Casamance (south Senegal) strain hunting II

I have already explored Senegal with little success and returned empty handed.
Not easy getting passed the fear barrier of the local cultivators.
Got to admit that their prisons are a lot harsher than ours.
On my first trip, Dokta’Zee, a friend, had prepared me quite well.
He taught me quite a few words in Wolof, which had helped a great deal.
Since I wasn’t satisfied with the first trip, I planned a second one.
This time I asked Dokta’Zee to accompany me.
The idea of revisiting Senegal excited him and he accepted. Immediately, he reacquainted himself with his old friends in Senegal.
We will be heading to Casamance; very unlikely to find anything-decent elsewhere.
The season is in October and we are currently in June.
We set up the trip and the rendezvous is for October.



Dokta’Zee and I depart at 11am from Zurich.
Arrive in Dakar at 11pm. Temperature…. cooking!
What stands out this time is the humidity.
I didn’t feel this last time.
But it is the end of the rainy season, therefore normal.
The air is thick and oppressive.

We pass the border and trek past the airport area to find a taxi that doesn’t try to pull the 5000CFA scam.
We still end up paying 2000CFAs. It’s hard trying to negotiate at the entrance of the highway since the cab drivers know that you don’t have much of a choice

We arrive at the hotel and find no electricity in the building. Actually there is a power outage in the entire country and it has been the case for a few days now.
We find out later that manifestations are being organised everywhere to protest against the power cuts.
The Minister for energy will be put to question for having mysterious deals, which led to purchasing cheap quality fuel.
I remember my first contact with a local here: “This is Africa, my friend!”
A week goes by and power cuts are continuously omnipresent in the entire country.
For a lot of little shops, these cuts mean an end to their business.
Freezers and fridges are often what enable shop owners to survive in an already dire market.


It is hot, hot and mucky, mosquitoes and humidity fully present for our first night in Senegal.
Mosquito nets are a necessity if we want to avoid scratching ourselves all night.
In Senegal the most annoying mosquitoes are the tiny ones.
Their proboscis being too small to pierce the skin, they tend to target areas where the skin is thin, hence the most sensitive parts of the body: the arch of the foot, between the fingers, the palm, the eyelashes, and behind the ears. All the areas that are going to itch like crazy.
Luckily their bites are itchy for only about 20 minutes.
There are tons of mosquitoes in the city.
It’s going to be tough in the bushes of Casamance



The next day we head south. We sort a few things out and inquire on transport costs.
We head to the station “Le Pompier” to grab a taxibrousse (bush taxi), which in most cases is a Peugeot 504 station wagon with 3 added seats at the back.
There are 8 of us with the driver...destination Kaolack.
We are in the rainy season so most likely the roads will be in a state.
It ends up taking us 4 hours to travel 150km (the distance from Dakar to Kaolack).
Considering the driver has to slalom between potholes large enough to destroy a car, we did a good time. The drivers here are aces on the wheel.



We stop at Kaolack and spend the night at a hotel. Next day it’s all the way to Casamance.
Again we use a taxibrousse but this time there are not 8, but 11 passengers.
A woman and her 4 kids now occupy the three back seats.
There is also another woman sitting beside us with her 3 year old.
None of the kids complain during the entire journey of 8hrs to Bignona.
8 hours for less than 300km.
300km of damaged roads sometimes flooded and sometimes even inexistent roads,




which you need to get across whilst hoping that the engine doesn’t choke. We also continue to slalom between the holes, which decorate the roads.
We get through Gambia without any problem, except for the usual racketeering from the border police: 1000CFA per foreigner, for every stamp at all the borders.
It’s amazing the difference between the sad and frowned faced character of the Gambian border police, compared to the joyful, welcoming, attitude of the Senegalese border police.
After the ferry in Gambia we are back to dancing with the potholes.



From here on, for obvious reasons, I’ll quit citing the names of towns; also the names of the people we meet will be fictional.

After the Gambian border, the Casamance roads have new supplements: roadblocks and military controls every 5 to 10km approximately.
It is because Casamance is a region known for harbouring rebellions. The army is therefore present at major points.



