Dick Sisman with a Gambian community

Dick Sisman, Serenity Holiday’s sustainable tourism advisor and an industry expert has started a new and exciting initiative based in The Gambia. With his help we are offering you the opportunity to donate a stove to a Gambian family. Here he tells us how he fell for The Gambia and how his Mayan Stove project is helping him to ‘give something back’ to the country he loves. See details at the bottom for how you can help!

During the past 25 years as the main tourism industry advisor on sustainable tourism I visited over 60 different countries around the World, working with tour operators and others to develop sustainable tourism strategies and projects. One destination I visited often in this time was The Gambia.
My first visit was organized by the owners of The Gambia Experience and my brief was to advise the company about how they could best engage with local communities and make changes within the company to make their business more sustainable. Now, many years later The Gambia Experience, through their group operation Serenity Holidays, are the proud recipients of a 5 star (the highest) sustainable tourism award by their industry association AITO (Association of Independent Tour Operators).

My long association with The Gambia and The Gambia Experience has enabled me to get to know many people in The Gambia and I have made many friends. The Gambia is not a rich country in terms of money or material wealth but is rich in many other ways. The strength of extended families, which is lost in much of Western Europe, a respect for age and experience and a genuine fondness and love for life gladden the heart. I have one friend who is blind and always feels my face and comments on my health and disposition from touch alone. When I asked him why everyone in his village seemed happy he told me that “You in England always seem to carry the weight of the World on you. We look after our own first and then others if we can”. What wise words!
During my time in The Gambia I have tried to “put something back”, helping children through school; setting up trade not aid projects and helping specific people to develop skills and careers. Most recently I have been working with The Gambia Experience to develop sustainable projects funded by carbon offset contributions from customers.

Mayan Turbo Stove in action

As I move towards the end of my career I now want to set up a longer term programme which will benefit families, especially those living on subsistence levels of income. My chosen method is through a community stoves programme which will replace more traditional 3 stone fires with one of three newly designed alternative fuel stoves bringing many benefits.

• They will reduce the time in collecting fuel wood (in some areas women spend one day in three collecting fuel wood)
• They can be used in commercial applications, thus creating supplementary livelihoods
• They will help to empower women through incorporation of women’s cooperatives in project activities
• They produce significant cost savings through the use of alternative fuels such as rice husk and peanut shells
• They reduce particulate matter by 67% compared with traditional stoves, this brings a number of respiratory and bronchial health benefits and reduces indoor pollution
• Alternative fuels are much cleaner and less bulky than wood and charcoal

The demand for new stoves is already high as awareness has been heightened through other work in which I have been involved. Many stoves will be sold directly to those who are able to afford them; we sold 15 stoves on the first day of operation and have many more orders. The payback time in terms of saving in fuel alone can be just a few months and the stoves will last for several years.

However there will be many of the poorer families in The Gambia who will not be able to purchase stoves without financial help. It is not my intention to seek “charity” or “international aid” as a means of supporting my work as this is subject to the vagaries of donor whims and far less sustainable than a good business model which provides long term continuation through its pricing structure. Also, once the business is self financing and without liabilities it is my intention to transfer ownership free of any charges to those Gambia nationals who have been engaged to run it through a process which I term “beneficial business”. This will act as a significant local empowerment.

So, with the blessing and approval of The Gambia Experience I am asking any customers who may wish to contribute or support families in The Gambia to consider sponsoring a stove as a present for either a family they know or one selected on the basis of restricted income. Each present will consist of the most appropriate new stove design for particular circumstances; an initial supply of 10kg of fuel and personal training by one of the programmes staff in use and maintenance. The cost per gift is £20 and this can be paid either in the UK or in The Gambia. Every donor will receive an acknowledgement and a digital photograph of the stove recipient. My personal guarantee is that every payment will result in a stove and fuel being supplied to a family in The Gambia.

