Down on the Farm

I've been keeping busy 'round the village these days. I'm still waiting for school to start but I'm relatively certain classes will start next Monday. I've planted some sunflowers in front of my house, and I've got some garlic and onion growing pretty well there too. I've also been making small improvements for the coming year and hoping to make my house as nice as possible.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited out to the farm f a friend. Getting up at 7AM I made myself a pot of real coffee, listened to the news, and did a sodoku. According to the BBC the Western world is suffering a major tempest, even football (soccer) teams are watching the horizon so you know it's bad. After cafinating my self and thawing my brain, I gt on my bike and made the 9k jaunt out to a farming settlement northwest of Ouedeme.

Arriving there surprised the locals, most of whom never even make it to the paved road. Children ran around yelling "Yovo, yovo!" as children do. When I made my to my friends' family compound I was warmly greeted and quickly exhausted my minute Fon vocabulary. I came with the desire to do a little work in the fields and learn a little about Beninese farming techniques. My friend, Alban, all of the sudden seemed a little skittish about me doing any sort of manual labor. After I pushed, he said we would, but he wanted to visit his sister first. So we walked through the village, saying hello to everyone.

We sat and spoke with his sister a while, scared some children, made some others laughed. And then we had to eat. Igname pile at 9AM is not the lightest breakfast faire. Luckily, ignames are one of my favorite Beninese foods. So I dug in. After that we walked back to his parent's compound and sat down for... some more igname. This time boiled (think boiled potato) with a chili-oil dipping sauce. It was delicious, but I was full and was scolded for not eating enough.

Large-bellied and full I was sitting under a mango tree surrounded by small children. So naturally I started to entertain them. I pulled out my camera and we had some fun to pass the time. The kids here are such hams, and when they see that they can see themselves on screen they get blown away. Even the most timid children start to perform for the camera. They couldn't get enough.

Eventually, it was time to take a walk and we went to tour the fields. Alban said it was too hot to work that day, and to his credit none of the other men in the settlement seemed to be out, so I gave up on any hope of doing some real work. The family's fields were packed with lush green bushes of soybeans. Its about midway through the season now, the harvest will come in Dec. I'm planning on gorging myself on edemame.

The farming system is pretty interesting. The largest part is, of course, for the father. Everyone has a section for himself or herself. In the mornings the family members all work the father's land and in the afternoons, if all the work is finished, they start in on their own plots. It seemed like everyone had been doing a pretty good job at managing both responsibilities.

Back at the house it was time to start dinner. In my honor they decided to kill a cock. So the father called all the children and told them to go catch it. The kids scattered to hunt down the ill-fated bird, and I chased, camera in hand. There seemed to be much argument about where the chicken had gotten off to. He seemed to have heard them talk about his demise and decided to make a run for it. He was found on the outside of the settlement, and chased back in. He dashed into a dense grove of banana trees and the children were forced to go around. Slashing at the foliage with sticks they kids couldn't seem to find him. As they returned some one yelled they saw it on the other edge of the clearing, and the mini-hunter swarmed in that direction.

They chased it through a fence, knocking down a makeshift structure, and still couldn't seem to catch it. Round and round they went. Eventually I heard a big cheer. I came around the corner and it turns out there was a guy sitting in his house watching the kids and chicken from his couch. So he picked up his slingshot and killed it from where he was sitting.

Papa cut the chicken's neck neck with a pretty dull blade and Mama got started on cooking dinner. The two young boys pounded the igname when they were boiled enough and then it was time to eat. We moved into a dark mud-brick hut for the meal. The sauce consisted of sesame, palm oil sauce served frequently with igname pile.

Soon after dinner I had to get back on my bike if I was going to make it before the sun went down. So we said our good byes and I thanked them for a great afternoon. I took a family photo for them because their son is moving away to go to a higher-level school. Making my way home I felt a lot of the stress I had about my return to Benin. These types of days are why I love life here.

Backer Than Ever

I'm back from Morocco and France. It was so great to spend some time with my family in Bretagne. I wish Kelly and Ian could have made it. The food and wine were excellent; I ate till it hurt everyday and soaked up the sun at the beach as often as possible. I had my two and a half weeks of adventure and now it's time to get serious again.

