Sensei Alan Imai is the Assistant Director of Shinji Shumeikai of America. He also has responsibility for gathering information about alternative agriculture techniques and for coordinating Shinji Shumeikai’s of America’s Natural Agriculture activities.

rom the 16th through the 28th of February, I had an opportunity to visit Egypt and Senegal, Africa, for the first time in my life. When I attended the IFOAM's (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement) conference in Oxford, England, last November, there was a wonderful presentation by Mr. Helmy Abouleish, the Director of Sekem Group, Egypt. Dr. Ibraham Abouleish, Helmy’s father, founded Sekem in 1977, and it seeks to enhance and bring about a greater integration of the Arts, Religion and Sciences, by establishing and promoting institutions related to education, applied research, and health care. Dr. Abouleish started biodynamic methods of agriculture on 70 hectares of desert, 40 miles northeast of Cairo. In 1991, cotton (one of the most important agricultural products in Egypt) was cultivated using biodynamic methods for the first time in history, and this success led the Ministry for Agriculture in Egypt to reduce pesticide applications to less than 20% of former quantities, and to stop application of pesticides by airplane. Now more than 150 farms are cultivating all kinds of crops, covering 5000 acres, under the guidance of Sekem.

As one of the projects of the partnership between Shinji Shumeikai and Rodale Institute, Mr. Mitsuhiro Oketani of Japan was chosen to join in Rodale's global program in Senegal, West Africa, as an exchange staff. Before he began his life in Senegal, I really wanted him to experience a successful agricultural project under similar kinds of climate and culture - dry, desert-like climate and a Moslem country. And California's cotton land was almost dead because of the heavy usage of agricultural chemicals. So, I really wanted him to visit Sekem.

The first day Mr. Oketani and I visited Sekem's main office where to our surprise we discovered that their logo is similar to Shinji Shumeikai's logo. There, we met Mr. Nazih Girgis from the US and Ms. Regina Hanel from Germany. Both of them are working in the area of cultural development. We learned that there are about 20 people from Europe who have come to assist agricultural, medical, and cultural development. Ms. Hanel said that compared with Cairo, the lifestyle for those people living in the countryside is a century behind. To help farmers, agricultural development alone is not enough. They have learned that it is necessary to start processing industries of those agricultural products and marketing them. To do this, people need education. We found out Sekem is not only doing organic agricultural services but also really promoting art and culture and educational projects based upon the modern understanding of Islam. Again, it is very similar to Shinji Shumeikai's purpose.

We received a map of the main farm in the desert where we were scheduled to visit the following day. We didn't know anybody in Egypt; the people whom we met at Sekem were our only support. Through Mr. Girgis we found out that the carfare from the hotel to the Sekem's office arranged by the hotel was outrageously expensive. But as there was no public transportation available to the farm in the desert, we needed to hire a taxi all day to get there and come back. He strongly recommended that we not use the car arranged by the hotel. He suggested that we negotiate with any taxi driver driving on the street. As the taxi drivers usually don't speak much English, only Arabic, we were very nervous. Next morning we went out from the hotel at 6:30 a.m. and were able to meet an honest taxi driver. We showed him directions to the farm written in Arabic, and he gave us a price for the entire day, which was even less costly than the one-way fare from the hotel to the Sekem main office, which is in the city. After we left the city area and went onto the paved country road, we saw just barren desert except for a few factories and military facilities along the street. Although street names were written in English and Arabic on the map, local street signs were only written in Arabic. Although the map showed how many miles to go before right and left turns, unfortunately the taxi's meter was broken, so we couldn't know how far we drove. Once he stopped the car and had to add some water to the radiator. We were only depending on the driver. We got lost once, and we worried that the car might stop going in the middle of nowhere, and we regretted being stingy to save a little bit of money. We forced ourselves to talk cheerfully, and when we finally found a big Sekem logo, it was a big relief. It was 9 a.m., and we made it! (We became good friends with the driver, and he later took us to a local restaurant and we enjoyed a traditional Egyptian meal for a very good price, unlike the hotel.)

The Sekem farm --- once it was a just barren desert like the surrounding environment, now the desert sands were converted into fertile soil, and green, flowering landscapes supporting livestock and bees. Mrs. Werver from Germany gave us a tour of the farm. She and her husband, who is a doctor at the Medical Center of Sekem, have been traveling between Germany and Egypt to support the Sekem project. At first they planted trees, and she said that she witnessed the land change into this fertileness with biodynamic methods. Besides the farm, we visited some processing facilities on the farm such as packaging fresh fruit and vegetables, making different varieties of teas, and manufacturing organic cotton textile, etc. We visited Sekem Kindergarten and Sekem School for primary and secondary education. The children were educated through crafts, arts, and music. And we visited an adult training center and a Mosque.