If, like me, you do want to provide help to families who would benefit greatly from a relatively low priced practical and life improving gift then in the first instance contact me by e mail at dick@dicksisman.com or alternatively if you wish to place an order when in The Gambia contact Fanna Njie, Gambia Community Stoves sales executive on 7703041.

photograph courtesy of Ngala Lodge

Coconut Créme Brulee
Ingredients: serves 6

8 Egg yolks
30g sugar
1 tin coconut milk (400ml)
100g creamed coconut
400g cream
4 large bananas
sesame seeds and brown sugar to sprinkle on top
sprig of mint to garnish

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150° C (or gas mark 2)

2. Slowly reduce the coconut milk and the creamed coconut to approx 250g

3. Then add approx 400g cream to make a total 650g

4. Heat slowly until JUST boiling & then remove from heat

5. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar untill thick and pale yellow and double in quantity

6. Whisk the coconut and cream mixture into the egg & sugar mixture

7. Place in 6 large ramekins

8. Bake in bain maire for 30-40 mins until just cooked – the middle should still have a wobble when shaken gently

TO SERVE

9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds

10. Cover in a layer of slice of banana

11. Sprinkle with Brown sugar

12. Warm in the oven

13. Glaze sugar until brown

14. Top with a sprig of mint

and in true Ngala style serve on a banana leaf and a lemon grass leaf. Enjoy!

Tree planting in action!

On our first day, we were picked up by our forester Lamin Kinteh and set off to visit our community tree planting projects. The first, Pirang, was a small village, about 45 minutes from the main tourist area and chosen for its easy access to the river water. This was our newest and smallest project, planted in 2009 and I was very interested to see the growth of the seedlings. We walked through scrubland, past local compounds and towering termite mounds until we reached our area of gmalina trees. It was fantastic to see the growth after only two years, some were about 18ft high and were filling out nicely – a sight you would never expect in the UK!

Lamin Kinteh among the trees

We drove to our next project, one of the first areas where trees were planted back in 2007. Set in the small village of Sifoe, the trees are a mix of gmalina and cashew. Cashew fruits and nuts can be harvested and the trees provide the perfect home for native bees. As we arrived, we were met by a number of smiling locals, telling stories of their honey production and cashew nut crops and how the profits were helping to put local children through school. The trees were so established and appreciated by the locals and were giving so much more than simply carbon benefits.
After a spot of lunch on the coast, we set off on what can only be described as off-roading to our largest project area. This was a slightly different project to the others. On our way, Lamin was explaining the background behind the project, that the trees had been planted as a buffer zone for the Abuko nature reserve. In the past, locals had destroyed much of the nature reserve in their search for wood for cooking or building. The aim of the buffer zone is to surround the damaged areas so that they can regrow to their natural glory. Some of the trees here have grown to an amazing 25 ft high and are now producing a natural fence around some of the reserve. The wildlife is already returning to the reserve and new seedlings are sprouting in the scrubland. It was wonderful to see the positive reforestation.

A Mayon Stove in action

On the next day, we were met by our Mayan Turbo stove project manager, Mama. We have been funding the community stove project for two years. Most of our stoves had been distributed on the North Bank of the River Gambia, but they have now started becoming available on the south bank. Mama took us to a coastal village called Sanyang, where a number of stoves were already in use. When we arrived we were met by nearly the whole community coming to see what was going on. As it had just been the Muslim festival of Tobaski, all of the women were in their finest dresses and the array of colours was fantastic. I was delighted when the Gambian women started to bring out rice, lamb and vegetables – they were cooking lunch and I was invited to the feast! Burning by-products such as rice husks and peanut shells, the stoves are virtually free to use and heat up very quickly. Whilst some women were making Benachin, a spicy rice dish, others were talking to me about the benefits of the stoves compared with traditional wood burners. They were explaining that previously to collect firewood, they would need to walk nearly 14km or buy expensive bundles of imported wood. By using our turbo stoves, the women could burn waste products, thus saving energy, money and the local forests. A further benefit is that the turbo stoves produce far less smoke compared to traditional wood burning stoves.

Bon appetit!

As the trip came to its end, I was really amazed by how well both projects are progressing. We are achieving our carbon reduction goals and improving the quality of life for many locals. Having had such a wonderful insight into these worthwhile projects, I am keen to encourage staff and customers to continue to reach our long-term goals.

Have you ever cooked for 900 people for a wedding and have 1,500 turn up! No, unsurprisingly, me neither. Jonathan Groves, the superb chef at Ngala Lodge has. Last month, while staying at this beautiful boutique hotel in The Gambia, West Africa, I was lucky enough to interview him and find out more about his career, which has taken him to many different countries around the world, and about the pros and cons of working in Africa.

