Incredibly Rich West Africa

Incredibly Rich West Africa
Amlame, Togo West Africa
Monday, April 23, 2007

I have traveled too much, I have seen to many versions of poor. I ain’t buying it, West Africa is rich.

West Africa
The subsistence farming here in West Africa has an over-abundance of flat land and water and sparsely populated. It seems to me, to be the perma-culture, self staining, and no need for the outside world, insulated, separated like the USA. The land gives what the people needs and more.

If this area the planet could find a way to have solar electricity for less than 20 U.S. dollars per family, they would almost not need anyone. Sadly, the more they strive for cell phones, cars, televisons and fashion, I suspect the more problems they will have, not less. The danger lies in want of luxury jobs, that provide non-essential trades ike the tissage or tress, and even the moto taxi.

The cost of living here is nothing and life is easy.

However, what is killing me is how they grow food in West Africa; I would guess they farm less than 15-20 percent of the land. Then after they plant something, they just hope it grows.

This means in a way, they have the worlds easiest farming to do, they can just plant something and hope, they do not even need to weed, and they have enough food to get fat. I was thinking, I do not see tractors, or oxen pulling plows, I seen one in Kpalime, however for the part, they just walk out and hack up the ground, make into these special anti-rain mounds, plant and hope it grows, no special work, easy, anyone can do it, and most do in a way, but not much.

I was thinking, the beef here is somewhat difficult, I do not see many cows, or cattle, however there are groups they call the cattle people. They grow goats here, and goats take very small amounts of care, then there are few chickens.

There is nothing grown in surplus except these stupid little peppers called Pims and they are everywhere, I think they grow in surplus because they cannot stop them from growing.

There is no BACKUP.

If they had a water problem in the middle of this rainy area, it is not a rainforest, as best I can tell, and for sure not a cloud forest, but it is very wet, I believe. How can they have a water problem?

There is no extra food, the risk here is a bad crop, if they have a crop problem, then no food, they need to learn how to can foods.

There are no cash crops grown that makes any sense, no mass-produced cash crops or animal husbandry. The only raise what they need.

They have no money. They make the homes out of clay, wood, and materials close to their home. The water cost, but they have the money to buy it, and it is clean, I drink it every day.

What happens of my feeling is this, I think when a person needs money, they become somewhat ridiculously easy to negotiate with, and they will not lose the deal under any condition.

I think money is just an extra, good if they have it, but then who cares really. The life is easy, too easy, they can grow food too easy, there is no striving or working for the food. There is no motivation to strive to better yourself. There seems not desire to fight for a job.

There are some indicators of need.

1. Number of beggars.
2. The amount of theft.
3. How much land is farmed.
4. How dirty are people clothes.
5. How much they will negotiate and still sell you an item or services.
6. How hard is it to steal available food that is growing.

I had a friend try to tell me the price of a Bungalow in Indonesia, I thought he was going to say 300 US or something. I can rent good room in Bangkok for 40 US per month, with AC. I rent a room here in Lome, Togo for 20 US per month, no AC.

The cost of renting a room on the planet starts about always at one-fourth the monthly wages or less. The people of Togo earn abut 30 as base pay and this would mean a room should start at 10 or something like that, and I believe I can rent a room for that.

All six of these items above are at an incredible low.

I sort of feel like I am in the lower part of Brazil, or the upper part of Argentina and there is no cattle, and no farming.

This could be the next Brazil farming boom, and the trees are already cut down. Note, I think one of the number one businesses in Togo or West Africa is the making of Charcoal. Charcoal is a luxury, as best I can determine, not a need.

Malnutrition, and badly balanced diets, overweight, etc is probably everywhere, I do believe the introduction of large amounts of vegetable seeds would alter their diets. They do not have the grub-stake to just start luxury crops, and do not see the need, they are farming thes same they have since the days of colonization, the eat Baguettes.

Togo Food, Food, West Africa Food, Africa Burning, Togo Economics, West Africa Economic, Farming, Animals Domestic, Perma-Culture

Incredibly Rich West Africa

Togo Rainfall

Togo Rainfall
Kpalime, Togo West Africa
Saturday, April 7, 2007

I started raining about 10:00 am and has turned into a daylong drencher here in Togo.



There is GREEN at the bottom of Togo.
The green on this map is where there is rain forest.

Rainforest (2)
- Tropical rain forests are located near the equator where the temperature hovers around 27° C (80° F) year-round. Although they cover, less than 10 percent of the Earth’s surface, tropical rain forests provide habitat for 50 to 90 percent of the world’s plant and animal species. -

Then another

Togo Climate
- The climate of Togo is tropical. Average annual temperatures range from 27°C (81°F) at the coast to 30°C (86°F) in the north. The south has two rainy seasons, from March to July and from October to November; the average annual rainfall on the coast is about 890 mm (about 35 in). It doubles in the mountains a few kilometers inland. The north has one rainy season (April to July) and receives nearly all of its annual precipitation (1,140 mm/45 in) during this period. - (2)

I would say, the prediction is rain. It is cooler now.

A rain forest is in fun in way, too wet sometimes; however, when there is an extremely good rain forest the overabundance of green is amazing. Water plus Soil equals green.

Of all the places on the planet to complain about lack of food, the one place I am not too excited to hear, is in a rain forest. The green explodes in a true rainforest, I am not going to say that Togo is a true rainforest, for one thing, most of the forest is missing, long ago logged for the Mahogany and other woods, and now used as the fuel to cook. There has been an environmental shock given to this area by my guess the loggers, and continues for firewood.

I believe the food grows so easily in Togo; they do not even weed the gardens or care to clear the land properly. They in a way just turn the soil over; plant the seeds in big mounds and hope.



This is a photo of a large mound of dirt, as I understand in each mound they planted a Yam. The mounds are made in this teepee fashion so the heavy and persistent rain has a trough for the water to flow around the mounds, however allowing the yam to remain. This is not as easy to learn about as you think.

I have been talking with a friend in the USA about Africa farmland. There is something missing in this puzzle, or there is some confusion here. The land is flat, too much water, plenty of cheap labor, and the land under tilled or cultivated. As best I can farm is less than 25 percent of the land that could be farmed, and I am being nice.

I do not see this country and having any cash crops, they have garden crops they sell in the local markets. However, the actual, we grow this for cash, and sell to the world is hard to see. Ivory Coast or the areas closer to Ivory Coast are better, while in the Ivory Coast I could see cash crops grown easily.

Togo eats rice as one of their staple diets, and I do not remember ever seeing rice grown here. Now, it does require more work to grow rice and working hard is not culturally normal, or I do not see it.

I see most of the rice imported from Thailand or from a bag, that says the USA, but I think from India or Thailand and sold an Uncle Sam Rice, they also have Uncle Bob.

I am not sure, seems like a great place in Togo, Ghana and Benin to start a large farm business. I think the Ivory Coast is already doing well.

I have never seen a typical rain forest in Togo; however, they are doing an exceptionally good job of burning West Africa to cook. In addition, the loggers did and exceptionally good job of cutting down all the trees for lumber. This place is flat, easy to do all this.

Togo Rainfall