‘ Nursing work after plating(1)
Weeding
Weeding is for getting rid of the causes of the solar light interceptions around planted seedlings. It is supposed to be started 3 months after the beginning of the rainy season. The cut-off grasses and small shrubs are to be buried in the ditches created in the planting area, and return to the soil to be decayed and utilized as the so-called ryokuhi, green fertilizer.
Creating Fire Protection Belt
In the rural area of Guinea, with the start of the dry season farmers cut down the growing shrubs and set fire in the season's candidate area for farming.
In some occasions such as carelessness or unexpected strong winds, the fire would spread to the planting area bringing damages. Therefore the fire protection belt of eight meter width is created to surround the planting area to prevent such accidents.
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| Making fire protection belt as part of preparation of the slash-and-burn farming in order to prevent fire spreading |
Typical scene of firing work for the preparation of farming |
Watering
Watering is the most important part of the works entailing nursing the planted seedling trees, as plants will die dried in the case it is failed to be watered during the dry season for three years after they planted. In the dry season in particular, it is imperative to operate the watering at least once a week.
They take water from the brooks flow through the valley however this water would dry up at the end of February. As the last resort they would dig many holes in the lower land within the planting area, and wait for a small amount of underground water flowing in. Also, the power to pump up water to the storage container is needed as the land is low where the holes exist. Then the villagers carry the water in their vessels to their seedlings.
Watering is an extremely severe work as the temperature rises as high as nearly 40 in March and April. |
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Under the scorching sun, villagers including children carry water from the brook.
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SUPA staff applies water the villagers brought to the seedlings. |
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