I hit the ground at 3AM Thursday morning and got a hotel room at PC mainstay: Les Hirondelles (a bug infested hoetel we like to call home when we come to Cotonou). Dragging myself out of bed and into the bureau, I learned that my medical review had to be changed because I couldn't stay in the medunit all weekend. No big deal, it was changed to that same day. I gave "samples" and was poked and proded until the doctor was satisfied that I could survive another year. Then I was free to be on my way.

In my email I was informed that my Moringa grant proposal just needed minor tweaking before it could be put up for review next week. Excited, I celebrated by watching some episodes of the Office and eating Ramen.

I go back to post tomorrow. I'm really relieved to go home. School starts in a week or two (maybe) and I'm looking forward to structure in my life again. All of that good French food and Moroccan adventure is really only tolerable for so long, ya know?

Time is a Human Construct

Having just returned from my excursion to Morocco and France, I have come face to face with the fact that I can not possibly post the blow-by-blow of my travels. Yet it is insufficient to simply sweep them under the rug and move forward. So I've struck a deal with the forces of the universe, and from this day forward I will be spontaneously taking the Hillbilly back in time every so often to cover my travels. If you are really impatient my father has posted a couple of entries and photos on our time along the Bretagne coast at Exechobos.

Thank you,
The Managment

The Great Escape

I did it! Along with my travel partner and fellow PCV Anna, I took to my heels for two and a half weeks of vacation. We couldn't have had an easier time getting out of Benin. Our flight left before dawn but we had no trouble getting out of bed and through the airport process. The airplane food on Royal Air Moroc was incredible. We hadn't seen anything like it in over a year. The plane was even comfortable. We were off to a good start.

Landing in Casablanca, things went smoothly. I checked no luggage (it's a hereditary obsession) so I skated through customs with the wave of a uniformed hand. Things get better when a train was leaving just as I changed my dollars to Dirhams. Anna and I jumped aboard and were off on the second leg of our journey in a new land.

We took another train for Marrakesh and met some Algerian restaurateurs also vacationing in Morocco. They couldn't have been nicer and it was a really interesting culturral exchange. We looked at photos and were told that we must pay their country a visit some day, perhaps. But for now we simply absorbed the Moroccan country side.

The train floated smoothly amongst the rocky, burnt orange hills. The broad slowly winding rivers were bordered with rugged, weather-beaten trees and spatterings of farmland enclosed with fences of cacti. Soon we found ourselves in Marrakesh.

Arriving in Marrakesh we were charged with energy. The city was beautiful and though our loads were heavy we decided to walk through the Ville Nouvelle. the Ville Nouvelle is comprised of new buildings and developments, grand hotels, malls, an opera house and all the trappings that come with large-scale development. Coming from Benin it was like a walk through a wonderland. I would eventually develop a hunger for something more traditional and historic, but for now I was content to be walking down clean streets and taking in the landscaping. The first thing we did was head straight for the supermarket. The plan was to buy supplies for three days of hiking and set off again immediately for the countryside.

An hour and a half later we decided to scrap the rest of the day's itinerary and spend an extra night in Marrakesh. We found a hotel in a small back alley away from most of the other tourist trap joints and got a room. The hotel was beautiful. Two floors, built in a traditional Moroccan style with rooms opening to a small tiled courtyard in the center. Our room had high ceilings, was beautifully painted and impeccably clean. We had a window to the alleyway decorated with ornate filigree. We couldn't have been happier. We showered, and took off to see the evening scene. The sun was coming down and it was almost time to break the Ramadan fast.

Arriving at the square in the center of the old city we took in the bright lights and chatted with a number of guys who do nothing but try to get passersby to eat at this or that stand. After a while we told one of them we would be back soon and made our first foray into the alleys that make up the market. Too thin to drive a car through, the Moroccans have no problem zipping up and down the thoroughfares on scooters and bicycles. Making things more treacherous are the shops that line either side of the street and the bright colored goods they are stuffed full of. We ran into some friends from Benin and made plans to meet up later. We walked until we couldn't ignore the growing void in our stomachs and we turned back.

