Grass Cutters

written for Ava and Mia at their request

It seems long ago since I wrote to Ghana Peace Corps.  I sent an email in July when I found out I would be teaching in Ghana.  I thought it would be interesting to locate a volunteer and visit a village.  Peace Corps emailed me and said they would post a notice in their newsletter.  I left in August and there had been no response.

Then two weeks after I arrived in Ghana I received an email from Ashley.  She volunteers in a small village and works on three projects: small animal rearing projects, soap making and mushroom cultivation.  Her village is just past the large city of Kumasi, which is in the south in the Region of Ashanti. It is far from here.  You can look at the map on the blog to see where Kumasi is located.  Janyn and I will take an airplane there in a couple of weeks.

It turns out that Ashley had business in Accra, the capitol of Ghana, for the past couple of weeks and is staying at the Peace Corps Office, just a block or two from my house!  We have met several times in the last week. 

Webster University

My students express a lot of interest in creating a small business.  They are very smart and they are going to school to learn how to be successful in business.  The topic of my Management Class this week is Small Business Development.  I know teaching small business in Ghana is likely the same in theory, but different because Ghanaians live differently than we do.  I decided that I would teach what they book said, but then bring in a guest speaker to talk about some problems and opportunities in small business development in Ghana.

I asked Ashley to come in and talk about developing a Grass Cutter Business.  Ava and Mia, I bet you though Grass Cutters are lawnmowers!  I bet you thought they wanted to become gardeners!  Well, that’s what I thought too!

Grass Cutters are in the rodent family and very large.  They call it “bush meat” because people go out into the forest where Grass Cutters hide in bushes to find them.  It is a delicacy here.  They are very expensive because everyone likes to eat them and there are not enough to buy. 

Do you want to know how they catch Grass Cutters?  I did!  When people go into the forest, they set fires so that the Grass Cutters come out of the forest and they trap them.  Sometimes the fires burn out of control and burn down homes or businesses so it is very dangerous.  It is bad for our environment too.  Another way they catch them is to poison them, but then when people eat them they get sick.  Peace Corps wants to help people raise Grass Cutters in a safe way and that is one of Ashley’s jobs.  

Ava, do you remember the book we read so many times called "Beatrice Goat"?  Well, that book is about how people are given an animal and learn how to take care of them.  Goats give us milk, chickens give us eggs and Grass Cutters give us meat. Learning how to raise Grass Cutters for meat will help people in the small villages.  Will you read the book to Mia and Daddy?  

Ashley came to my class and she told them how to start a Grass Cutter business.  My students were very interested. One of them hopes to have a Grass Cutter business one day.  A picture of my students and Ashley are below.

Ashley is very interesting.  She grew up very different than we did.  We grew up in the city, but she grew up on a farm where there were lots of animals to care for.  

Ashley has a Bachelors Degree in Wildlife Ecology Research and Management.  That means that she tries to make sure our animals don’t become extinct.  She helps them.

Ashley's farm provided meat for their family so she knows a lot about animal farming.  She knows how to hunt with a bow and arrow! 

 She has helped capture Saw-Whet Owls which are endangered.  She put bands on their little legs that help scientists find out where they are.  It’s kind of like having a “Simon” (the GPS man in my car) attached to them.  She wants to help them.  Look at the video of this little Saw-Whet Owl.  Isn’t it cute!  

She also helps snowshoe hares by putting a collar on them to find out where they are. 

Ashley has also worked to protect White Tail Deer conservation.  These deer are so beautiful.

When Ashley leaves the Peace Corps she may work with wolves!  Isn’t Ashley interesting?