We arrive at Bignona and from there we take a taxi-bus (or a hearse as the Senegalese like to call it). Direction K-Ville



This time there are no roads, just mud, holes and water.
It takes us 3 to 4 hours to reach K-Ville. This includes stopping every two to 300m to put water in the radiator or reattach the brake pedal with a screw.
The engine is fuming…we are fed up and just want it to end.
Luckily at the end of all the troubles a good meal and bed await us which was totally unexpected here at the end of the earth.
We found a hotel with 2 huts at the end of the courtyard.
With Dokta we discuss about the possibility of finding contacts
Dokta speaks Wolof but here they speak Djoola.
The owner of the hotel heard us speak and proposes a plan with a pirogue sailor from the region.
He knows the mangrove swamps of the region inside out. He was born here.
The region is filled with mangrove swamps; it is impossible to travel without a pirogue.
With all the bushes around, it’s not the time to act like adventurers who know everything. Makes me think of tourist puppets: hats, shorts…ranger gear.
Here Nature is not like European forests.
Although there are no wildcats, there are tonnes of insects and reptiles of all types. A problem could quickly happen.
We decide to go with the boatman or the pirogue sailor. Yvan calls him and makes meeting arrangements for the next morning.
We will work out the price with Célestin, the boatman.

In Casamance the majority of the people are Catholics.
The first names do not sound the same as in the north

The next day, Yvan takes us to meet Célestin, a small man with a cheerful grin and an attentive eye. He seems to have a calm persona. He’s a fisherman and village chief, probably about 60yrs old.
He thinks he’s going to give us a tour guide around the region and take us fishing.
Fine by us, all we want is to get him alone so that we can discuss what we are really here for. Worst comes to worst we would have toured the marshes.



He takes us through a labyrinth of canals made by the mangroves. There is not much depth. The water here is not the result of a high tide.
Once we reach deeper waters, we start discussing our business with Célestin.
A few allusions allow him to quickly realize what we were looking for. He laughs.
We ask him if he knows where we can find weed or cultivations.
He knows of a village, M-village on an island in the middle of the bolongs.
Normally the villagers cultivate big fields and produce large amounts of weed. We should find what we are after. We head off to M-village through the mangroves.
We can now sit back and admire the bolongs and all the different sort of birds all around, including pelicans that cannot be compared to the ones I saw in Mexico.
We also run into a lot of people, some fishing and others who live on their pirogues.
There are a lot of little paths between the mangroves.
There is a lot of life here, despite the difficulties in accessing the area.
The first question that comes to me is, “where is the fresh water?”
In the mangroves there is only seawater.
What sort of variety can grow here?

After 1hr of navigation we reach M-village



We cross the village and head to the main hut, which serves as the main meeting hall and party place for the villagers.
We speak with the locals and quickly get to the subject of plants and cultivations.
Around there the season is finished. They have weed and seeds but no longer fields being cultivated.
There is one plant at the first stages of budding, behind the hut. It is protected with a net to prevent the goats from eating it.
We go to look at the plant out of curiosity.
The fist thing we realize is that is a dioecious plant.



I begin to ask questions.
I find out that here they cultivate “la Yamba” in relation to the amount of water or water reserves. They do not worry about the length of the days.
The seeds are dispersed, eventually budding when they please.
On average there are 2 harvests per year to up to 3 when the water reserves permit but this is rare.
The soil is very poor (in reality it is much worse than that; half of the soil is made of sand).
I have trouble believing that the plant is alive with the poor quality of the soil.
All over the island the water is salty.
The water from the rain is fresh but I wonder to what level.
We are offered some weed from a previous harvest and some seeds if we wish.
It is tough to refuse but these are useless to me and the weed offered is very light even when smoked pure.
Although I notice the little funny high you get from it, which was definitely what I remembered of Senegalese weed.
Ernestine, the owner of the plant, is surrounded by her kids; she enjoys showing us how she deseeds the plant.
She wants us to take photos and to film her.
Everyone wants their photo taken and a promise to send them copies.
How does the postman reach this place? Well we will need to send everything to Celestine, who in turn will someday deliver the photos.



We return to the hut and discuss with men who have just arrived.
One of them tells us about an island not far from there with large fields in cultivation. He says he can take us there.
“Absolutely yes!”
Celestin arranges the meeting place with the men for tomorrow.
We continue to chat and mess about with the kids who have ended up surrounding the hut in large numbers.
Behind the hut women are grinding millet whilst singing in harmony. Its time for us to leave



We end up missing the high tide and have to drag the pirogue for quite a distance to reach land. Loud sounds of red birds and crabs of multicolour surround us.




