A Nursery in an Arid Land
by Patricia Hamilton (Ghana)

    I was a Peace Corps forester assigned to the eastern region of Ghana,
West Africa.  I lived in a village that had only one piped water source
some distance from me.  This, of course, provided a good sized
challenge for a forester designated to develop a seedling nursery at
her site.  My dream and goal was to produce 25 thousand seedlings for market.
Burning the kerosene lantern into the evening, I came up with a plan
that eased the burden of my nursery workers.
    With the able bodied assistance of the local villagers, we built a
thick-walled cement reservoir near the side of my residence.  The
reservoir had a roof to keep the water clean and uncontaminated and a
handled faucet for convenient removal.  The reservoir easily held 2,000
gallons of water.
    A roof gutter was channeled into the reservoir to take running rain
water during the three month rainy season from my aluminum roof. 
However, this left nine months without a seasonal source.
    With the knowledge of local water authorities, I managed to tap into
the village piped water supply and had a plumber install a toilet float
in the reservoir to shut the water off when it reached its depth limit.
It worked like a charm! The nursery was a success, and reforestation
gave birth on this arid land.

(Patricia Hamilton entered the Peace Corps in 1994 at the age of 55. 
She has four grown children and six grandchildren.  Before Peace Corps
she was a nursery manager with training in agriculture.)