Agriculture

Due to a decrease in the availability of food bulk in the 1970s and 1980s, many Malian farmers, especially women, are looking at vegetable gardening and small animal husbandry as alternative means to support themselves nutritionally and as a source of income.

In support of this goal, agriculture Volunteers work with farmers to build local capacities in the areas of food production for local consumption and income generation; collaborate with research centers to introduce a wider variety of field crops; and, improve post-harvest food preservation and storage.

Business Development

Volunteers work closely with small businesses to improve management capabilities of entrepreneurs and to increase the availability of financial and technical resources. They provide training and counseling to entrepreneurs on feasibility studies, marketing surveys, inventory control, accounting, and product pricing.

Environment

Three decades of population growth, low rainfall, non-sustainable exploitation of natural resources, and a lack of environmental awareness has caused severe natural resources degradation and dramatic declines in agricultural production.

The Peace Corps is assisting Mali in its efforts to reverse resource degradation. Volunteers are training local people to understand their environment and their natural resources and to conserve the biodiversity appropriate to their areas, thereby improving their quality of life. Collaboration with local nongovernmental organizations is a key aspect of all Volunteer projects.

Health

Volunteers at the local level play an active role in the ongoing restructuring of the public health sector through their work with health care providers, local associations, and individual community members. Volunteers work to raise awareness of health issues and promote preventive care measures, such as nutritional practices, weaning, breast-feeding, diarrheal disease control, vaccinations, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Water and Sanitation

Volunteers work with individuals, communities, non-governmental organizations and government agencies to increase year-round access to sufficient quantities of both potable and gardening water; prevent water-related diseases/infections through improved hygiene practices and improved environmental sanitation facilities; and help improve the ability of targeted communities to assess their own water and sanitation needs and act upon them through the transfer of appropriate knowledge and skills.