We don’t take interest; we are tired and a little stoned. It was a good day.
Tomorrow looks like it will be the same.

Tough wake up this morning, the fatigue is starting to accumulate.
After breakfast, we go in search of our boatman who is waiting for us.
We then go in search of our pirogue, which is way out, and head back into the bolongs.
After 2hrs of navigation, we reach M-village. The guy meant to guide us is already waiting. He gets onboard and guides Celestin.
We head to the fields in cultivation.
1hr of navigation through mazes of mangroves, we finally reach a little beach.



We need to walk from here. The guide proves to be very adept in the jungle, which covers the island where we are. We pass through sections of jungle and bushes often filled with swamp.



It was a long walk, which finally led us to a little camp occupied by three men.
Behind is a field! A massive field! Filled with plants in blossom.
It’s a beautiful site. We found it. It is hard to describe the feeling we have at this moment.

The camp is very basic.
A small hut and hammocks made right there with old ropes.
There is a fire used for cooking and laundry hung up to dry.
A little further is another hut. It is larger and better built.
We talk to the three men; they are employees of the owner of the field.
They take care of the cultivations.
We ask to visit the fields. Not a problem, they take us around.




I had already made the remark but it is confirmed, the variety is dioecious.
Some males are still around and as expected the females have seeded.
This premature pollination halted the production a bit early, but the flowering potential is obvious to see. It also produces trichomes in large quantities. It has very high potential.
On the entire field, parcels of 4m by 1.5m were set up to retain the water at the foot of the plants.
They use organic waste to feed the earth: food, excrements, etc
Once again I’m amazed at the substrate, it is filled with sand and literally looks like a beach.




If the plants grow here, imagine the potential in a grow room with quality conditions.
Here they have two harvests per year. You need water from the rainy season and the wells to be full for the subsequent grow.
They use buckets and water pipes to irrigate every day. They use the wells that surround the fields.
With the size of the fields, this requires enormous efforts from the workers.




The plants average about 1.50m and go into flowering almost immediately.
They get rid of the males once the females are well pollinated. This is to make sure that they get the seeds for the next harvest.
The drying process is done on the fields in the sun, whilst being careful of rain, which would damage the harvest. Although to be fair, with the level of humidity around, some of the harvest gets damaged anyway.
We find out that the workers do all the work: Preparing the fields, seeding, cultivating, harvesting, drying, recovering of the seeds, and packing the expedition bags. In the furthest hut there is about 100kg, packed in cotton balls, with cotton around it all for camouflage.



They offer us some to taste. Dokta rolls up a pure one.
In actual fact the curing is very good. There is not one bit of chlorophyll and there is even some fermentation. It is really enjoyable on the palate with an exceptional aroma.
It is slightly similar to a Thai variety but spicier and more peppery. It has a typical African spicy feel. Add to that the difference in lightness of yesterdays bud to this much stronger high, makes it a truly awesome bud.
To think of the growing and drying methods, the high quality produced is quite amazing, again showing the seed’s high potential.



I start talking about seeds and one of the guys brings out a 5litre bottle filled with seeds.
I buy a small bag. They have trouble understanding why.
“You want to grow it at back home?” My affirmative response makes them laugh.




We speak about the business that is created by their work
They work for the owner of the fields, who has more in the region.
The harvests are sold all over: Gambia, Guinea. Some boats come from Togo, Benin or north of the country.
In the past the authorities tried to dismantle the entire thing. The cultivations relocated but never disappeared. The authorities gave in and now tolerate the whole thing. Actually, nothing else can grow on these islands.



They punish consumption, but turn a blind eye to production. This is the price for social peace, which makes a lot of sense in Casamance. The kilo in detail is sold for 7000 to 35000 CFAs depending on supply and demand. This is equivalent to 10 to 50 Euros (U.S.$ 15 to 75).
We ask if we can see other fields. They tell us that we need to ask the owner and for that we need to come back tomorrow. In any case, it is time for us to leave unless we want to walk in the heavy mud again.


We return the next day, this time only accompanied by Célestin. On the way we buy a fish from a fisherman who we pass in the waters of bolongs. It will make quite a meal if well grilled.
After navigating through the bolongs and the islands, we reach the camp we were at yesterday.




