It is raining!

So the rains have come again and farmers have started planting their groundnuts. The days of 110 plus degree weather are gone for now! The worldwide food crisis is being felt here as the price of rice is steadily increasing. This time last year it was around D600 a bag and now it is up to D900. They say that by this time next year it could be triple what it is now. People just won't be able to afford it. No way. To combat this we are encouraging people to do more gardening and trying to give them more access to NERICA rice seed (an upland variety of rice that grows well here) so they can grow more for themselves instead of having to buy it. Hopefully we can get the seed in time...
There has been a gas shortage in the country for the last few days and half the taxis in Kombo weren't running and people were lined up at gas stations waiting to fill up. Nobody seems to know why but apparently there is gas today so that means I can get back to site tomorrow! Yay! I need to start work on my garden, pass out some NERICA seed and get things ready for my mom to come visit! (She flies into Dakar on July 11th!!)
I should be back in Kombo again around July 4th. I miss you all and can't wait to see you in, oh, 6 months!

Love,
Mandy