Surprise your friend with an ethical Christmas gift that protects forests and supports sustainable livelihoods in The Gambia! You will receive an electronic card which you can forward to your loved ones.
Dodo’s Tesito project, funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, aims to enhance forest conservation in Gambia, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau through developing an interactive forest map. During the project, the Jiffarong community garden has been restored and 90 women have started a new livelihood as farmers. This is expected to substitute the income from selling firewood and improve the families’ food security. Also a tree nursery was established in the community for the restoration of the community forest. The project also cooperates with the forestry officers in Gambia and organizes forest fire prevention training in the communities and schools.
Choose the gift below and send the amount to Dodo’s account FI0815553000101759 (recipient Dodo ry, reference number 13579) and write “Ethical Christmas gift” + your email address in the message field. We will send an electronic card to your email, which you can forward or print to your loved ones!
The funds collected will be used towards Tesito-project’s co-funding contribution, which is 15% of the annual budget.
Additional training for a farmer in Jiffarong, 10€
As part of the project, 90 women started a new business as vegetable farmers. With the support of an agricultural trainer, they learn the farming methods and skills for their new business. Ten euros can cover three days of additional training for one farmer.
10 tree seedlings to the Jiffarong tree nursery, 30€
Seedlings from the Jiffarong tree nursery are planted both in the community forest for reforestation and in the garden to improve food security. One seedling costs 3 euros, with 30 euros 10 new seedlings can be bought for the nursery.
Fire fighting supplies for one community, 200€
As part of the Tesito project, volunteers from communities are trained by the forestry department to fight and extinguish forest fires. The equipment needed to extinguish a forest fire is also distributed to the communities, for each community the package is worth 200e.
Thank you for choosing an ethical Christmas gift and supporting the project!
Fundraising permit: RA/2020/1705, issued by the Police on the 31st of December 2020, valid from 04th of January 2021 in the entire territory of Finland, excluding Åland
Recipient of fundraising license: Dodo ry, Aleksis Kiven katu 88 G, 00520 Helsinki Business ID: 1108152-0
Contact: sanni.siukola@dodo.org
GAMBIA TESITO PROject
Project 2023-2026
Dodo has been granted MFA’s funding for a continuation project in Gambia, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau! In this four-year project, the goal is to continue applying the forest mapping and monitoring method to the neighboring countries, and further develop the sustainable livelihoods established in the first phase of the project.
One of the main goals is to train local environmental officials, NGOs and community representatives to use the forest monitoring tool in Gambia, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. The map created in Gambia will be further developed and map for pilot areas in the two new countries created. The aim is to enable the local actors to better participate in decision-making related to land-use which is crucial for the development of equality and democracy. The tool is also expected to enhance cross-border cooperation in forest monitoring.
The aim is to also protect the buffer zone surrounding Kiang West National Park, Gambia’s second largest conservation area. Fire prevention trainings are continued in schools and communities in the Kiang West district, in cooperation with the Forestry Department in Gambia. One of the goals is to reduce the pressure on the forest by creating alternative livelihoods for the residents of Jiffarong, e.g. micro businesses and vegetable farming, to substitute firewood selling as income. Also, a new method, FMNR (farmer managed natural regeneration) is piloted in Jiffarong, and expected to improve food security and soil quality.
All planned activities are implemented in cooperation with Dodo’s local partner NGO Freedom from Hunger Campaign. Project offers opportunities for volunteers to participate, for example through communications and fundraising. If you want to be a part of the global change, join us!
Email sanni.siukola@dodo.org and let us know what you are interested in.
Project 2021–2022
Dodo has been granted MFA’s funding for a new forest conservation project in Gambia! In this two-year projects goal is to apply the forest mapping and monitoring method, that was originally developed for Madagascar by FANC (The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation), and to help residents of the local village of Jiffarong adapt to climate change by creating new sources of income – for example vegetable gardening.