Kathryn:  Have you always wanted to be a chef from a young age?

Jonathan: When I was 16, between ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels, I worked 6 weeks in a hotel and then they asked me back every holiday. Then one day, while I was studying ‘A’ levels to go and do hotel management, the executive chef called me into his office “So you’re going to do hotel management are you?” “Yes?” “ Look at that idiot over there in the pin-striped suit…. I can see you have a lot of talent as a chef. Think about it?” So I did but I’d never thought of it as a career before.

Having trained at Westminster college, while working five days a week at Charing Cross Hotel, London  (where there are over 50 chefs and the kitchen is 1½ km long) Jonathan got his first job abroad in the early 80s.

Jonathan:  I had just bought a house and the mortgage rate went up from 4% to 14%. I was getting further and further into debt so I said to the wife “What shall we do? We’re going to have to do something?” I managed to get a job in Libya through an agency for one year. 18 of us went out to open two hotels and a restaurant, only two of us stayed  the year. I knew I had to stay as agents wouldn’t touch you again if you hadn’t completed the first placement.

Jonathan then worked at the Barbican in London where he did after-show dinners for the likes of Princess Margaret, but after a couple of years he got itchy feet and applied for a job in Jordan, working there for the next three years.

Kathryn: What type of food did you cook?

Jonathan: European and international food. We did a lot of banquets , weddings and so on. Usually with Arabic starters and the main something European.

Kathryn: So you had the opportunity to pick up influences from Jordan and presumably Libya before that?

Jonathan:  Not so much Libya. It was very new to the tourist market then. The hotels were actually opened for an African conference that never actually happened. Jordan was nice. The tradition is to get married after Ramadan so for 3 months after Ramadan you have wedding after wedding every single night with bookings for maybe 800 or 900 guests invited but then more would turn up and it’s an insult to turn anybody away. The poor bride and groom’s family would invite 900 guests and  1,500 people turn up. They can’t say no, but you get the hang of it.

Kathryn: It must have been quite a shock the first time though.

Jonathan: It was, although obviously I was working with other people. I was just a sous chef, a number 2 chef.

After that I spent a year in Paris, that was a good influence.

Kathryn: When did you first come to The Gambia?

Jonathan: In the mid 80s to the Atlantic Hotel. That was through an agent. A hotel would say they are looking for a chef and the agents would look for chefs with suitable experience and put 3 or 4 forward.  It was my first senior chefs job, just coming up to thirty. Stayed there for 3 years. Quite an eye opener. It was a big, big challenge. In London and Paris you can pick up the phone and get everything straight away. The problem here, and even more so now, is availability, especially with fish. The sea is so over fished by big trawlers, most of the produce is going abroad. Prices are going up, crazy prices. Even between this season and last season the prices have gone up 1 and ½ times.

Kathryn: It must be hard for the locals.

Jonathan: Very hard for the locals. In September to the beginning of November you couldn’t get fish, at all. Lobsters  are hard to get . Same with tiger prawns, I got some just over a week ago but since then I’ve not been able to get any.

Tanji fishing village

Kathryn: The locals were telling me just this morning, at Tanji fish market, that they are having to go out further and further to fish and presumably that is only going to get worse and they depend on it for their livelihood.

Jonathan: Yes, even the local bongo fish is getting quite scarce now.

Jonathan then went back to France followed by 6 years at a casino in Knightsbridge.

Kathryn: What was it like working there?

Jonathan: Very good. They had a totally revamped kitchen, most equipped kitchen I ever worked in. The guests didn’t pay in the restaurant, they paid downstairs on the tables. You had to be invited to the restaurant, the big players, very exclusive. Casino is big business. I was working with a Lebanese and some French chefs. The kitchen was small but produced top of the range quality food. You had to be really good chef. Everything was made to order. A lot of things were off the menu. Quite exciting.

In 1995 Jonathan was head-hunted by the general manager from Senegambia Hotel  in The Gambia and he worked there for the next 6 years. Jobs in Abu Dhabi and Dublin followed but then the stress became too much. He felt burnt out and gave up catering and sold motorbikes. After 4 years he started to miss the hype and excitement of being a chef.

Kathryn: What about the heat in The Gambia, it’s hot enough here anyway, let alone in the kitchen?

