Planting Seeds Across Borders - The Gambia

I have lived in over sixty homes in just under sixty years.

Some for a season.

Some for months.

Some independently.

Oftentimes, caring for families, their houses and pets while the owners are away. I’ve grown into my nomadic life and wherever I go, I like to leave something behind. Whenever possible, I plant seeds. I create beds for the seeds to grow, designing the beginning stages of cultivating a garden. Something that can live on and flourish long after I’ve moved on. Something that can nourish a family and/or a community. Tiny pips of possibilities and a reminder that TLC was once present.

In January of 2023, my seeds found soil in Sanyang, The Gambia.

The Dormant Garden

A year had passed and we were somewhat settled into our new environment. Having relocated, I felt it was now time to reach out to neighbouring communities and share my ideas...(connections led me to Sanyang). When I did, the initial project I presented, intended for the village women of Sanyang didn't work out. Yes, I was gravely disappointed but it opened an opportunity to visit the local school. I remember walking toward the Sanyang Lower Basic and Nursery that afternoon…hopeful and steady with my personal guide. 

The headmistress welcomed me and my idea warmly. Several teachers were in fact already in discussion of reviving the garden space that had lain dormant for years and they were available to speak with me that very day. We were in alignment. They had recently put together a list of their needs and I held a list of the things I had in mind to donate towards the project. The pieces of the puzzle fit nicely into place from the onset.  It felt very much like divine timing. There were no obstructions. We began implementing immediately.

My plan was to donate three months of my energy, time, skills and knowledge alongside the materials and equipment I had gathered while living in London. After that, it was my hope that those three teachers and the participating students would continue nurturing what we started together.

When I first sited the space, I stood quietly and imagined what it could become. Back at the compound, I sketched a simple design I thought would work nicely. Back at the school I shared it with the teachers. Thankfully they liked it and gave me the opportunity with all their support to bring it to life. 

They were happy and within days of my first appearance on site, began organising the collection of used car tyres from around the local community. I arranged transportation for the donations I was giving. 

And then - the children started to arrive! 

Energy in Motion

I watched in amazement as students energetically unloaded the donations from the truck…and with the same enthusiasm when the tyres arrived - Scrubbing them clean and arranging them in position. Their energy was overflowing. I didn't understand the Wolof or Mandinka flying between them, instead I resonated with their joy.

The students all brought manure from home, bags and bags of cow poo filling the brick enclosure in no time at all. Reusable sacks were then filled and lined against the walls to grow tomatoes and cucumbers in. Everything moved so quickly. Swiftly and Collectively. It was fab to be part of it. 

My guide and I travelled three to four times a week from Brusubi to Sanyang; 13 miles there and 13 back in what they call gelli gellis (the local vans). Before we headed back, we would pause at a local bar where I would have the experience of drinking a cold beer (or two) with the local men. Very funny times. So anyway, we would arrive early, often sharing Tapalapa for breakfast - the beloved Gambian bread (dense and crusty) and perfect with Akara and pepper sauce tucked in between before, the tasks began. 

Once the students arrived in full force, the atmosphere became vibrant and very loud. It was my first time working with such a large group of children. As someone who is neurodivergent and navigating mental health challenges, the noise, chaos and stimulation was overwhelming most times. But I had chosen this work. I felt called to it. So I showed up again and again.

And very soon something beautiful began to take shape.

Reclaimed Materials, Renewed Purpose

Many of the materials had had their own previous purpose and story. One hundred bricks and sixty slabs originally sourced from Freecycle for our award winning eco-garden in Tottenham, had travelled across borders and now formed part of a school garden in West Africa.! A mini greenhouse, garden tools, seeds, books for the library, toys for the nursery school - all re-purposed, all re-homed...all due to one unemployed , single mother with a vision. 

The boy's high energy in the early stages soon waned. Later, as the painting began, fewer returned. It was the girls who remained consistent - focused, capable with a steady rhythm. With smaller numbers, I could breathe more easily. One afternoon, they even took me walking through their neighbourhood to pick mangoes and meet some of their mums. Which was a kind gesture, coming from hearing that they are one of my favourite fruits. . 

The tyres sucked up the ten litres of green paint I chose and with the half a dozen brushes those girls transformed discarded rubber into vibrant planting beds. I did quietly worry about their uniforms getting stained, but they worked diligently, laughing as they went.

