Agroforestry Resouce Center/Library

One problem I have noticed doing the work I do in village, is that often there are many groups that pass through, NGOs, or developmental branches of government or corporations, each telling the same message about the importance of trees, etc. Often these organizations have many helpful documents, technical sheets, posters, literature, but they are in their various offices in other towns or cities. I also have many resources, posters I use for presentations, books and booklets I've picked up. So I proposed the construction of a tiny room central to the village, maybe 4 meters by 4 meters. The villagers were interested in this idea, and already had a spot--a building they had built with their Sodecoton GIC, but which has never been finished, nor is used for much other than some church group singing practices once a week, or a place to house big groups of people passing the night. It is three rooms, two small rooms and one big classroom, so we are taking the small outside room, renovating it by finishing it with ciment, doors, windows, and bookshelves, to exist as a small type library or place to put all these agro related documents. We've already been using the classroom for some classes, as it has a chalkboard, and is a better choice than the usual using the church, a habit which prevents the Muslims in the village from attending events. We wrote a proposal with budget and presented it to the Commune, and they agreed to fund it. The money was received last month, and "construction" should be finished shortly.
One might say, "well, the village is not very literate, and even those that do read don't read much--there's not a very academic culture." However it will also include photos, posters, and other resouces, as well as serving as a from time to time office for the Peace Corps Volunteer. It is nice to have a spot to go to once a week, where people in the community can come if they want to find you or have questions, and for that spot not to be your house. So to me, having these resources in one place, and being there to explain them, and other questions, seems like it might be as good as the meeting place under a tree in the market. We'll see how it works out. Maybe it won't work, but I think it is worth a shot.

the door on the left is the to-be-refurbished room; the one on the right is the classroom