Jonathan:  You get used to it! Problem here is the non-availability of items and equipment. The power surges damages the fridges and freezers and so on. They breakdown and you can’t say to people “You can’t have dinner tonight.” You have to get it out somehow but at the end of the day, when you have a good night, it is a buzz! You don’t do it for the money but for the buzz and excitement. For me, if it’s someone I care about, say if it’s their birthday, I’d rather spend a day shopping and a day cooking and invite their friends then go and buy a present. When you see the pleasure on their face and their enjoyment, it is a buzz, it’s like a drug.

Kathryn: The food here is wonderful and so beautifully presented.

Jonathan: I don’t go for over complicated, I try to keep it simple. If you’ve got something beautiful, like the fish you have here, you don’t want to spoil it with an over complicated sauces.

Kathryn: How many do you have working in the kitchen here at Ngala Lodge.

Jonathan: 10 cooks, you have to find people’s strong points. You have to find what actually motivates them. It’s quite hard sometimes. Then again, a guy who used to work with me at Coconut Residence I got to work down here. I wanted a sous chef but no one wanted to take responsibility. I always thought he was a bit laid back, a bit casual and then in August I said “I’m going on leave, you’ve got the chance to prove yourself now. You’ve got 6 weeks to prove yourself.” And he really stepped up. I was in Australia and we had email contact. He asked me this and he asked me that. We were quite  busy and he really came through.

There was another guy, a cleaner in Senegambia. He came to me one day and asked if he could have a chance. “Yeh, Ok. It’s hard. I’ll push you. It won’t be easy. I’ll really push you.”

So he came to work in the kitchen. He was very quiet. He came to work early in the morning and left late at night. He never complained about the hours. Never asked about more money or whatever. After I left Senegambia I heard he was promoted up to number three chef. Then the hotel laid him off for the rainy season. The chef from the Sheraton asked him to come over and help for busy functions and he ended up being their number three chef. The number two chef left and went to work in Dubai. The number one chef , who was Algerian, went back to Algeria for three months. So he ended up running the kitchen on his own. I heard he’s doing really well. For me that’s a great sense of achievement. That he’s actually done something. It’s the same with the sous chef at the Atlantic. He took over from me in 91 and he’s the chef there now. He normally goes to the States for the rainy season and does the high season back here. There’s a few guys around that really have it.

Kathryn: Although you’ve worked in many different places you keep returning to The Gambia.

Jonathan: I fell in love with The Gambia when I first came here. I bought a piece of land in ‘91 and did something I’ve always wanted to do. I designed and built my own house. No architect involved. It’s pretty different. I had it open, the year before last, for a year as a restaurant. The theme was you come to my house to eat. You don’t come to a restaurant. And at the centre of the house is the kitchen. Literally right in the centre. I wasn’t going for the tourist market, I was going for the local market here. Only word of mouth. No walk ins, only bookings. It really took off but then we went into the rainy season. The rains were pretty bad. I got a job in Sweden for 12 weeks. My son lives in Norway so it was a good chance to pop over and see him. I was supposed to go for 12 weeks but stayed for 4 ½ months. When I came back I had  big problems with the roof. In the meantime, I asked around and Peter asked me to come and work here. So I agreed to work here for 4 months until the last flight back to Sweden for the summer. So here I am.

If you are interested in cuisine in The Gambia there will be more posts on this coming soon including the wonderful day I spent learning to cook the traditional Wolof dish, fish benechin, and a review of a great new Gambian cook book where I’ll be selecting and sharing my favourite recipe with you.

I haven’t properly celebrated my birthday since 2000. This year, as far as I was concerned, wasn’t to be any different. Rae, however, had other plans.

Having raised the idea of being in Miami for the weekend after my birthday, we quickly settled on spending an entire week in The Gambia, at an eco-resort called Sandele (which roughly translated means, ‘now be still’).

Months passed, and I found myself getting more and more excited about actually doing something on the month-day of my birth. I’d trained myself for such a long time not to feel that kind of excitement that it was unnerving to experience feelings like this. Coupled with the trip, Rae had also planned a few activities for us for the occasion.

Landing in The Gambia to 30 degrees heat in November was nothing short of amazing. Unzipping the legs on my trousers, we quickly found the private taxi which was to take us to the retreat. The journey, though told would take about an hour, seemed far shorter; twenty minutes, if that. This is one country where air-con is a must for transport!