Next, I thought…let’s experiment a bit more with these tyres…so I arranged them into a semi circle against the wall near the entrance gate. I wanted to build a seating area for the garden. It was definitely needed as there was nowhere to sit. We got busy filling the tyres and gap with rubble gathered from another section of the school grounds and sand on top to smooth it out. I had spotted a huge pile of old school papers waiting to be burned. Before that fire got lit, we carried loads of them to the site. Curious faces assisted in my movements without a clue of what I was planning. It was difficult to explain but over a period of a few weeks, they helped me. Together we tore the papers into strips and soaked them in a bucket of water. Days later we used our hands to mix and create the paper pulp. After adding a small amount of cement we covered the tyres with the mixture. The girls added shells to make it more attractive. 

Unfortunately I missed out the part of creating a surface for the mixture to adhere well to the tyres. Lesson learned! 

Water, Access & Compost

The entrance to the garden was initially open - anyone could wander in. A wall on either side was built and a lockable gate installed. Water, another challenge. The pipe stood dry so buckets of water had to be carried across the schoolyard to wash the tyres and nourish seedlings. I observed that the students didn’t grumble, they just got on with what was required of them! . 

The water issue was brought to the attendtion of the headmistress and school committee. Funds were soon raised and within weeks - Water flowed! 

I built a compost bin from three stacked tyres, something I had experimented with before in our previous Gambian compound. With the intense heat of the sun and  enclosed within thick walls of rubber, those food scraps broke down ever so fast. I watched as all kinds of bugs appeared as if magically and got to work, transforming everything I fed the tyre bin into rich, dark organic matter, often called “black gold.” So I stacked another three tyres at the school to produce the same for this garden. I handed one of the teachers the instructions I’d printed to pass the information to the students. I even painted directly onto the tyre: what scraps were welcomed to assist the new process along. I really wanted them to experience the magic!

It was October 2019 when I first landed in The Gambia and from that moment, I had been fascinated by how the plants grow in the sand!  I’d heard locals say that anything could grow there. To this day it still baffles me. How deep do the roots have to travel? What invisible nutrients sustain them? Perhaps resilience was also part of the soil.

Additional Resources

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/tire-garden-guide  - on composting using tyres

https://www.tiktok.com/@herocuan/video/7564694170955271442 - Creative chair using tyres

Collective Impact

When the design I had sketched just three months prior stood manifested before us -  the tyre beds full of young seedlings, composting begun, water flowing…I felt something deeper than pride. It was proof of what can be created collectively with very minimal resources.

I shared the project with a friend I had met at a beach gathering, he immediately felt moved to contribute. Not long after,  I found myself riding in the back of the Alkalo’s truck, collecting five succulent sword banana suckers from him in Gunjur to be transplanted into the school's garden. It was a smooth operation. 

Gratitude flowed through the atmosphere. The seeds were no longer an idea in my head. They were now shared and scattered among the Sanyang School’s community…

Building Credibility for future eco-projects using  

• Resourcefulness (Freecycle materials)

• Problem-solving skills (water issue)

• Leadership

• Successful cross-cultural collaboration

My exit and Return

The three months I dedicated to the project came to an end…but it was just the beginning of a new journey for the garden. I returned to the UK for a short spell. As always, departing carried a mixture of fulfilment and uncertainty. 

Would the garden thrive? 

Would it and the compost be maintained? 

Would the water continue to flow?

Six months later, I returned. Walking back into that space was a joyful reunion. Growth had taken place, not just in the plants, but in ownership. The project belonged to the school now. To the teachers. Two have since left the school to other pastures green. Thankfully there remains one dedicated care giver. 

I give thanks to all the students who participated in whatever capacity…whether they carried tyres, manure or water under the heat of the Gambian sun. Painted. Dropped seeds. Mixed used paper into mush. Built the seating…whatever tasks…

My gratitude goes out to each and everyone of the girls who stood beside me all the way…

This is the quiet art of planting seeds across borders.

You do not stay to control the harvest…You trust the soil...You trust the people…You trust that something will continue long after you have moved on…

What I’ve Learned Along The Way

Living in over sixty homes has taught me that belonging does not always require permanence. Whether you call it homelessness or a Nomadic lifestyle, I have consciously made sure to leave an element of my creative nature behind. 

Sometimes our role in life is simply to offer ourselves, our energy, our gifts, tools, vision and then release it..let it go, giving space for those seeds to grow. Figuratively or literally speaking, planting seeds is such a beautiful thing. I’ve learned more importantly though, it’s who shows up to water them! 

As a Cultivator, I know that not every seed will grow…Not every garden will flourish…But when they do, if they do…they carry the energetic fingerprints of many hands…

Across languages...

Across cultures...

Across borders...

And that, to me, is abundantly sufficient. 

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c59375_1bb93d288bba415586f18fe95d2d9712/1080p/mp4/file.mp4