Fufu Explained

Seeing that fufu is such a main part of my life and diet here, I have decided to explain it in full. It is the staple food here in the South West. It is eaten with any and all soups that people prepare. If you ask someone what their favorite food is, 90% chance they’ll answer “fufu.” They won’t even qualify a soup or something to go with it. It’s just a gooey ball of starch with a bit of a twang, but people here love it, and I must admit, I’ve become rather fond of it as well.

Making fufu is one of the most laborious, most intensive, most ridiculous endeavors that I have ever seen. The process lasts over 6 days. That’s right, over 6 days to prepare just one portion of your meal. Talk about commitment. The women here do it around the clock so that their families have a continuous supply of fufu.

First, you harvest the cassava plant. These plants take 2 years to mature (again, see previous comments about commitment). They have to harvest roughly 8 square feet of land to produce one vat. Cassava is a root, and is similar to other tubers. It is elongated like a yam, with a thick brown skin and a white flesh. This is what will eventually become fufu. To start the process, you clean and peel the cassava. Then you soak it in water for 3 days. It sits in a giant pot, near the fire during those days. From time to time you stir the contents of the pot and mush the cassava. 

After three days you strain the remaining chucky cassava from the cassava water. You throw out the leftover root and keep the starchy water. You put this strained mixture into bags and again let it sit for 3 days. Then you strain the excess water out of the bag and keep a gooey cassava paste. This is then pounded and it becomes a crumbly, clotted dough. To prepare this, you mix it with water over the fire. You then remove it from the fire and pound it, adding water as needed. 

Finally, it is ready to be molded into balls. You finally have your ball of fufu, ready to eat. One batch lasts about a week or two, depending on how often you substitute other starches for your meal. 

More On the Water Project

The project in Akid is truly almost finished now! It feels like I’ve been saying that to myself for quite a while now (because I have been), and I don’t want to get my hopes up too much, but I think it’s really within sight now! We’ve had to adapt our plan yet again, but hopefully it will make for a more sustainable and lasting system. The river we initially wanted to use has become to powerful for people to enter it to manipulate to our purposes, and it looks like the dam will sustain damages every rainy season. Therefore, we have decided to use a nearby smaller stream as an additional source. This stream dries up in the dry season, but is clean and pure and is sufficient in the rainy season. We will hook it up to the system so that in the rainy season, the small stream (which they have named “Albert Mndep” or Albert Water) will provide the water to the filter, but that in the dry season, when it is workable, the larger river will again be responsible for supplying the system. In some ways this is preferable because if one source fails, the other will serve as a backup while the community fixes the problem, and the smaller stream provides better quality water anyway. The people have already made the initial connection of the small stream. They have also created a holding pool for the water and a place for the pump and finished all the pipeline. Our last steps will include installing the pump and laying the pipes and then building standtaps. 

How I Once Spent Three and a Half Hours Trying to Send an Email

This is the true story of how I spent an entire morning attempting to send a single email. I was in the big town, where they have stale baguettes, yogurt, several bars, and, most importantly, internet. Needless to say, it’s a pretty exciting place to visit. I had some work to do and was planning on using some of that precious internet. I left the house around 8:00 am to go to the internet café. The ma was just setting the place up. I had to wait for the computer to turn on and then the ma activated the internet key. After several minutes, the home page loaded and I signed in to my account. I noticed one particular email that was important to respond to, and started with that. I began writing my response (it was a bit lengthy), when about half way through, the power went out. The computer shut off and I lost everything I had written. It was a bit disheartening and frustrating, but what could I do? I’m sorry to say, I did not learn from my mistake. After waiting for the ancient computer to start up again and reactivating the internet, I began working on my response for a second time. I figured since I already had the main ideas worked out form the previous attempt, if I just wrote it quickly, things would be okay. Unfortunately, I did not write quickly enough. Just as I was wrapping up the email, the power shut off for a second time. I lost every thing again. Now, I was just plain frustrated. By now, over an hour had passed. (Which the ma kindly reminded me as she demanded I pay for internet use). I might have been fooled once, but by this time I was smart enough to learn form my mistake. I decided to go and write the email from my own computer at home and then put it onto a flash drive and email it. I went home and wrote out the email without any hitch. Great, I thought, now all I have to do is upload it onto a computer and send it, it’ll be over and done with in just a few minutes. Wrong. I really should have known better, I should not still be so naïve. I went back to the internet café, flash drive in hand. Power was back on, but now the internet network was down. I waited around for about ten minutes to see if it would come back on, but I eventually had to give up. I then went to a different internet café to see if they had a working connection. The place was open, but no one was in. I called the number written on the shop to let them know I was here. The auntie said she had stepped out, but that she would come right away. I sat down to wait. Some little kids came up to me and played with my hair and sang songs to me. That was nice. They did that for over half an hour, because that’s about how long it took for the auntie to show up. She came and switched on the computer and set me up. I plugged in my flash drive and opened up the internet. I went to log in when the computer froze. I had to relocate the auntie, who had disappeared again, and after tampering with the machine for a bit, she decided it would have to be restarted. I waited for the computer to restart. When that was finally accomplished, we activated the internet again. I tried to open the home page, but nothing happened. Her credit for the internet had finished. She would have to add credit to her account. She removed the key and went off to purchase more credit. This also took about half an hour. She finally came back and then went through about ten minutes of activation procedure. She plugged in the key again and the internet worked. I logged into my account, copy and pasted my email, and pressed send. At last, I had finished my mission. My mission of sending one email. It was now past 11:30 am. And that’s how I spent my entire morning trying to send an email.