The retreat itself is beautiful. Run by a husband and wife team, Maurice and Geri, it’s been built in conjunction with the local village of Kartong and over 90% of the staff are from the village itself. Leasing the land for 25 years, once the time is up, the couple will hand over the retreat and the running of it to the locals; quite a legacy!

After being greeted with a local drink made from the crushed fruits of an indigenous tree, we were taken to the hut which would be our home for the following eight days.

Sandele Bay Eco Retreat. Image by Jonathan Tullett

The picture, right, doesn’t do it justice; the magnitude of the building isn’t apparent. The bedroom, which has the domed ceiling reaching thirty feet up, held a sofa, table and chairs, and a huge four-poster bed. With windows all around, and a short hallway leading to the bathroom (complete with their famous composting toilets!), it was beautiful; far more so than we’d expected. Just outside the back door, shared with the neighbouring lodge, was a plunge pool; refreshingly cool, and just the right distance from the sun loungers and shade umbrella.

Giving me prior warning – knowing that sometimes surprises don’t work well with me – Rae said that there was an excursion planned on the Thursday – my birthday – and another activity which would be done the following day. I was intrigued. Despite the offer, I decided against being told exactly what was planned; I appreciated the thought behind the offer though, Rae knows me well…

Thursday morning I awoke, bleary eyed, and was promptly presented with three gifts, and a card. The card said she hoped the experiences would remain with me for a long time. Curious…

The first gift was a box of my all-time favourite Turkish delight. A small square box of cubes of loveliness. The common problem with your run-of-the-mill Turkish Delight is it’s cut into cubes far too big. This results in an inconsistent texture, firmness and varying flavour; it really can be a bit hit and miss whether you’ll get a good batch. These ones, however, are cut to perfection: exactly right, in very way. The only improvement they could make would be to sell them by the kilo, but I think my dentist would have something to say about that…

The second gift was a card saying I was to be taken net fishing, by the local fisherman. For those who hadn’t had the joy of hearing me talk about the upcoming trip, net fishing was the thing I most wanted to do. Casting a net around and trying to catch dinner, is there anything more manly? I think not!

Lastly (well, what I thought was lastly) was another small envelope. Within it tickets to see Conversations with Penn & Teller!! When I’d seen the show announced at the O2 back in May, I immediately tried to get tickets but without any joy. Rae had also been trying to get tickets, but also without any joy. But somehow, on my birthday, I was presented with two tickets to go and see two of my idols, in conversation, at the O2. Not just demonstrating magic, but talking about their 35 (37 now, actually) years in magic. Blimey, I was ecstatic! Quite literally the best birthday I have ever had in my life, and it wasn’t even 8am!

Walking to breakfast, everyone we met greeting me with a cheery, ‘Happy birthday!’. After eating a brief three course breakfast – cereal, fruit and then boiled eggs and beans – Rae shared the main plans for the day: a trip in a dug-out canoe down the Gambia River to south Senegal, where we’d stop for lunch, visit a local village and then make the journey back mid-afternoon.

The river Gambia. Image by Jonathan Tullett

The canoes are hand made over the course of a month by one man from mahogany. When treated with sealant and paint, they can last fifteen years or more. With less care, it would maybe last just ten. Either way, considering the near daily use, that’s some hard-wearing wood!

Setting off, it was quickly apparent why the area is famed for its bird watching. Being paddled up river by Amdul, past the mangrove plants, every few minutes a new species was pointed out; sometimes large herons, other times small kingfishers. Every short while we’d hear a slapping of water and a shoal of jumping fish would be leaping from the water, travelling some distance before gracefully diving back in and continuing their journey through the salty waters.

A couple of hours after we departed, we spotted in the distance a small jetty; we’d arrived at our destination in south Senegal. Next to the jetty is a small restaurant, run by a man and his wife. A short distance away, through some rice fields, was the local village. We were to have our lunch at the restaurant, having had a tour of the surrounding area.

Having been surrounded by English speaking Gambians or by Gambians speaking any one of the (thirteen is the number I recall being mentioned) local tribal languages, being greeted in French was a surprise. I last spoke French during my G.C.S.E back in 1996, but both Rae and I were pleased to discover I had remembered enough to a) order the food we wanted, and b) compliment the cook on the quality of the meal; both of which were appreciated by our hosts.