At the “snak” (small grill-fry stands serving all kinds of street food) we were treated to the complimentary bowl of zesty Moroccan olives, a pepper sauce, a tomato sauce, and some thick Nan. We dug in as we waited for our waiter to bring us some grilled meats and sauteed eggplant. When he did, we could hardly believe the feast we had ordered. We enjoyed everything so much but eventually reached our limit.

We met back up with our friends from Benin and went out to a local club full of Moroccan kids sitting around drinking coke and smoking. It was a pretty tame scene. We didn't last too long, the trip was long so we went to get some rest.

Work Hard, Play Hard

It’s been nearly a month now since I've posted last. I've been pretty busy. I've been criss-crossing the country trying to get a grant proposal finished in time for the dead line. The goal of the project is to increase access to Moringa leaf powder so as to help fight malnutrition and improve the health of mothers and their children.

It has been really interesting to organize something like this. I have been pressing my work partner to keep things moving. He has been very busy due to the release of a new album and the cancellation of his vacation from the health center. We have moved the site of the trees 3 times now and had to change many other things about the project. I have learned a lot about aid work and the challenges of working in a developing nation in a capacity other than teaching.

A week ago, I sent my proposal off to USAID where they will scrutinize it and send it back (only once hopefully) so I can change a thing or two. With any luck I should be accepted and receiving money soon after my trip to Morocco and France. We will begin construction on a fence and start getting to work.

I have been around volunteers almost constantly this last month and it’s been more difficult than I thought. I had become so acclimated to being surrounded by Beninese and living my life accordingly. My French has suffered terribly, but the good news is some of my English is coming back to me. I have had some great experiences though.

I have even had a few visitors to my post and we went to the Igname Pile Fete in a near by town (think Gilroy Garlic Festival or your local chili cook-off). We got to Savalou (about 40k from my village) at around 10am on the morning of the 15th. We started to walk around and look for beer and food. To our surprise there wasn’t much going on and Igname Pile proved to be a bit elusive. After a long day and night of celebration the sky opened up and it began pouring. The party was over and it was time to rest.

This past week has brought me back down to Cotonou after only one week at post. I came down for our national Volunteer Action Committee meeting (VAC). VAC is a PC function through which the administration and staff communicate with volunteers via their elected representatives. My peers chose me as the rep from the Zou-Collines department of Benin. So quarterly I will be coming down to Cotonou to meet with staff and discuss issues, policy and concerns of volunteers. I will then be taking that information back to our quarterly meeting. It is an interesting process as many of the different districts have distinct personalities and there seems to be a rift in the points of view held by northern and southern volunteers.

This week was also the swearing-in ceremony/ 40th anniversary celebration of PC Benin. It was a huge to-do held in the Congressional building here in Cotonou. It was strange to see such a massive and well-built building here in Benin. It was fully funded by the Chinese, as many large-scale construction projects are in West Africa. There were many media outlets present, and a lot off top-Beninese brass. Our regional director, country director, some other bigwigs from neighboring countries and a hundred or two volunteers represented PC. It was a great publicity event for PC. It was also very interesting to see new volunteers coming in. As they were taking the oath I couldn’t help but think of the last year of my life and everything I’ve been fortunate to do and learn.

Other than that I am still searching for toothpaste donations from America, which my sister has agreed to help me seek out. If you can help, let me know via email. I think I can fund the shipping through a small grant. Art supplies for my art club are also in great need, so if you could do a drive for them at your job, please let me know!

Last but not least, I’m leaving; getting out of the country, region, and off the continent. Tomorrow morning I ‘m heading out for Morocco. I’ve been planning this excursion for months and it’s finally going to happen. I’m sort of in a state of disbelief. I even feel a little guilty about leaving. It seems absurd when I write it down, but it seems odd that I can just leave like this and all of my friends in village dream of traveling outside of Benin. It is simply difficult to rectify the difference in freedoms based on birthplace. Americans can go where they want when they want with few exceptions. Beninese people (and many other Africans) on the other hand, often deal with extremely corrupt and expensive visa processes, taking visas out of the hands of all but the super-rich. Not to mention that they are limited to small numbers, making traveling a pipedream for most of them.