One of the main goals is to train local environmental officials, NGOs and community representatives to use the forest monitoring tool, with the aim of providing an interactive map covering all forest areas in Gambia to enhance forest protection. The aim is to enable the local actors to better participate in decision-making related to land-use which is crucial for the development of equality and democracy in the Gambia.
The aim is to protect the buffer zone surrounding Kiang West National Park, Gambia’s second largest conservation area. Fire prevention training is organized in 15 communities in the Kiang West district, in cooperation with the environmental officials in Gambia. One of the goals is to reduce the pressure on the forest by creating alternative livelihoods for the residents of the target community Jiffarong, which is located in the buffer zone. This will also improve food security and help the locals adapt to climate change.
Other planned activities, which will be implemented in cooperation with Dodo’s local partner NGO Freedom from Hunger Campaign, are reforestation of the community forest in Jiffarong, establishing a vegetable garden and setting up a revolving fund.
The new project offers many opportunities for volunteers to participate, for example through communications and fundraising. If you want to be a part of the global change, come along!
Email sanni.siukola-ndure@dodo.org and let us know what you are interested in.
This week, Tesito launched its third online course on forest monitoring in collaboration with Association Manondroala! 🌳
Together with Manondroala, an inspiring environmental conservation NGO from Madagascar, we’re guiding participants through an 8-session program designed to deepen their skills in monitoring forests using global data and powerful online tools. 🌍
The aim of the training is to strengthen the forestry department officials’ skills in using various web portals and to guide them in how to perform analyses and create maps using QGIS on their own computers. Participants will learn to observe and record changes in forest quality using tools such as Global Forest Watch and NASA monitoring systems, and will be guided in downloading, analyzing, and visualizing data related to changes in forest cover. ✨
A huge thanks to Angela Tarimy and Daulphin Razafipahatelo, our brilliant GIS specialists from Manondroala, for sharing their expertise and passion for protecting forests. 🌱
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Tällä viikolla käynnistyi Tesiton kolmas metsien monitoroinnin verkkokurssi yhteistyössä Manondroala-järjestön kanssa! 🌳
Kahdeksanosaisen verkkokurssin aikana Madagaskarilainen ympäristönsuojelujärjestö Manondroala opastaa osallistujia syventämään taitojaan metsien seurannassa tehokkaiden verkkotyökalujen avulla. 🌍
Koulutuksen tavoitteena on vahvistaa Gambian metsäosaston virkamiesten taitoja erilaisten verkkoportaalien käyttämiseen, ja opastaa, kuinka tehdä analyyseja ja karttoja QGIS:n avulla omalla tietokoneella. Osallistujat oppivat havainnoimaan ja kirjaamaan metsän laadun muutoksia käyttämällä Global Forest Watchin ja NASA:n seurantajärjestelmien kaltaisia työkaluja, ja heitä opastetaan lataamaan, analysoimaan ja visualisoimaan tietoaineistoja esimerkiksi metsäpeitteen muutoksiin liittyen. ✨
Suuri kiitos Angela Tarimylle ja Daulphin Razafipahatelolle, Manondroalan taitaville GIS-asiantuntijoille, jotka jakavat asiantuntemustaan ja intoa metsien suojeluun. 🌱...
Last weekend, our FFHC agriculture extension worker, Lamin Nyabally, purchased essential cool storage equipment for the cool storage & food processing station. 🍅
ACs, ceiling fans, blenders, freezer, onion storing containers, tables and shelves were bought and transported to Jiffarong, the construction and setup being well underway. 🛠️
Thanks to the grant from @ekoenergy, the cool storage & food processing station makes it possible to preserve food, increase profit from the vegetable farming, and extend the number of food secure months in Jiffarong.💰
EKOenergy is a non-profit ecolabel for renewable energy that raises funds for renewable energy projects for the benefit of local communities in low- and middle-income countries, like in Gambia.
Read more about the station in the blog post (link in bio).