While lunch was being cooked (everything seems to be freshly prepared there), we were taken around the village. There were a couple of Dutch guys who were out for their second visit building a new school, and the children were finished for the day and kicking a ball around the common area. A single well served the whole village, and while there we saw a couple of girls who must only have been seven or eight, lifting large, heavy buckets of water up the 15 metre hole. Having finished filling the super-large bucket, they emptied it all back into the well again, to start repeating the game.

The school in Senegal. Image by Jonathan Tullett.

The school was a single class room, with maps around the walls and rows of small desks for the children to sit in. In Senegal, they’re taught in French, as opposed to The Gambia where it’s a requirement for every child to only speak English in the school grounds.

We walked back through the rice fields to enjoy the feast which had been prepared. After sipping the last of our drinks, we commenced the journey back to The Gambia.

Inspired by Amdul, or maybe just from the caffeine I’d imbibed during lunch, I decided that I’d ‘help’ paddle on the way back. And try I did; for about half an hour (Rae swears it was only ten minutes, but I’m sure I did better than that!), at which point my stomach muscles pleaded with me to stop, and then gave up in a protest at the effort. Finally I understood the work required to get a six-pack. I’ll never have a six-pack.

At around 3pm we arrived back where we’d started our journey, with the sun still shining brightly in the sky. And there I thought we were at the end of my birthday treats. But no, there was more to come, just when I was least expecting it!

We were eating dinner, as usual on our own table but with other guests and Maurice and Geri on neighbouring tables, and the waiter came to collect the plates from the main course. I started talking to Rae about the day’s events – still very excited by what we’d done – and the place went quiet. The next thing I knew everyone was singing, ‘Happy Birthday!’, and out came a specially prepared chocolate and beetroot (don’t knock it until you try it!) cake, complete with candles and everything! Alas, with age comes feebleness (that’s my excuse, anyway), and I failed miserably at blowing out the candles in on go. But I did successfully cut enough slices for us to have a large portion of the cake while also giving a slice to everyone else there.

The story you’ve just read is my recounting of the day. It doesn’t capture in anyway, however, how special I felt, and just how much it meant to me.

Birthdays are for celebrating!

In October this year two Suffolk-based vets, Pat Sells & Laura Heaps, plan to drive 4,000 miles to a veterinary clinic in The Gambia, West Africa (http://www.gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk/). Pat Sells (of Rossdales, Newmarket) has worked as a volunteer vet in Africa before, and Laura too has a keen interest in the welfare of working animals in the developing world.

The Gambia Horse & Donkey Trust is an independent charity that runs a busy clinic in Sambel Kunda, The Gambia. They carry out essential work, providing free veterinary care to a large population of horses, donkeys and mules that normally wouldn’t have any access to such help.

The trip will be made in a 4×4 which will be donated to the clinic, where it is sorely needed to get help to ill and injured horses and donkeys in the region. The vehicle will also double up as a human ambulance to get local casualties to the distant hospital. During the following months Pat & Laura will stay at the clinic to work as volunteers. Apart from the day-to-day treatment of animals, this will involve taking samples to investigate the myriad of infectious diseases that run riot through the local horse and donkey populations, leaving their owners unable to support their families.

‘The Gambia Experience’ travel company has pledged its support as one of the company sponsors, providing a very generous donation which will directly help in reducing the suffering of the animals (and people!) of the region. Every year horses and donkeys die needlessly from disease and neglect. The scale of the animal welfare problem is staggering. 95% of the world’s veterinary care focuses on just 5% of the world’s animals and livestock! There are over 100 million equines (horses, donkeys, mules) in the developing world, the vast majority without any access to veterinary care, and under the constant threat of fatal infectious diseases. It’s time we tried to balance this inequality and make a difference! With the help of sponsors such as The Gambia Experience, we will be able to do just that.”

There is a website for fundraising which shows the running total raised by the trip: http://www.justgiving.com/gambiaroadtrip. Any donation, no matter how small is greatly appreciated – this vehicle will make an immeasurable difference to the welfare of animals in the region. For any more details please contact Pat at patricksells21@hotmail.com.