We notice right away that the atmosphere is a lot tenser. The owner is here today and he is not very happy. He knows everything of our visit yesterday. Even here in the middle of nowhere, nothing goes unnoticed.
We can tell that the workers got in trouble. Getting acquainted will be difficult.
The tension is understandable. Some producers in Casamance are suspected in financing the rebellions. If the army suspect and find him, it won’t be jail that awaits him…

Luckily Célestin is with us. The owner knows and trusts him but even he can’t do much. We talk with the owner and the atmosphere softens but remains somewhat tense. We make small talk and eventually he takes us to other fields. I ask him if I can take photos of the field we were at
“Ok but not the surroundings and no pictures of the people present”

We ask him if we could visit other cultivations and he accepts. He sends one of the young workers to take us around.



The field is not far from where we were. It is larger than the other one and quite cleared up. It is also more scattered. It is visible; there are fewer wells here. This field confirms the high potential noticed yesterday. Even in these difficult conditions…

We take some photos and record some footage and then head back to the camp.
We chat again and get a few things done and quickly leave.



We have a fish to grill and a hunger to satisfy. I am happy to have found what I was looking for. On the way back Célestin takes us to a beach he knows well.



We reach shore and head off to look for an open space. We arrive at a village guarded by two young men. They are there alone, chilling. We sit with them. We make a fire and grill the fish.



While the fish is grilling, I hear a noise; it sounds like the sea. I ask how come and one of the young lads replies, because it is just behind you. We go and take a look, and 50m behind the knoll that protects their campsite is the ocean. There are kilometres of empty beaches in both directions.



An amazing view to end this trip. We head for a quick swim and then go back to eat the fish. Delicious!



Once the meal done, we light one up and smoke it in this tranquil paradise. Tomorrow we head for Dakar, by bus this time.
We take full advantage of this quiet relaxed place for the last time, puffing on our joint of Yamba…



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Great story and info on the cultivation in the region....looking forward to reading more! good vibez

thx man ...wonderfull good night lecture...hehe

wow!!!! FANTASTIC thread!!!
great report and great shots man!!! :ye:
thanks for sharing!

hei homie great story, full of beautiful photos from the wildest africa makes me want to visit this wonderful country more deeply, I have only visited Morocco in africa but not anything to do with the emotion so that should give you , I look forward even more photos and stories from your experience and thanks for share it!!
keep on keeping up hunting man !!!!....*boom kw31's*

Nice !
Wainting for a new trip

Thanks for sharing your trip!!!

Inspiring thread!!!
My missus lived for two years in Dakar and she tells me about the weed&hash that her local connection provide her with every day. It´s so cool for us to see it in the flesh.
Some sweet memories she says. In a sad note seems that not much as changed.
Power shortage, no roads, poor living conditions, corruption as a way of surviving and fear surrounding it all
But at least the views are beautiful and plenty of areas are yet untouched by the civilized world.
I am amazed with the potential of those plants growing in beach like conditions.
Good things might come from there.
ATB for all your adventures and thanks again for finding the time to share it with us.

Wow what a trip !!! Great report, and great findings.



Fantastic pics too. Sorry I can't give you any rep, the "you must spread your reputation before giving it to Kerala again" thing...

Looking forward to discover the future strains based on these seeds.

Salaamaalekum! Na nga def?

Very nice write up of your trip. I was just in Senegal and Gambia in the spring of last year. It is a crazy place to travel but your adventures obviously paid off. Dakar is crazy nuts as well but incredibly beautiful and heart wrenching as is the rest of the region. I've been to Senegal twice (once for 3 months) and Mali and Gambia (upcountry). I was working with a non profit my last visit (last year) and couldn't have pulled off a hunt like yours. Congrats!

Great pics too! I'd love to keep up with what becomes of your seeds!

Jërëjëf!

Wali

It's truly an amazing plant...it can and Will grow any were.

Thanks for the trip!!

The pics where its shown growing in that sand, amazing.
Was finding myself reallllly taking my time to read this, cause I did not want it to end right away.

Very cool,

Thanks 4 sharing .,! Nice pix from africa. that foxtail looks elegant

peace
DiMoDz

Thanks for the kind comments. Glad you like it.
Senegal is a beautiful country, Casamance being a very particular area of Africa.
The trip was pure joy.
I intend to start breeding work with the Casamance strain very soon,
hoping I'll come out with a cross that'll keep the traits of the original.

Very cool trip, I love reading these adventures! Keep it up!

very cool story and pics, thank you and keep on sharing!