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Jännittäviä uutisia Jiffarongista! 🪴
Viime viikonloppuna FFHC:n maatalousneuvoja Lamin Nyabally hankki tärkeitä laitteita kylän ruoanjalostus- ja viileäsäilytysasemalle. 🍅
Ilmastointilaitteet, kattotuulettimet, tehosekoittimet, pakastin, sipulien säilytysastiat, pöydät ja hyllyt ostettiin ja kuljetettiin Jiffarongiin, jossa rakentaminen ja asennus ovat jo hyvässä vauhdissa. 🛠️
@ekoenergian rahoittama ruoanjalostus- ja viileäsäilytysasema mahdollistaa elintarvikkeiden säilömisen ja kuivattamisen, vihannesviljelyn tuoton kasvattamisen ja ruokaturvan parantamisen Jiffarongissa.💰
EKOenergia on uusiutuvan energian voittoa tavoittelematon ympäristömerkki, joka kerää varoja uusiutuvan energian hankkeisiin paikallisten yhteisöjen hyväksi matalan ja keskitulotason maissa, kuten Gambiassa.
Of this season’s crops, only sorrel has been harvested, while chili, eggplant, and cassava are still growing.🌶️
The sorrel ripened and was sold at the beginning of August. With the income the farmers rented a tractor to prepare the rice field. Most farmers also cultivate rice during the rainy season, which is an important part of both food security and livelihoods.🚜🍚
In August, rain has fallen almost daily, usually in short but heavy showers. This is the peak of the rainy season in The Gambia and an important time for farming, as the rains improve soil conditions and support future harvests. 🌧️🌱
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Terveisiä Jiffarongin kasvimaalta.
Tämän kauden sadosta vasta suolaheinä on korjattu, kun taas chili, munakoiso, ja kassava ovat yhä kasvamassa.🌶️
Suolaheinä kypsyi ja myytiin elokuun alussa. Myyntituloilla naiset vuokrasivat traktorin riisipellon muokkaamiseen. Useimmat viljelijät viljelevät sadekaudella myös riisiä, joka on tärkeä osa sekä ruokaturvaa että toimeentuloa. 🚜🍚
Elokuussa sateita on tullut lähes päivittäin, yleensä lyhyinä mutta runsaina kuuroina. Tämä on sadekauden huippua Gambiassa ja tärkeää maanviljelyn kannalta, sillä se parantaa maaperän viljelyolosuhteita ja tukee tulevaa satoa. 🌧️🌱
Leaf miners have taken over some of the Jiffarong garden plants. 😱
Can you spot the tiny larvae from the okra leaf in the picture?
Tiny but destructive, leaf miners are insect larvae that tunnel inside leaves, creating winding trails and damaging crops from the inside out. They can cause serious damage by reducing the plant’s ability to photosynthesize, which affects growth and harvest. ☘️❌
They’re a common pest affecting vegetables like okra, eggplant, and tomatoes. 🍆🍅
As part of the Tesito project, farmers are learning how to identify leaf miner infestations early and apply natural solutions to manage them. These include removing affected leaves, encouraging beneficial insects, and using organic sprays when necessary. 🌱
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Lehtimiinaajat ovat vallanneet osan Jiffarongin kasveista. 😱
Löydätkö pienet toukat okran lehden pinnalta?
