One of my main points of interest during my time in Senegal was the Kaydara Farm & School of Agroecology, which I had come across on YouTube. I was well received by the owner, Gora, and by his students who all stopped their classroom lectures only to give me a tour of the farm.

The name of the farm, ‘Kaydara’, means ‘Come to the School of Life’. This farm was founded by Mr. Gora Ndiaye on June 21st, 2003.

When he first arrived, there was nothing on the land except one coconut tree. The only logical explanation among the local farmers already in the area was that Gora had lost his mind.

He surveyed the area and found that the water table was at only five meters, and he saw potential.

Being concerned about the poor condition of the soil, as well as the lack of trees to shade the soil from the direct and harsh African sun, he realized that the first thing to do was to plant trees.

20 years later, he has created a micro-climate with a vast diversity of species and intense food production. He also runs a school with students enrolled in shorter and longer courses.

In the video, his oldest son, Cheikh Anta Diop Ndiaye, gives a full tour of the whole farm which consists of ‘Kaydara I, II, and III’, and we are also joined by his younger son, Almamy Samory Touré Ndiaye as well as many of the students currently enrolled in this course.

Gora’s vision has been to plant a seed in the desert, showing to the world what is possible, gradually expanding from the heart of Kaydara outwards, and step-by-step, forming a local community, a village, a town, etc., while never sacrificing the principles and ethics that come with living in a truly sustainable way, a way which is beneficial to all.

The video is a bit long, but I have created chapters, so as to enable easier scrolling through the different sections of the video.

Below is some more information:

Should you wish to come and stay at Kaydara Farm and immerse yourself in the daily operation while learning, they currently offer full board (accommodation + food + daily work and learning) for 16,000 FCFA per day (local currency), which equates to about €24 EUR or $27 USD per day. I did this program for a few days, and at the end of my stay, the owner was kind enough to give me a ride to Mbour, from where I could easily catch a ride back to Dakar.

Read more about Kaydara Farm on their official website, see below links:

Home Page: https://jardins-afrique.org/ferme-eco...
Their Vision: https://jardins-afrique.org/notre-vis...
What They Produce: http://jardins-afrique.org/activites/...
Contact: https://jardins-afrique.org/contacts/

For anyone with a keen interest in visiting them, I am happy to put you in touch with the sons of Gora who can also arrange a transfer for you to get to the farm, and they might perhaps offer a discount if you say that I’ve sent you there. (Not guaranteed, but it could be.)

If you liked this video and you'd like to see more, feel free to visit our website at https://permacultureman.com - Alternatively, click the below links to see more videos.

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00:00. Intro
01:08. Arrival
03:12. The Kaydara Story
07:09. Species & Companion Planting
12:38. Soil Fertility
14:04. Companion Planting
17:51. Compost
18:28. Water
20:21. Coconut Fun
28:46. Kaydara II
31:48 Papaya Jungle
32:27. Senegalese Orange
33:41. Kaydara III
35:58. Planting Mint Ground Cover
36:55. Watering
39:21. Flowers & Poetry
40:32. Gora Ndiaye
42:31. A Closer Look
46:45 Samory's Farm
49:28. Mohammed's Farm
50:46. Outro

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