The lodge is located in a rural area. Less than 500 meters away is a small branch of the Gambia River. The tide is quite high, which gives people the chance to pick the oysters that grow on the roots of the mangrove forests. The oysters are freshly cooked and sold locally. The shells are also sold; the Belgambia Lodge also used them like you see pebbles at houses in the Netherlands.
Many rice fields come from the river. Now everything is dry. A little further from the river there are many agricultural fields. Don't imagine anything large-scale: they are more like allotments in an area that is very dry. There are many wells in the gardens, where mainly the women draw water to water their vegetables. Every day, buckets per bed. They mainly grow onions, tomatoes and white cabbage. One of the women asks or that white person cannot afford pumps. The population is poor and white people can afford everything. That feeling remains, it is very difficult to help them I think. Positive is that there are projects to educate more people. It is a long way, especially because many children age 6-12 actually only have Koran education.
