In our civilized societies we are rich. Why then are the many poor? Why this painful drudgery for the masses? Why, even to the best-paid workman, this uncertainty for the morrow, in the midst of all the wealth inherited from the past, and in spite of the powerful means of production, which could ensure comfort to all, in return for a few hours daily toil? - Peter Kropotkin (1892)
While every country in Africa has varied levels of impact from colonialism, there are places where the local economy is relatively untouched when you push down to the local level.
I lived on the border between 1 country that was poor with nearly no resources to be extracted, and 8km from another country with resources where the poverty deepened as you left the coastal area. And while in the 80’s mining money paid for a few roads, that’s about as far as it got. The village used the currency of the other country because they would walk 10km to the market there once a week because the markets where they lived didn’t have anything much worth buying because it was all the same stuff they grew at home. One guy spoke about 6 words of English, no one spoke French, which is supposed to be the colonial language. So the local economy for most villages really were a perfect example of a post-apocalyptic world where the apocalypse was living in a place that barely supports humans anyway. Short of radios, batteries, lanterns, one bicycle, and canned tomato paste, life went on exactly like it did 100 years ago or 500 years ago, long before any Europeans every actually breezed through the area, which is a history I’m deeply familiar with.
To further explain the isolation, everyone grows seeds from the previous year, so there’s no nefarious Monsanto to blame. It’s the same millet and sorghum varieties they’ve grown since as far back as anyone can remember. There is no export, no international trade of their crops. During harvest season people who try and get some diversity in their diet and buy things like cooking oil sell some of their harvest at the worst time of the year, when everyone else is also trying to get cash. The grain they produce doesn’t go farther than 15km from the field where it’s grown, maybe 25km into a nearby town if someone comes out to buy it. Which is the modern version of caravans from the oasis towns of the Sahara coming down to buy it 150+ years ago. Cars using roads that follow caravan paths are one of those new developments, which actually reduce labor and resource needs to get food to people.
Your life savings will help educate young women in this country, so feel free to send that over when you get a chance. When you educate a woman, you educate a community.
Also, yes, please tell me what this “other option” is regarding mechanized farming. Man, if you tell me it’s animal traction, I swear…