In the early part of the eighteenth century, Jaabe So's ancestors founded a farm on the left bank of the Senegal river. Twenty years ago, Jaabe So set up an independent farmers' association based among a group of towns along that river. Since then, he and Adrian Adams have spent much of their lives struggling to defend the existence of that association against a state development corporation lavishly funded by development aid. This is a narrative of that struggle, placed in the context of three centuries of Senegalese history. This extraordinary book will be an invaluable reference for those who believe that Africans may yet redeem a future free from the false promises of development, by drawing upon an inherited past.
Readership: Scholars and students of African history, social anthropology and development studies.
Adrian Adams, Secretary, Fédération des Paysans Organisés du Département de Bakel, and Jaabe So, President, Fédération des Paysans Organisés du Département de Bakel
"very unusual book ... powerful in its conclusions" - London Review of Books
"a remarkable case study of the impact, dispersal and maladministration of outside funding for agrarian development as it is experienced by those at the periphery ... This book is remarkable on three counts, by virtue of its authorship, its format and its subject matter ... Serious students of West African history and those whose special interest lies in the political analysis of neo-colonial development are bound to find this first-hand account immensely valuable ... the overall dynamic impact has something of the quality of a folk opera and is totally appropriate in the circumstances." - Una Maclean, University of Edinburgh, Policies for an Information Society
