The Village of Keur Mory Fall At a Glance
The village of Keur Mory is located in the outskirts of the city of Thies at 80 km from Dakar, the Senegalese capital. It’s a charming village with a population of about 538 , 53% men and 47%women. Long seen as a center of knowledge regionwide, Keur Mory has not failed to become but the shadow of its own self due to wear and tear.
A Glimpse of History
The village was founded in 1885 by Mory Fall, the pioneer who travelled down there from Cayor land, interior of Senegal. They were greeted welcome, him with a few companions, by the Serers of Ngolar village who then helped them explore the area. So they cut down trees, cleared up grounds, and set domicile on that piece of land that currently bears his name. Their main occupation was learning the Qur’an and Farming.
Keur Mory Fall (the house of Mory Fall, in Ouolof language) is also called Tawa Fall. Tawa comes from "Tawakkaltu" meaning in Arabic "I put all my trust in God".
Mory held the throne for 25 years from 1885 to 1910. After his passing his children respectively took the helm, Ndeye Fa Jaay Fall 1910-1925, Mor Anta Fall 1925-1945, Ibra Anta Fall 1945-1950. After that the grandson Mory Fall III sat from 1950 to 1970, but due to health reasons he moved to the city of Thies. Prior to his departure, he entrusted the throne to his cousin Tekhe Jaay who held the reign until recently when he felt that the weight of his age calls for a successor. From that point on, Mbaye Fall, the current village chief and son of Mory Fall III, was called to take over.
Keur Mory Fall Significant Events
1910: First village chief installed.
1958: First manual water well digged.
1966: A devastating famine occurred that spread all across the area.
1973: A fierce fire burned almost all the village down.
1985: A few dams were built by villagers in order to retain more rain water. It allowed them to diversify their farming activities and garden products.
1988: First water borehole was digged plus the construction of a water tower - after a woman fell in to the well of the Village at 2:00 am.
2002: Second Masjid (mosque) built.
2004: Inauguration of the new Masjid by Serigne Abdul Aziz Sy Al Amin.
Life Then and Now
For decades Keur Mory main activity was agriculture such as peanuts, millet, cassava, hibiscus, market garden products, a few livestock and some commerce. Rain was abundant and farming very profitable. Nearly all of the vegetables like tomato, eggplant, okra, cassava etc.. that Keur Mory was consuming on a daily basis came from the farms. It was a prosperous time, and there was no reason for people to leave the village for their livelihood. So the village never experienced rural exodus
But over time, with the chronic drought and scarcity of resources, the village got hit with poverty and hunger, the social and economic fabric of the community started to unravel. Young people seeing that leaving the village may be a source of new opportunities did not hesitate to do so since there is no much in the village to hold them back.
Amazingly despite these tremendous hurdles, people who stay don’t give up, they show resiliency and fight not only for survival but also for emergence. Keur Mory created a first GIE (economic interest group) mixte for both men and women and it has been operating for several years; and not long ago another one for women only. These GIE’s are engaged in AGR (income-generating activities) that are profitable like the transformation of local cereals using cereal mills that transform cereals into the delicious Senegalese couscous. There is soap transformation activity as well to name a few. Unfortunately most of these machines are currently out of service or broken due to lack of maintenance and/ or renewal.
All in all the village’s effort and courage in face of these tremendous challenges deserved to be supported, it’s a great community of people who take the fight head on and work relentlessly to overcome the status quo in order to ensure a better future for themselves and their posterity. They believe it is possible as they bear in mind a vivid memory of that period of prosperity they once enjoyed during the lost happy years.