{"id":10455,"date":"2025-04-23T12:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T10:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/blog\/2025\/04\/23\/waiting-for-the-onions-in-darou-mboudj\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T07:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T05:42:10","slug":"waiting-for-the-onions-in-darou-mboudj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/blog\/2025\/04\/23\/waiting-for-the-onions-in-darou-mboudj\/","title":{"rendered":"Waiting for the Onions in Darou Mboudj"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A small harvest, a great beginning<\/strong>
In the midst of freshly cultivated fields, where the wind smells of earth and future, a simple yet powerful story is taking shape. It is the story of Darou Mboudj, a village in Senegal where waiting for onions becomes a metaphor for something greater: the hope that sprouts when seeds are sown with care, together.<\/p>\n\n

Tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce<\/strong>
The first harvest \u2013 essentially a test \u2013 has taken place. A general rehearsal, we could say. Yet already rich with meaning and potential. The agricultural project launched in Darou Mboudj, as part of the initiatives promoted by Bambini nel Deserto<\/em>, funded by Deloitte Fondation and with the support of the Network of Popular Dance Associations of Turin<\/em>, has reached its first milestone.
And every milestone, as we know, is also a new starting point.<\/p>\n\n

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Laying the foundation for a dream: water, energy, organization<\/strong>
Everything needed to cultivate the land has been thought out, built, and put into action:
The irrigation system, powered by a submersible pump connected to a well (forage), has enabled regular water distribution in the fields.
The photovoltaic solar system provides the energy needed to run the pump, ensuring both environmental and economic sustainability.
Seedbeds, carefully prepared on the ground, have given life to all the necessary seedlings: the first tangible sign that the land has responded well.
The GIE (Economic Interest Group), composed of local community members, has begun its path of organization and shared labor.
And not only that. The fruit trees planted in recent months \u2013 mango, papaya, guava \u2013 are flourishing. Another sign that we\u2019re heading in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n

Not just agriculture; community<\/strong>
Darou Mboudj is more than just a cultivated field. It\u2019s a place of connection, exchange, and human growth alongside plant growth. Over the past months, around the furrows in the earth, stories, skills, and enthusiasm have come together. The rural community \u2013 men, women, elders, youth \u2013 actively participated in the project. Our agronomist brought knowledge and structure. Local friends and collaborators \u2013 from the taxi drivers who accompany us daily to the curious onlookers \u2013 enriched this journey.
The result? Not just vegetables on the table of the organic market, but new connections. Trust.
And a new awareness: structures alone do not change an environment. Relationships do. The real ones. The ones that withstand the heat and fatigue, that are nurtured by genuine exchange.<\/p>\n\n

Le strutture, da sole, non trasformano un ambiente.Il fulcro concettuale dell’ambiente sono le relazioni tra esseri viventi che condividono lo stesso spazio e lo stesso tempo, pur avendo specificit\u00e0 e bisogni diversi. Ciascuno\u00a0ap-porta<\/em>, ciascuno\u00a0prende<\/em>\u00a0e ciascuno\u00a0ap-prende<\/em>\u00a0in costante ricerca di equilibrio. Noi abbiamo modificato questo piccolo angolo di mondo sperando di averlo fatto \u00a0con delicatezza , equilibrio e saggezza, e sicuramente \u00a0anche…\u00a0 con qualche errore.<\/p>\n\n

The first lessons from the field<\/strong>
Every project, no matter how well planned, reveals its truth only when tested by reality. That\u2019s why, along with the harvest, an important set of reflections has also emerged.
Among them:<\/p>

    \n \t
  • \n

    The need to better select crops based on the local market, to increase economic sustainability.<\/p> \n<\/li> \n \t

  • \n

    Improved management of agricultural labor to avoid overlap or inefficiencies.<\/p> \n<\/li> \n \t

  • \n

    A focus on agricultural biodiversity and soil regeneration as a foundation for healthy, long-lasting farming.<\/p> \n<\/li> \n \t

  • \n

    The start of planning small greenhouses, to protect the seedbeds and ensure continued production even during the rainy season.<\/p> \n<\/li> \n<\/ul><\/p>\n\n

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    It\u2019s just the beginning. But what a beginning!<\/strong>
    While waiting for the onions, we celebrate this first harvest. Not because it\u2019s perfect, but because it\u2019s real, concrete, and shared. Because it\u2019s the fruit of collective work, of dreams rooted in the earth and eyes looking forward.
    And because, among the furrows and leaves, something is beginning to take shape \u2013 something that goes beyond food; a new possibility for Darou Mboudj.
    We at Bambini nel Deserto<\/em> will continue to walk alongside this community.To sow, harvest, adjust, improve. To believe that every garden, every tomato, every onion that will grow is a small step toward a more just world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A small harvest, a great beginningIn the midst of freshly cultivated fields, where the wind smells of earth and future, a simple yet powerful story is taking shape. It is the story of Darou Mboudj, a village in Senegal where waiting for onions becomes a metaphor for something greater: the hope that sprouts when seeds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10455"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10478,"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10455\/revisions\/10478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bnd.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}