In Jamali village we welcome our guests in a traditional way. Visitors arrive from the river by horse and cart, which we call the Jamali ferry. When they reach the village road, people are waiting to greet them with our traditional music.

We play the Riti, a traditional instrument of the Fula culture, together with drums, and we welcome our guests with singing and dancing. We also wear traditional dress to show our culture and to make visitors feel at home in the community.

After the welcome, we explore more of our village and then share a simple breakfast with our guests. One of the dishes we serve is a rice pudding called Gosi in our local language meaning Grandma's Porrige.

Because I speak both Fula and English, I can help visitors and villagers understand each other. This allows conversations to flow naturally and helps guests learn more about our way of life.

My education began in my village of Jamali Ganyado, where I attended the Lower Basic School. For Upper Basic School I travelled to Jarumeh Koto, about three kilometres from my village. Later I left the village to complete my secondary education in the Kombos on the coast.

As a village, Jamali decided to share our community and Fula traditions through community-based tourism, and I was involved in the training from the very start. I took part in the first training programme, which iwas introduced by the Trainers of Trainers  of JUS ACT.

Through community-based tourism I have learned a lot about other people and their cultures. When visitors come, I observe how they dance with people in our village. Their dancing style is different from ours, and I realise that the way people dance and dress is part of their culture too.

For me, community-based tourism has been very important. Before the project started, I was in the village without work. When CBT was introduced, I had the opportunity to become a tour guide. It created a job for me and allowed me to share my culture and experience with visitors.

I am very happy to welcome guests to Jamali and to show them our way of life.