The roughly ½ acre Woré II women’s association garden is a community garden situated in a low-lying area of the Woré neighborhood, in the third arrondissement of Parakou, the third special-status city in Benin’s north.
The garden was created in 2008 and had the same members as the garden of Woré I. The group’s success has allowed the original group to split into the two associations Woré I and Woré II. Today Woré II has 17 adult members and 4 children ranging in age from 10 to 14 years old. The group has a president, a treasurer, three organizers, a secretary, and the remaining women are all normal members. This group came into contact with Slow Food for the first time in June 2015 thanks to the Association of Volunteers for Lasting Development (AVD) of Benin.
Some of the crops grown here are cabbage, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, and legumes; in short all the local varieties of crops and rice are grown during the rainy season. The garden is managed by those who cultivate it. The produce is used in part for consumption by the members of the group and in part is sold. Any revenue is used to buy normal gardening supplies and sometimes can be used to help a member in case of financial need, like to send children to school, while some of the funds are reinvested in a fund to buy poultry.
The soil is fertilized using traditional methods: namely compost made on site. The women use natural means to fight of pests and insects, and they also have a well nearby that is used to water the garden all year.
Area
Woré, 3rd Arrondissement, Parakou, Borgou
Coordinator
Vianio Kougblenou
