Sierra Leone Central University
Secured a $4,500 community engagement project exchange grant in collaboration with colleague and friend Gibrill Sessay through the Department of State and IREX in which I participated in an exchange visit to Central University, Sierra Leone from May 26th to June 9th, 2023, fostering cross-cultural learning and agricultural dialogue. I designed and conducted workshops from which I learned and experienced more than I imagined. I still actively collaborate with Central University by giving annual remote workshops and leading engagement efforts to establish a robust agricultural support network, collaborating with companies and universities, including micro BIOMETER, the African Cotton Foundation, Njala University Sierra Leone, and the Soil Food Web School.
Key Experience
Walking through an acacia agroforestry plot and hearing the hiss of termites under leaf litter thinking it was a snake, but soon coming to the realization that a world is at work underneath my feet, a world that needs to be understood and protected.
"I noticed when Mr. Drew began speaking in the field about soil, he knelt down to the ground as a sign of respect for the land."
— Central University Student