Still I am excited to see new places and go on new adventures. I’m going to get reacquainted with protein, vegetables, and my dear old friends cheese and butter. I’ve said goodbye to Nescafe; and am secretly looking forward to a passionate relationship with real coffee for the next couple of weeks.

Villageois Gourmet

Cooking like a Peace Corps Volunteer

It probably doesn't need to be said that not all the same foods are available here in Benin. While globalization is very real and it is true that each month one can find a new “Western” product off one kind or another, day to day life in Benin requires countless changes. One of the areas of greatest areas of adjustment one goes through while living abroad in the developing world. Changing eating habits are unavoidable, but sometimes the lure of familiar dishes is enough inspiration to overcome any challenges.

I thought it might be interesting to post a recipe now and then to share some off my favorite dishes. Since Mexican food is what I miss most, I thought it would be a good starting point. Its vegetarian, but not vegan because of the Maggi (see below), the cube you find there may or may not be.

Fake Meat Tacos

Tortillas: Makes 12 tortillas, or 8 with chip/churos.

ingredients:
2 cu flour
2 Tbs oil
salt (pinch)
½ tsp baking soda
½ cu water
directions:
1.mix dry ingredients
2.fold in water and oil
3.roll dough into balls about the size of a ping-pong ball.
4.let sit covered 20 minutes
5.use a bottle (I like empty wine bottles) as a rolling pin and flatten tortillas as much as possible
6.sprinkle them with a little extra flour to keep them from sticking when stacked
7.fry in a dry frying pan

Refried Black Beans:

ingredients:
beans
salt
onion
garlic
chili peppers
oil
directions:
1.sort out rocks, bugs, bad beans
2.soak beans over night
3.boil till very soft
4.drain off some excess, leaving a bit
5.mash beans
6.heat oil in pan and fry garlic, onion, and peppers
7.add beans and fry and mix to your liking
note: As far as I know can only be found in one marche in all of Benin, but they are grown here.

Salsa:
ingredients:
20 small marche tomatoes
½ tiny limes
3 cloves of imported Chinese garlic
2 Tbs oil
salt
chili peppers
directions:
1.blacken tomatoes in a hot dry pan or over flame
2.submerge tomatoes in a ziplock to cool
3.chop/mince other veggies according to taste
4.juice and add limes
5.salt to taste
6.when cool, chunk tomatoes and mash
7.mix ingredients and return to ziplock and water to keep cool

note: I'm currently growing cilantro which should make my salsa and guac , and thus my life, 3 or 4X better.

Fake Chicken:
ingredients:
soy mince
onion
green bell pepper
garlic
Maggi cube (its a little like bullion cube, we can buy chicken or shrimp in Benin)
Oil
taco seasoning (not found in country, time to call in a favor)
directions:
1.boil soy mince until thoroughly tender
2.strain and press as much water out as possible
3.mince the onion and garlic
4.mix a little water and cube
5.heat oil, fry the onion and garlic
6.add bell pepper, soy and mixture of cube and water
7.mix in taco seasoning
8.fry until water is evaporated and soy begins to brown like ground meat

notes: Soy mince is a little like Textured Vegetable Protien but I've never seen it in the states, its dried bits a touch more dense then tofu. This can't be found in village, so I have to buy this in bulk in the cities when I travel.

I've got the bad luck of having no meat for sale in my village, and no refrigeration, so I use soy/Maggi combinations quite a bit. The longer I'm here the more this really starts to taste like chicken, sad I know. I may buy a few chickens of my own this year and try to raise my own if I have time.