Pienikokoiset mutta tuhoisat lehtimiinaajat ovat hyönteisten toukkia, jotka kaivautuvat lehtien sisään, jättäen mutkittelevia käytäviä ja vahingoittaen kasveja sisältäpäin. Ne voivat heikentää kasvin yhteyttämiskykyä, mikä vaikuttaa sekä kasvuun että satoon. ☘️❌
Kyseessä on yleinen tuholainen, joka vaivaa erityisesti okraa, munakoisoa ja tomaatteja. 🍆🍅
Osana Tesito-hanketta viljelijät oppivat tunnistamaan lehtimiinaajien aiheuttamat vauriot ajoissa ja käyttämään luonnonmukaisia keinoja niiden torjumiseksi. Näitä ovat muun muassa vioittuneiden lehtien poistaminen, hyötyhyönteisten suosiminen ja tarpeen mukaan käytettävät luonnonmukaiset torjunta-aineet. 🌱
As part of the ongoing @ekoenergy project, a solar installation and maintenance manual was created for the officials to be able to do basic maintenance for the panels in the future. 🛠️
Lamin Nyabally of FFHC, after installing the panels to the forest stations, also organized a solar maintenance and installation training.🔋
This is important, since in rural Gambia, it is very difficult to find a technician to fix solar systems. Also, the extreme weather conditions, such as extreme dust, require frequent maintenance for the panels.🌫️🌪️🌩️
Similar training was organized for the Tesito women farmers during the previous EKOenergy project. Since reading and writing skills vary in Jiffarong, the manual was designed to be as accessible as possible and includes visual illustrations of the pipes and valves (picture 3). 🚰
This is important for the sustainability and ownership of the activities, since the farmers will be fully responsible of the functioning of the system once the project ends. 🌱☀️
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Osana EKOenergian hanketta Tesiton hanketiimi laati aurinkopaneelien huolto-oppaan, jotta metsäosaston työntekijät voisivat tulevaisuudessa huoltaa ja asentaa paneeleita itsenäisesti. 🛠️
FFHC:n Lamin Nyabally järjesti paneelien asentamisen jälkeen aiheeseen liittyvän koulutuksen metsäosaston työntekijöille.🔋
Tämä on tärkeää, sillä Gambian maaseudulla on hyvin vaikea löytää teknikkoa korjaamaan paneeleja. Lisäksi Gambian äärimmäiset sääolosuhteet, kuten runsas pöly ja hiekka vaativat paneelien täsmällistä huoltoa. 🌫️🌪️🌩️
Vastaava koulutus järjestettiin myös Tesiton naisviljelijöille edellisen EKOenergian hankkeen aikana. Koska luku- ja kirjoitustaito vaihtelee Jiffarongissa, manuaali suunniteltiin kaikille saavutettavaksi, ja se sisältää myös visuaalisia kuvituksia putkista ja venttiileistä (3. kuva).🚰
Tämä on tärkeää hankkeen kestävyyden ja omistajuuden kannalta, sillä viljelijät ovat vastuussa järjestelmän toiminnasta ja ylläpidosta hankkeen päätyttyä. 🌱☀️
There are a few committees, that have been formed among the farmer women lately, to oversee the functioning of the garden and to ensure dividing responsibility between the community members.
💧The drip irrigation committee is responsible for water management system, such as when to open and close the taps. They are also looking for any possible maintenance areas in the garden.
🪲The garden beds committee is responsible for coordinating clearing of the land, supervising the crops, and looking for any diseases that can be widespread in the garden.
❄️Soon, as the construction of the cool storage & food processing station is finished, there will be another committee formed to manage the operations of the station.
🌳Also, another one is set taking care of the newly planted tree seedling in the garden.
These community based committees are an important factor ensuring the sustainability of the project and for the community to independently continue the activities even when the project phases out. ✅
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Jotta kasvimaan toimintaa voidaan valvoa ja vastuuta jakaa, Tesito-viljelijöistä on muodostettu viime aikoina erilaisia toimikuntia.
💧Kastelutoimikunta vastaa kasvimaan kastelujärjestelmästä, kuten siitä, milloin hanat avataan ja suljetaan. He myös pitävät huolta siitä, että järjestelmä saa kaipaamansa huoltoa.
🪲Palstatoimikunta vastaa maan raivauksen koordinoinnista ja sadon valvonnasta, sekä etsii kasvimaalla mahdollisesti leviäviä tauteja.
❄️Pian, kun ruoanjalostusasema on valmis, perustetaan uusi toimikunta johtamaan sen toimintaa.
🌳Uusi toimikunta nimitetään myös hoitamaan kasvimaalle juuri istutettuja puun taimia.
