Secret Garden

A few weeks ago one of our agents introduced us to another young man who wanted to be an agent. He seemed very industrious and said he went from village to village selling medicines, both over the counter and herbal. We made an appointment with him to “go ‘round”, as they say here. He took us to several villages, but the largest one was where people really grabbed onto the concept and began to whip out their money. In fact, they were all offering 5 and 10 cedi notes and we soon ran out of change. One man even gave us a 20. It was the first time I’d ever seen a 20 cedi note in a village.

We also met the chief and, trying to make chit-chat, I asked if they were farmers (the answer is always yes), and what they farmed. He said “many things”. I said, “Oh, maize and cassava.” He said “Yes, many things.” It was a scintillating conversation.

On the way back, we were talking about how they had so much money, and someone said it must be because this is harvest season. The new agent (he was a great salesman and we decided to make him an agent right away) said, “Well, they have secret farms.” We all had the deer in the headlights look of non-understanding, and he said, “They grow marijuana.” I asked if they put it in with other crops to hide it (not that there is any aerial surveillance here) and he said, “No, they just plant the whole field with it. When the police come, they just pay them.”

Oddly, the very next day, Whit saw a news article about secret farms in this particular region and about police corruption. I hope they don’t all get arrested. It was a very promising village from our standpoint. Everyone wanted and could afford our batteries. It’s no wonder it is an appealing alternative to abject poverty – although that village still doesn’t have electricity and day to day life doesn’t seem much different than other villages. However, the young people’s English was pretty good and the adults were encouraging them to interact with us, so I suspect they are investing their profits in educating the next generation.

In case you were wondering, one gunny sack goes for GHC 150 ($100).
XO