The 5am pick up was a little bit early for my liking but as always I was excited about my trip to The Gambia. Besides, by the afternoon I knew I would be lying by the pool so I couldn’t really grumble. Having met the agents at check in we headed for the VIP no 1 lounge at Gatwick, which offers complimentary light breakfasts, drinks and newspapers and is available to our clients as part of the Airport Gold Package. A great way to start the trip.

In less than 6 hours we had landed in Banjul. Once we were through baggage reclaim and had received our complimentary bottle of water and fan, we were well equipped to deal with the heat that hit us as we stepped off the plane! Our driver Baba welcomed us with his big infectious smile and took us to the Sheraton Hotel, our home for the next 3 nights. The afternoon and evening was spent in the hotel relaxing around the pool, enjoying the evening buffet and making the most of the all-inclusive drinks!

Omakan Hotel

Our first hotel trip was the following day to Omakan Hotel, an intimate oasis in the heart of a village. I’ve stayed here before so was able to tell the agents about the wonderful staff and how beautiful it looks at night when the pool, restaurant and surrounding area is lit with 100 tea lights. Such a beautiful little hotel, perfect for those wishing to immerse themselves in the culture and atmosphere.

Next stop was Ngala Lodge. We were greeted by Peter, the owner, who has a love of eccentric art which is reflected throughout the rooms and grounds of the hotel. No two rooms are the same, some even with private Jacuzzis. My personal favourite being the Rolling Stones room!

Coco Ocean took everyone’s breath away. It was white, clean and luxurious with the biggest spa I’ve ever seen! We were all very impressed with the standard of this hotel and the location is perfect, right on the beach. By the end of our visit, we were all dying to be pampered in the spa!

The final hotel visit was the Kairaba Hotel, a 5 grade hotel in the centre of Kololi and very popular with our clients because of its location on the beach and on the ‘strip’ where all the restaurants and bars are.

We spent the rest of the day back at the Sheraton relaxing around the pool before our night out in Kololi. Jojos was our restaurant of choice and as we pulled up outside, the place was illuminated with fairy lights which looked beautiful in the dark. The food was exquisite, lots of fresh fish on the menu which I have to say, is some of the best I’ve ever had. To finish off the night I thought it only fair that I showed the agents one of the places that you can go for a dance so I took them across the road to a bar/nightclub called Aquarius. Admittedly we were the only ones in there but it was low season and it doesn’t really get going until midnight. (In the height of the season you can expect to see more tourists in there). It was probably a good thing that we were the only ones as the dance moves some of us were pulling out of the bag were not the best for public viewing. Still, we had a great night.

Roughing it on the catamaran!

The next day we boarded a catamaran and took a leisurely two hour boat ride down the River Gambia and over to Sitanunku Lodge. The breeze on the boat was like a breath of fresh air compared to the heat on dry land. We enjoyed tea and pastries onboard before arriving at Sitanunku.  Having been here before, I am familiar with the breeze that you normally get here, yet when the agents and I visited the temperature was 42 degrees and there was no sign of that breeze. But don’t be put off, this is not usual, it’s only because it’s the end of the rainy season! Give it another couple of weeks and it will be back to more manageable temperatures with a lovely cooling breeze.

Sitanunku is situated on what looks like an island but is in fact a peninsula. There are 5 lodges all with sea views and another 5 being built at present. It’s very remote which makes for a very peaceful and relaxing setting and the boat transfer (usually by speed boat) creates an air of adventure. We had a fabulous lunch here (fresh fish again) and spent a lot of time in the pool soaking up the surroundings whilst trying to stay cool. It’s funny how doing very little can be such hard work. We were all exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel but as cocktails and dinner had been planned in the a la carte restaurant, we didn’t have much time to think about it. The cocktails flowed and the food just kept coming. It was a fantastic evening and the food was exquisite. It’s just a shame that we couldn’t fit it all in, though we gave it a damn good try!

Back to school in The Gambia

Our final day in The Gambia and despite a black cloud looming, we managed to escape the rain. I took the agents to a local school to meet the children and take some gifts. I’ve visited several schools in The Gambia and I always find it quite emotional seeing all the children and how different things are for them in The Gambia compared to the UK. Though one thing is for sure, they look so happy which in many ways makes me even more emotional!<

After a quick stop at a craft market and some serious haggling it was time to go back to the hotel to pack and head off to the airport. Our trip was only 3 nights yet it felt like we were away for a lot longer. Perhaps that had something to do with the GMT, ‘Gambia Maybe Time’ and my body had adjusted to the laid back Gambian pace of life?

