training programs in sustainable agriculture, improved cookstove construction, Voluntary Savings and Lending Association (VSLA) techniques, and poultry production.