On a similar note, if you ever feel like I’m not communicating with you enough or I don’t write often, please, it’s nothing personal. It’s to preserve my own mental health. 

RADD Graduation

On this past Wednesday 17 students graduated from my Riders Against Drunk Driving program. It was a very successful event. I was incredibly happy to have so many participants and to have all of them do so well. 

The program covered the effects of alcohol, ranging from its effects on driving to risky behaviors like unsafe sex and violence. The number of riders who reported never drinking after driving went up 20% after completing the program. Similarly, the number of riders who reported never carrying passengers after drinking also increased. 100% of riders stated it was unsafe to drink after driving. The amount of participants who reported using contraception increased. In fact, there was a 20% increase in people who reported always using condoms, with 0% reporting never using them (compared to 18% before the program). Additionally, a total of 69% of participants reported using a condom the last time they engaged in sexual activities, an increase of 22%. Previously, over half of the participants reported not using a condom the last time they had had sex; this number dropped to only four people after the class. Upon completing the course, the riders received certificates and bumper stickers to put on their bikes signifying that they were graduates of the safe driving program. I’m incredibly grateful to the riders who attended the program for being so engaged and making it such a success! 

Akid This Week

The engineer for the water project has returned to Cameroon after a month break and things are back in motion. We went up to Akid and stayed there from Friday to Monday to do work. Unfortunately, the water project has suffered several setbacks recently. The main problem is that the river from which we are supposed to collect water is incredibly strong as it is now rainy season here. It pours every singe day. This makes it very hard to create the stone dam necessary to divert the river water to the filtration system. The people of Akid have created the dam several times, only to have the river break it apart in the following days. The engineer worked with them to correct the dam and altered the building technique slightly so that it won’t fall again. We were only able to start the corrections, but the community should be working on it for the next week or so to complete it. We also discovered a problem with the constructed water filter. Our local technician slightly misinterpreted the plans, and put a pipe in the filter where it is not supposed to be. He will have to patch it and put the pipe in the proper location. Not exactly what we wanted, but at least it’s easily remedied. Other than those alterations, we were able to map out a new part of the pipeline near the dam site and were able to design a path that saves materials. The community will also continue to dig and modify the existing pipeline. Hopefully the work won’t take too long and the engineer will be able to come back soon so we can connect everything and finish up!

Truth be told, however, my favorite part of visiting Akid is not the project, but rather the level of hospitality shown to me and the knowledge I learn while there. I walk up there almost everyday of the week, but the people are always especially excited to have me stay the night. They never disappoint. This time, a child killed a viper on Friday, I saw a chameleon on Saturday, and I had my hair braided by a group of girls on Sunday. 

Whenever I stay the night, I stay with the family of the Chief’s brother. They have a traditional outdoor kitchen, a plank house, and an open-air latrine. The village is without water and without electricity. I normally sit in the kitchen with the children and the mother and “help” prepare meals. Mostly I just sit and stay warm, as they don’t want me to work, and, let’s be honest, am not very good at pounding fufu. At night, I share a bed with the mother. They heat water for my bucket bath, which I take behind the house in order to bathe. They are some of the most welcoming people I have ever met. They are unbelievably kind and friendly and attentive. They always try to prepare my favorite dishes and collect my favorite fruits from their farm. The father is always willing to discuss local traditions with me, which is a good thing because I’m always fascinated and ask a thousand questions. This time, he told me about the ancestors.

