Prof. Katie Baird’s hot-off-the-press memoir chronicles her experiences in the Peace Corps during the mid-1980s, and her ongoing relationship with the West African village where she lived. Baird writes of her time in the country of Mauritania during a devastating 20-year drought where she was tasked with teaching the local farmers how to grow rice — despite having little agricultural knowledge or experience.

In her memoir, Prof. Baird recounts the lessons she learned about the economics of rice growing, reflects on the inadequate and uninformed ways that outsiders “help” citizens in places like Mauritania, and describes the deep relationships she formed with residents in the village of Cive.

Congratulations to Katie for the publication of this important work!

Listen to Katie discuss her memoir in  this UW Tacoma podcast, or learn more about Growing Mangos in the Desert: a memoir of life in a Mauritanian village here.