This story is about the farming community and the women vendors of a little makeshift marketplace from a village called Kafuta in Kombo East district in The Gambia. Kafuta is a village of about 8,000 people.

Farming is a way of life in Kafuta as well as for other families in neighbouring, smaller villages who run small farms- often from their own gardens.

At present residents of both Kafuta and its neighbouring outposts have to travel up to 15 kilometres to get to their nearest, established marketplace. The region is impoverished and all of this travel and spoiled goods along the way in the heat adds to a drain on their livelihoods and local economy. Instead many producers sell their produce on the verge of the main road that runs through the village. This is dangerous and unhygienic and there's no water supply or toilet.

It's a busy road and there have been several dreadful accidents where women have actually been killed.

The villagers have now identified a lot of land in the centre of town to establish a proper marketplace, to help keep money local and promote it as a place for tourists. You can help!

Funds raised through this campaign will go towards:

Clearing the site of existing trees and underground rocks.
Leveling the ground for the base of the marketplace.
Constructing concrete flooring, timber frame and corrugated iron roofing- providing shelter for vendors.
Constructing a safety wall around the site to keep out vermin and feral animals.
Digging trenches for the installation of water pipes and a provide a pump to source fresh water for the vendors and for cleaning purposes.
Providing plumbing and the construction of a toilet block.
Providing refrigeration and freezers to keep their produce fresh to prevent waste and loss of income- especially the meat, poultry and fish items.

What's the timeline you ask? While some work has begun, the main build will commence in July and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.