A Short 700-Mile Walk in The Gambian Bush
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By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 9/30/2009 2:10:00 PM
From left: Florio and Jones with friend Aliou N'dong in the Gambia.
Getting arrested by the Taliban, hanging out with Somali pirates, and riding through the streets of Phnom Penh are all in a day's work for photojournalist Jason Florio. Now he and his partner, Helen Jones, are walking 700 miles around the entire perimeter of The Gambia to raise money for the U.K.-based Eden Project charity.
Their journey, “A Short Walk in The Gambian Bush,” begins with visits to five participating schools in the West African nation before they start an eight-week trek on November 1 to raise money for Gardens for Life, an Eden initiative that links 20,000 pupils in schools in the U.K., Africa, India, and the U.S., and encourages them to create gardens, grow food, and share stories with others across the world. The goal? To raise enough money to buy things we take for granted, like tools, hoses, water pumps, and fences.
How did you hear about Gardens for Life and what inspired you two to do this incredible walk?
Florio: The inspiration to make the expedition came after we were both at a dinner party in Brooklyn and a friend told us he had made a life-changing 500-mile walk across Europe. It was then that Helen said, “How far is it to walk around Gambia?” We figured about 700 miles. It was then that we decided to make the journey. Helen said, “Well, we can't just do it only for ourselves.” I had been involved with Gardens for Life two years previously in The Gambia, and we both decided that's who we should raise money for and bring awareness to.
What drew you to Gardens for Life?
Florio: Gardens for Life—in short—is a way to promote sustainable development and global citizenship through local and international school garden partnerships. And it was for these reasons that we were enthralled with the organization. Gardens for Life is already starting to do great work in The Gambia. Supporting the project will help the schools in many ways—from providing good quality seeds to buying tools to tend the gardens. It will also enable skilled workers to teach more children and their families about composting, crop rotation, organic ways to increase fertility of the soil, planting orchards, and traditional medicinal uses of plants and herbs.
How many schools and children do you hope this will benefit?
Florio: At the moment, there are five schools with approximately 2,000 students in the project in The Gambia who all need desperate help with basic tools, fencing, and seeds.
Is any money going toward books?
Florio: Some of the money will go toward educational literature, but no plans for a horticultural library as yet, though.
So it’s just the two of you walking, along with two local Gambians, Abdouli Janneh and Mohammed Njie?
Florio: Many of the places we will visit in remote rural areas will be well off the tourist track. We will be relying on Abdouli and Mohammed’s deep knowledge to help us navigate through the bush and to introduce us to people we meet along the way. We’ll be staying with villagers and in tents, and we’ll be taking a couple of donkeys with us to help carry the gear.
A book and interactive Web site are also in the works, kind of an oral history?
Florio: These remote villages often hold a wealth of history and folklore, relayed through storytelling and traditional celebrations, which are rarely documented through visual or written means. This rich cultural history is at risk of being lost. We aim to help preserve some of it by documenting it as we go.
Are you still raising money?
Florio: We’ve already raised $3,000 and have been given flights, equipment, and assorted necessities, but we we still need to pull in a further $1,500 by October 23rd.
How are you preparing for this 700-mile walk?
Jones: We’ve been doing 17-odd mile walks along the Wey Navigation footpath in Surrey, England, each week, as we hope to walk an average of 12 to 15 miles per day in The Gambia. We are both pretty healthy and active. I’m a massage therapist so I have to train regularly to maintain my fitness levels, and Florio is always carting heavy camera equipment and running up Mayan pyramids, hillsides, and the like to get the best vantage point for his photos! We both also cycle everywhere when we are in New York.
You guys are no strangers to The Gambia. When did you end up falling in love with this West African nation?
Jones: I first heard about and visited The Gambia in 1996 on a package holiday with two friends who had been there before—and subsequently moved there to produce an album of West African music—and I’ve been every year since! It’s like my second home. I have great friends there and as soon as that plane hits the tarmac at Yundum (Banjul) airport, the stresses of living in a big city seem to disappear.
Florio: For me it started with a phone call from my old friend Lawrence Williams in 1996. He told me that he was working on creating an overlanders’ camp with his business partner, James English, in The Gambia, and that I should come and check it out. I went later that year and started making photographic portraits of the people who lived and worked in and around the holy forest of Makasutu where the "camp" would be built. I was hooked from the first day.
Florio and Jones, along with two local Gambians, will follow this 700-mile route map around the West African nation.
Jason, you’ve worked for the New York Times, National Geographic Adventure, and The New Yorker. What else can you tell us about yourself?
Florio: I am a British photographer who has been based in New York City for the past 15 years. I started life as a fashion photographer but soon changed direction after meeting three big National Geographic photographers, Since then I’ve been photographing globally in such diverse countries from Afghanistan to Suriname for an array of publications, including The New Yorker, Outside, Men's Journal, and the New York Times, covering human interest stories.
Helen’s the one who got you both involved in this project. Tell us about her.
Jason: Helen is my partner, also from the U.K. She is the instigator of this expedition and the coordinator. I can be dreadfully unorganized, and she is keeping everything on track! She’s a massage therapist and nutritionist for her “day job,” so her skills will be essential in keeping the team eating properly and staying healthy. She has also been working with me as a producer on my shoots, so all her fusion of experience will be invaluable.
You guys don't stop. Didn’t you just return from another interesting trip?
Florio: Helen and I just returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we were photographing clients of a microfinance bank. They were incredibly inspiring people who had launched their own business with loans starting at $85 and were pulling themselves and their families out of poverty.
To find out more about "A Short Walk in The Gambian Bush," keep track of Florio and Jones’s journey, and donate to the cause, visit their blog.
