The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It
Introducing Mashud Fuseini: The Migrant Who Wasn't.
My work in northern Ghana in partnership with Christoph Langwallner from WhatIF Foods and Mashud Fuseini from Kasima Ghana has been enriching to say the least. After a first visit with Vinod Vallayil at the end of 2021, I came to Tamale in February 2022, to build a regenerative Bambara bean supply chain.
Last year, with support from Lydia Madintin Konlan, we partnered with 980 farmers, focusing on building trust rather than producing great volumes. This year, on the basis of that trust, we've partnered with more than 7,100 farmers in four northern regions, almost half of them women, and with good rains, we're seeing a bumper yield.
It hasn't happened without challenges but along the way, I've been fortunate to get to know and work hand in glove with Mashud.
Back in August, Chris invited Weilee Yap, an independent writer and videographer, to visit us in Tamale. Weilee interviewed Mashud and has produced a beautiful text called “The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It,” about his life, his philosophy and his work to bring development to the people of northern Ghana.
“Mashud’s life speaks about what can happen when good, hard working people get an opportunity, where they live, to get an education and to find work.”
I knew most of the story that Weilee gleaned from Mashud. He's very humble and keeps things to himself, but on our many long car journeys together visiting communities, we've shared a lot and come to learn much about each other's lives. One story I didn't know was about him almost leaving Tamale to try his luck in Libya. Lucky for us, he decided to stay and he's built himself a good business, a family, friends and community.
To me, Mashud is the migrant who wasn't, the one who could have left, who could have ended up goodness knows where, perhaps even at the bottom of the Mediterranean, like so many who risk everything in search of opportunity.
Mashud's life speaks about what can happen when good, hard working people get an opportunity, where they live, to get an education and to find work. We see the heartache in our partner farmer families when young people migrate to Tamale, Accra or beyond, only to return (or not), so often exploited and broken. Mashud's life tells a different story, about what can happen instead.
It's uplifting and even more so when I see the work he now does, tirelessly, to bring that opportunity to others. We're blessed that the team at WhatIF Foods found a way to bring Bambara bean products to market. Without WhatIF, our regenerative Bambara bean project, that is bringing hope and opportunity, wouldn't exist.
But nor would it exist without Mashud.
This is a classic case of partners coming together to build something bigger than themselves.
In the next week, we'll go to the field to buy those Bambara beans. We'll be more than doubling some farmers' annual income. Mashud, WhatIF and Pond Foundation are working hard together to make this reality, so that more young Mashuds, more young Fatimas, can stay at home, with their families, and prosper.