I will be singing and drumming with the Nyodema World Community Choir and the Nyodema West African Drummers so if you are in the area please do come along and support us. All proceeds will go towards Nyodema’s health and education projects in The Gambia. Visit Nyodema’s website for more details.

The Nyodema West African Drummers

Photograph copyright The Bognor Regis Observer

As with most kora players Sura, (Surahata), was born into a family of Gambian ‘griots’, the cultural figures in society across West Africa who carry the knowledge and identity of the region’s people. This hereditary legacy stretches back hundreds of years, and traditionally the knowledge and history surrounding the kora are passed on from father to son. Griots are orators, lyricists and musicians who are also respected as a source of advice and spiritual guidance.

Sura started his lifelong study of the African harp, called the kora, and a range of other percussion instruments at the age of four. The family household was constantly filled with music.

Sura came to the UK at the age of seventeen and began to tour with his brother’s band The Seckou Keita Quintet. His thanks and gratitude are expressed on one particular track of his debut album, ‘Jalikunda’. 

Eleanor explained ”I realised that the couple of bags of coloured pens and pencils I had brought with me would not go far amongst 120 children, especially as they had no proper desks to work at nor paper to work on.

I asked the headmaster (Lamin) what would be his priority if he could have something done to help his school. He said the floor of the classrooms needed concreting as the dust was getting into the children’s lungs and causing them to cough. We found that it would cost £80 to concrete all three classrooms; some phone calls were made and the workmen started the next day! PROJECT GAMBIA had begun!”

Above from left to right: The Taxi Driver, one of the village elders (who is on the local council and the equivalent of a school governor), Lamin (the school headmaster), Bamba (his friend who introduced us to Lamin), Ismaila (local villager), Andrew Buchan (my husband) and another local who offered to help with painting.

Since their initial visit, Eleanor and her husband have raised the funds to:

• paint the walls of the classrooms
• renovate the  toilets
• build new benches and tables for all 120 pupils
• build desks and chairs for the staff

Eleanor and her family and many of the pupils at Burgoyne Middle School where she teaches have kindly donated much needed teaching equipment including:

• Over 1000 pencil crayons
• Felt tip pens
• An Oxford Reading Scheme
• Pop-up books
• 42 laminated posters of the alphabet, times table, time etc….
• Basic Maths and English teaching books
• A large variety of children’s fact and fiction books
• 6 footballs
• Basic atlases
• 2 space hoppers
• A type writer

“Over the Easter holidays in April 2011 we returned to The Gambia and were delighted to see the progress the school was making. The Headmaster and the friends we had started to make were absolutely delighted with our efforts. We were invited to a local ‘naming ceremony’ which is the equivalent of a Christening to us. In the morning a poor old goat gets slaughtered and the whole village celebrate the birth of the child by eating, drinking, singing and dancing-not so different to our own culture in many ways. We were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the Gambian people and found them to have a very similar sense of humour to us Brits!”

Whilst they were there they also completed the following projects:

• Rendering and painting the perimeter wall of the compound.
• Painting the school gate and flag pole. (The Gambian people want a Union Jack flag to put up next to their Gambian flag)
• Supplying play equipment in the form of 3 sets of swings.

Eleanor has talked to many of the pupils in her school about The Gambia and the school in Brufut. “All pupils showed a real interest in the subject and I believe there are great learning opportunities for Burgoyne. Many pupils in Year 7 have written letters to pupils at the nursery school. We spent time considering the nature of our audience, what sort of information to include and what questions would be polite to ask. I found that even pupils who usually do not like writing, responded well to this task. I would like to thank all supporters of ‘PROJECT GAMBIA’, especially the Year 7 and 8 pupils of Burgoyne Middle School, for their continued support and generous donations of books and other learning materials. Many parents have been extremely generous in their donations and I wish to thank them and assure them that all materials have been very gratefully received.”

Project Gambia have also just launched a website for the school which they are still developing but please do visit it if you would like to find out more about the project. I must add that I think they have achieved an amazing amount in less than a year. Congratulations to Eleanor and all Project Gambia supporters!