Every Friday is an off day for Sekem, based on the Islam custom. It was Thursday when we were invited. Every Thursday at noon, all children and staff were gathered at the auditorium and we were invited to attend the gathering. All children wear a uniform and came into the auditorium. At noon Dr. Abouleish, the founder of Sekem, quietly stood in the middle of the stage with a little, smiling face. He looked over the children with great compassion and love, but no words. Everybody became quiet and he stepped off of the stage. A man got on the stage and he recited the Moslem prayer and everybody joined. Following the prayer, five or six German staff came on the stage with musical instruments, like violin, cello, viola, flute etc. and they played a piece from Hayden in front of the Egyptian children. This is wonderful education!!! Then, from kindergarten to secondary level, children from each group stood on the stage and performed what they have been practicing during the past week.

Seeing each child and teacher sincerely performing on the stage with such a pure heart, I felt like I was in a dream - in a different world. I thought, "This is a miracle." But the miracle really happened with one man's clear vision and strong commitment. There have been many visitors from all over the world and Sekem became a model, and similar kinds of projects have started in many different places. After the gathering I was able to greet Dr. Abouleish. He said, "My dream will never end until all poor people in Egypt become happy."

With feelings of great satisfaction we left Egypt and we arrived in Dakar, Senegal on the evening of March 22. The following day the staff of the Rodale Institute, Mr. Aly Dieng, and Mr. Mor Fall, picked us up and we went to Thies where the Rodale Institute is located. My main purpose in visiting Senegal was to help Mr. Oketani settle in and begin his life in Senegal - beginning with finding a language school and a place to stay, and setting up a telephone system and bank account, and buying some necessary groceries.

Senegal is located at the west end of Africa facing the Atlantic Ocean. I was expecting a summer with a really blue sky. But, it was the dry season in Senegal and the air was very hazy from the flying sands off of the Sahara. Especially the first day I arrived at Thies, I had a little bit of difficulty breathing. We were introduced to Rodale's staff and had a meeting to confirm what needed to be done before my return to the US. The next day we came back to Dakar and began preparation for Mr. Oketani's life. We missed Ms. Vore, the director of the Rodale Institute of Senegal, because she was out of the country. However, with the great help of Mr. Pape Kane Diallo, who is responsible for communication, we found a language school, named Baobab Training and Resource Center; and the school introduced him to a family to stay with. Also, the telephone and the bank were all taken care of with the help of Mr. Diallo. Since Mr. Oketani doesn't speak French or English, we thought he might need some help from the Japanese embassy. However, when we visited the embassy the following day we were very disappointed with their lack of responsiveness. We were assured that reliable help would be local people, like the staff of the Rodale Institute. Mr. Oketani really understood that he needed to learn French to survive in Senegal.

People's life in Senegal is very, very humble compared with our life in the US and Japan. Because of the dry season, I guess, we couldn't find many fresh vegetables in the market. There were small potatoes, and tomatoes, but most of the green vegetables were withered. Even expensive meals at hotels, foods tend to be animal products: meat, fish, ham, roast beef, and eggs. Fresh vegetables primarily were tomato and a little bit of lettuce. Mr. Oketani has been enjoying naturally grown vegetables for the last ten years in Japan, and it will be very difficult for him to adjust. CNN was the only English program on TV. There were many reports from developing countries, like India, Southeast Asia, Central and South America and other African countries. When I saw news about these countries in the US, those were distant countries for me. But when I saw the same news in Senegal, one of the developing countries, they were all very real. And I was surprised to notice that there are so many people who need help on this Earth.

One morning Mr. Oketani said, "Day by day, the day I will be alone is coming closer." I could imagine he felt helpless from what we had seen in the city and from not being able to speak the language which people use. On the 28th, he moved in with the Mané family where he was going to stay for the next three months. Mr. & Mrs. Mané have five boys and four girls. Mr. Mané was out of the country for work; their eldest son was in France to study; and two of the daughters were married. But on the weekend many family members got together and had a lot of laughing and fun. They were all warmhearted people. Mrs. Mané said, "When you are with us, you are part of my family. Don't worry about anything." One by one, brothers and sisters came into his room and tried to talk and teach him the language. If we could forget the standard of life in America and Japan and just enjoy the life of Senegal from the heart, there couldn't be a more ideal place to learn French and the culture of Senegal. It would be very difficult to find such a warm family to do a home-stay with in the US. We joined their Moslem evening Sampai, and dinner was served. We ate with the right hand only. There were broiled fish and tomatoes on top of a lot of fresh lettuce. When I saw that lettuce, I really appreciated how much we were welcomed!

Then, I left him alone and went to the airport by taxi. I would like to pray for the future growth of this seed in the soil of Africa, sown with a strong commitment to help people.

FROM SHUMEI MAGAZINE, VOL. 212, APRIL, 1998