Näiden toimikuntien avulla varmistetaan hankkeen kestävyys ja se, että Jiffarongin asukkaat voivat itsenäisesti jatkaa aktiviteetteja myös hankkeen päättyessä. ✅
Based on the questionnaire data from 2024, 58% of the women reported taking part in both dry and rainy season farming, while 42% only did dry season farming. 🍅
It has traditionally not been common in Jiffarong to farm vegetables during the rainy season, and many of the women engage in rice farming instead. 🍚
When asked why they decided to do rice farming during the rainy season, 70% of the women said they felt family pressure, while 30% said they faced peer pressure. 📊
Rice production is physically very heavy compared to vegetable farming, and the harvest is relatively low as many are lacking proper equipment. Government has traditionally supported the activity, which is why it remains a typical livelihood for the summer months. 💰
To be able to promote year-round farming and its benefits, Tesito project supports women with rainy season vegetable seeds. 🌽
Read more from the blogpost (link in bio). ⬆️
*** Sadekauden viljely on alkanut.🌧️🌱
Vuodenvaihteessa kerätyn datan perusteella 58% naisviljelijöistä ilmoitti osallistuneensa sekä kuivan- että sadekauden viljelyyn, kun taas 42% osallistui vain kuivan talvikauden viljelyyn. 🍅
Jiffarongissa ei ole perinteisesti ollut yleistä viljellä vihanneksia sadekaudella, ja monet naiset harjoittavat sen sijaan riisinviljelyä. 🍚
Kun naisilta kysyttiin, miksi he päättivät valita riisinviljelyn sadekaudella, 70% naisista sanoi, että perhe painosti heitä, ja 30% sanoi, että he kokivat vertaisiltaan painetta tehdä niin. 📊
Riisin tuotanto on fyysisesti hyvin raskasta verrattuna vihannesten viljelyyn, ja sato on suhteellisen pieni, koska monilta puuttuvat asianmukaiset välineet. Hallitus on kuitenkin perinteisesti tukenut toimintaa, minkä vuoksi se on edelleen tyypillinen elinkeino kesäkuukausille. 💰
Jotta kasvimaan ympärivuotinen viljely ja sen hyödyt tulisivat viljelijöille tutuiksi, Tesito tukee naisten kesäkuukausien viljelyä lahjoitettujen siementen avulla.🌽
Jiffarong garden tree nursery has many lemon trees, which were planted in August 2022. 🌱🍋
The first picture shows the seedling just planted, and in the second picture it’s all grown in January 2025. 🌳
Lemon trees growing in the vegetable garden are important for the soil quality, but also for the food security and garden sustainability. ♻️
This year, Tesito received a grant from @symbioosiry to plant new lemon trees around the Tesito garden. Planted next to the fence, the trees are going to form a live fence to protect the garden from rainy season storms. ⛈️🌪️
Also, producing plenty lemons in a few years, they are collectively sold by the women farmers, and with the profit from the sales, farmers are able to finance the maintenance costs of the garden. 💰
Thank you @symbioosiry for supporting Tesito! 🙌🏼
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Jiffarongin kasvimaalla on monia sitruunapuita, jotka on alun perin istutettu elokuussa 2022. 🌱🍋
Ensimmäinen kuva on otettu istuttamisen jälkeen, ja toisessa kuvassa on sama taimi tammikuussa 2025. 🌳
Kasvimaalla kasvavat sitruunapuut ovat tärkeitä maaperän laadun, mutta myös ruokaturvan ja puutarhan toiminnan kestävyyden kannalta. ♻️
Tänä vuonna Tesito vastaanotti @symbioosiry luonnonsuojeluapurahan uusien sitruunapuiden istuttamiseen Tesiton puutarhan ympärille. Aidan viereen istutetut puut muodostavat elävän aidan, joka suojaa puutarhaa sadekauden myrskyiltä. ⛈️🌪️
Lisäksi puut alkavat muutaman vuoden päästä tuottamaan runsaasti sitruunoita, jotka viljelijänaiset yhdessä myyvät. Myyntivoitoilla he pystyvät rahoittamaan puutarhan ylläpitokustannukset. 💰
