Stories from the Field 6

Changing the Future of The Gambia through Road Improvement Work using Do-nou
- Building sustainable peace by creating employment through infrastructure development -

Women compacting Do-nou bags to create the road base (Photo: CORE)

A hearing-impaired woman performing road improvement work (Photo: ILO)

Located on the western coast of Africa, The Gambia is one of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)*, and approximately half of its citizens live on less than $1.90 a day. The country also struggles with high unemployment. Especially among the country’s youth, there are endless cases of illegal emigration as they seek work abroad. While democratization and economic reconstruction are proceeding in The Gambia as a result of the presidential election at the end of 2016, the country lacks sufficient infrastructure such as roads, water supply, and electricity that form the foundation of major national industries. The country is therefore economically unstable, and its unemployment rate remains at high levels.

In order to improve this situation, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a project to support “Employment Creation for Youth to Build Sustainable Peace in The Gambia” in April 2018. The project employed local youths in road repair and construction projects. Through funding from MOFA, the project was carried out in cooperation with the NGO Community Road Empowerment (CORE).

Up until now, CORE has worked with local people to improve the roads in 29 countries around the world starting in Kenya, using “Do-nou,” which are locally available gunny bags filled with soil or gravel. CORE’s road work allows the participants to learn about road improvement technologies while working, thus improving local employment conditions and contributing to human resource development. The process also ensures the minimum necessary use of machines, making road construction possible at a much lower cost compared to standard techniques. Moreover, even after the organization ends its support, the roads can be maintained by the local people themselves. This is a great advantage as it enables the roads to be well-maintained over a longer period of time.

In order to ensure that a larger number of local youths have access to employment information and are able to participate in the project, advertisement for recruitment was also broadcast over the radio in addition to traditional bulletin boards and job-seeking websites in consideration of the country’s low literacy rate. Furthermore, to contribute to peace-building and social cohesion in The Gambia, employment priority was given to people in socially vulnerable positions, and 125 women, 30 returnee migrants, and 10 hearing-impaired people were chosen among the 250 people employed for the project.

Road improvement work was carried out for a 1.2-kilometer tourist walkway and a 2.5-kilometer road connecting the local fishing port with the main road. Although the tourist walkway was located in the center of a major tourist site for birdwatching, it was so poorly maintained that it could not be used by tourists due to the possibility of its collapse. As for the port road, it became impassable due to floods in the rainy season, striking a major blow to the local fishing industry. There were many challenges in improving these roads with Gambian youths who lacked experience in construction work and were unfamiliar with being employed. However, the Japanese staff of CORE and Kenyan staff who had gained experience through the CORE project in Kenya worked together to provide guidance and direct the project.

Director FUKUBAYASHI Yoshinori of CORE says, “While there were some people among the Gambian youth who were unfamiliar with preserving work discipline, and would take a rest on the job after getting bored or tired, I was impressed by the many people who were filled with the strong desire to earn a living and build their way of life on their own now that the situation in The Gambia is finally settled. Moreover, thanks to the staff from Kenya, which is an English-speaking country same as The Gambia, we were able to communicate smoothly with the local youths who participated in the project, and provide appropriate instruction while maintaining good relationships.”

The local youths who received technical instruction in road construction using Do-nou are vigorously continuing the road repair activities even after the project’s completion. For example, some have established their own road construction and maintenance companies through the training on entrepreneurship, which was conducted as part of the project, and are taking on projects requested by the local community. Ms. Sainabou Jammeh, who founded her own road construction and maintenance company after participating in the project was invited to the ILO side event at TICAD7 as a panelist, and shared her pride for her work with the participants, “I am no longer a job seeker, I am now a job creator.” In addition, an initiative for the technology to take root in the country was conducted through incorporating the method of road repair using Do-nou into the curriculum of the Gambia Technical Training Institute to sustain the results of the project.

ILO and CORE are now carrying out road construction projects using Do-nou in other countries in Africa such as Mauritania, with an aim to create decent work for the local people. In this way, the made-in-Japan Do-nou technology is creating employment in local African communities, representing the steady progress of human-centered initiatives that realize people’s economic stability and build peace in the region.

*See ”Glossary”.