Chips/Churros:
ingredients:
tortilla batter
oil
salt
cinnamon/sugar
directions:
1.roll out and cut up dough into triangles
2.heat oil in pan
3.for churros: dip in cinnamon and sugar then roll into tubes
4.fry until crisp
5.for chips: right after frying, toss in salt

THATS IT!
Get your salsa out of the bag and slice up some cabbage really thin and you're ready to go.
Everything here takes me a few hours or so, not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

One Year Deep

I realized many of my entries thus far have said little of my work. Well the school year is over, the grades have been calculated for more than a month now, and I have had a chance to relax. A couple of weeks a go I got to thinking about the little time I have left here in Benin and what I wanted to accomplish before setting out on a new course. While it doesn't always feel like it, two years pass far too quickly. In the coming year I have 4 projects I hope to complete other than teaching:

1: Art Club
Art in Benin is something largely left to the professionals. The Beninese are not given many opportunities to manifest their world view through artistic expression. Children simply do not have access to supplemental resources, but when given the opportunity they jump at it. So in the coming school year I am hoping to put together a group that meets a couple of times each month to create little projects. Resources are scarce in village but I am hoping to use largely found objects and cheap supplies so that they can continue once I'm gone. I would also like to give the students the opportunity to work with some media that they haven't encountered before. I am looking to get tempera paints black construction paper, and anything else I can sent over from the states for a few projects I have in mind. If you have any interest in supporting this project, I could really use the help.

2: Toothbrushing Club
Most children here come from very poor families who have difficulty covering school fees each year, so dental hygiene is not a high priority. It is rare to see an elder person with all of their teeth, and often those they do have a have been ravaged by cavities and tooth decay. In an effort to instill good habits in some kids I have devised a program that will teach children the importance of good dental care.

Traditionally, Beninese people chew small pieces of wood every morning to clean their teeth, this is a practice pattern that continues to this day.  When there is a tooth problem children and adults alike are given a strong alcohol infused with roots as a traditional cure.  Due to these practices, dental problems are nearly guaranteed to the young people off my village.  Behavioral change is the most difficult part of development/aid work, by starting young I am hoping to instill the importance and acceptance of dental hygiene at an early age so these children will avoid some of the pitfalls of their parents.

In the coming school year I am hoping to organize a dental hygiene club with some of the students at the school.  To help share the responsibility for their own dental health, I am requiring that the students themselves purchase the tooth brushes which can be found in our market for about $0.25.  The project will supply the students with toothpaste every morning, five days a week for one school year.  Each morning we will brush together before class.  The students will also be taught the signs of tooth decay and what to do in the case of a cavity or other malady.  This will also help to ensure the students arrive on time to class every morning.

To supply the toothpaste I am hoping to find donors in America to materialize 200 tubes of toothpaste for 300 kids, that should cover the entire school year.  If you know anyone with connections that could help, I would really appreciate a hand.

3: An Introductory Computer Classification
I have arranged cheap access to the computers at a local cyber for a group of 10 teachers and professionals. I will give rudimentary computer literacy lessons for 4 days in things such as typing and mouse use. Hopefully this will become a monthly get together. These skills are becoming increasingly important in Benin, especially for teachers who have little resources to work with in the classroom. I'll write updates on how things go.

4: Moringa Powder

What is the largest and most serious of my new projects is a field I am planting with an NGO in my village to plant an orchard of trees known as Moringa Oleifera. Malnutrition is a huge problem in Benin, specifically for mothers and young children. Malnutrition, and low birthweight lead to numerous health problems, diseases, and exacerbate the effects of diseases like malaria all over Africa. It also contributes to a staggering rate of infant mortality (13% here in Benin).

What we are hoping to do is manufacture a powder from the dried leaves of the tree which we will sell to local health centers. We will also give information sessions on the dangers of malnutrition and how to avoid it through cooking with Moringa.

I am currently writing a grant proposal to fund our project. We have started with 50 plants and they are doing extremely well. If everything goes well we should have 800 trees planted soon and a fence built to protect them. One of my favorite parts of this project is that it is economically and environmentally sustainable. The trees are excellent for inter-cropping and the profits from the sale will ensure that the NGO doesn't have to come looking for aid money every year.

I'm hoping I can get all of these organized before the school year starts so that I'm not scrambling once things heat up. If you can help with the toothpaste or the art supplies, just write me a quick note.