People here believe in the spiritual powers of their family’s ancestors. They pray to them and ask them for guidance. We had been discussing a traditional remedy for being poisoned, which included some sort of terrible sounding step in which you created a system of dots in your skin with a razor and then filled them with the venom of a stinging caterpillar. I joked that if I were ever poisoned I did not want that treatment and he should just take me to the hospital instead. He said that that type of poison witchcraft wouldn’t work on me anyway. This then led to the discussion of why I would be immune, which led us to the ancestors. He told me that I would not be poisoned because the ancestors would protect me. They would not allow it to happen. They would not permit the poison to work. I have my own ancestors, but while I am here, the ancestors of this village are also responsible for me. My own ancestors do not fully understand or cannot fully protect me, and so the ancestors of his own family or other families here team up with my own ancestors to aid me. Any time that someone is poisoned or harmed, it is because the ancestors allow it to happen. The ancestors here know that I am important to this village and won’t allow harm to happen to me. He communicates to his ancestors during dreams, and they have asked about me, and he has explained my role and what I am doing. He even had to ask their permission for the water project. Ultimately, they approve of me and my work and will take care of me while I am here. When I go back to the US, my own ancestors will take over again, and I will no longer be under the protection of his own ancestors. The way he explained it, it’s like they don’t have jurisdiction there. 

Best Day Ever!

I just had an awesome day and figured I’d let you know what constitutes “awesome” out here. I woke up and had a cup of hot chocolate. Power was on. I got to watch a TV show. I had sunflower seeds for breakfast. It stopped raining! I hiked out to my water project site, which is about and hour and a half away. It was all misty and beautiful and not hot, which makes for the best walking conditions. I met a bunch of people I knew on the way and even got two marriage proposals (along with the offer of a plot of land, should I accept).

            “What did you bring me?”

            “Nothing, what did you bring me?”

            “I have a plot of land for you! You can garden it.”

            “You know I don’t know how to farm.”

            “That’s why I’ve told you to marry me already. I will teach you how to farm your plot when you marry me!”

Then I reached the village and the entire community was doing labor for the project! Every single person was working! Then a boy killed a viper! They cut it up and cooked it and I got to eat it and it was so nice! Then, the Chief and a few other “big men” (very important people) showed up! I was given a glass of wine. They took me back in their car! I got to ride in a car! They gave me bread! And 5 cans of soda! Then I went to see my counterpart and she had prepared me my favorite local meal, ndole! It was fantastic.

Also, I can’t wait for the days when some bread and soda aren’t the basis for an awesome day. But for now, it’ll do!

Riders Against Drunk Driving Program

After a long wait, I have finally unveiled my latest project—one that combats drunk driving amongst motorcycle riders. I have wanted to work with the drivers, or “okada men,” since I arrived, but, as usual, faced several setbacks along the way. The okada men are a very important group to work with because they are considered an at-risk population. As young men with a certain amount of income and a means of travel, they are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. They are often known in communities as big drinkers and players. Often they have not completed school, but are still young and are open to information. They also interact with many people every day, and can serve as a source of education to others.

They are also responsible for nearly all transport in and out of town, and carry many people every day. Despite this fact, they have a strong penchant for drinking. Often while still on the job. It is not uncommon to see a driver gulp down a beer so that he can jump on his bike to take the newly arrived passenger— or even to see a rider with a sachet (a baggie of hard alcohol) hanging out of his mouth while cruising around. The fact is, most people in Cameroon have very little alcohol education. Growing up they never get any lessons in school on the subject— certainly no “Every 15 Minutes” simulations. They don’t even receive any campaigns against drunk driving or the affects of alcohol. There are no TV commercials condemning it, no billboards denouncing, not even any prosecution by law enforcement. Many don’t realize that certain alcohols have higher concentrations than others. And while they certainly have experience with alcohol, they have never had its affects laid out for them. They don’t know the health affects it has on the body. They haven’t specifically been told the influence it has on driving abilities. And they haven’t necessarily stopped to think about it before.

I have started a program with them that covers attitudes towards alcohol, the affects of alcohol on the body, the affects of alcohol on driving, the health affects of alcohol, the economic consequences of alcohol, alcohol myths, and related risky behaviors associated with alcohol (like violence, unprotected sex, HIV, etc). Around 20 men attend the weekly sessions. The lessons are discussion based and interactive, but also have some lecturing involved. So far, the okada men seem very interested and appreciative. After each class they thank me and have told me they have learned something new, or that I have given them something to think about. Ultimately, I hope that drunk driving will decrease, but at the very least that these men will be able to make informed decisions regarding their lifestyles and that they will increase their knowledge on how their actions affect their health.