My hometown of Marlborough, in Wiltshire has links to the Gunjur region of the Gambia. So it was a real treat to come and meet people here.
With me is Mr Sandan Bojang, the area leader to rural development agency TARUD. We’re at a 2.5ha market garden at Sanyang village, run collectively by women – men only tend bigger field crops like groundnuts and rice.
This is one of the many womens’ gardens to benefit from the work of Gambia is Good, a marketing organisation set up in partnership with international charity Concern Universal. It helps small farmers and growers find a route to market for their produce and avoid the cheaper imports by directing its efforts at Gambia’s tourist hotels, bypassing middlemen and passing returns directly back to producers. This allows the women to save money through local credit unions.