Kid's Korner: How do you cook?

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled silence to bring you a new KIDS KORNER!! 

For real though, sorry folks.  We've had this post ready for a while but became consumed with a million other things!!  Please accept our apologies!

"With no electricity, microwave, or stove how do you eat?"
Answer: Fire! Lots of fire!
There are a few ways to do this in Malawi.

1. The traditional 3 brick fire.
This is exactly what it sounds like.  Three bricks are set on the ground in a triangle, a wood fire in the middle, and a pot rests on top.  This is the method most commonly used in the village.  All of the materials are easy to find and you can cook anywhere!


2. A clay mbaola.
This is what we most commonly use! It is mostly used for wood fires but it can also burn charcoal.  It cooks faster than the 3 brick by directing the heat to the pot and makes less smoke.  These are less common because they take more resources and knowledge to make.  Another challenge is that not many villages know about them.


3. Charcoal mbaola.
This one is made of metal and cannot burn wood.  Charcoal is hard to find and technically illegal.  It's not like the charcoal brickets you buy at the grocery store for a Bar-BQ.  It is wood that has been slightly burned and buried for a few days.  This makes it easier to burn.  BUT it takes extra wood to make it and there are not a lot of trees here.

4. Paraffin stove.
We use this sometimes.  It is like a gas stove top in your house. It cooks fast with no smoke.  This is the least common cooking method. The stove is expensive and the fuel is really expensive and sometimes not available.  Just last month Matt went to buy paraffin and the gas station was out.




5. Hot plate.
Colleges may have put major bans on hot plates but here in Malawi it is the most popular choice for those with electricity.  The electricity found here is not like the United States.  It does not flow evenly and is not always powerful enough to run more than one big appliance.  There's no way you can run a hot plate and a hair dryer.



No matter what method used, cooking in Malawi is a major chore.  For a family of 8 a 3 brick fire starts at 4 or 5am and is kept going all day.  It boils water for tea, heats bath water, cooks porridge for breakfast, nsima and greens for lunch and then again for dinner. It's an all day affair.

Next time on Kid's Korner:

How do you shower?  

Kid's Korner: Surprise Visitor from the USA!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Kid's Korner to share some of our activities with our visitor, Flat Stanley! After being stuck at the Post Office for a few weeks because there is no home delivery of Mail, Flat Stanley visited us and our village for a few weeks.

Here he is at our house.

 

Admiring the view of Lunjika Mountain behind our house.

Checking on the Maize Crop.

Helping Tara's Grassroots Soccer Team with one of their Practices.

Attending my Grassroots Soccer Team's Graduation.

We had a lot of fun showing Flat Stanly around and even took him to the market to get him his very own Chitenje clothing.

Next time on Kid's Korner:

Back to your regularly schedualed programming:

If you don't have electricity, how do you cook?

Kid's Korner: How do you poop?

Question: How do you poop?

The same way you do! But perhaps you were asking how is human waste disposed of.

Short Answer: In Malawi, the answer depends on where you live. Indoor plumbing is very common within the major cities so, just like in the USA, pull a lever and away it goes. Out in the villages people dig pit latrines called a chimbuzi.

A chimbuzi with a fancy hand washing station.

A slightly more complicated answer: A chimbuzi is just like an outhouse. (Ask your grandparents.) A large pit is dug, then boards are placed over the pit leaving a small hole for the waste. Then a layer of mud or concrete is placed on top of the boards to create a floor. Finally mud or bricks are used to create the walls and a roof is placed on top. After many years, once the pit has filled to the top, the pit is capped and a new pit is dug else where. Often trees are planted near the pits so that the nutrients in the waste can be utilized.

A chim hole

How to use a chimbuzi

The we like to be different answer: While we have a chimbuzi, we don't use it. We wanted to be able to use the nutrients (fertilizer) in the waste so we collect ours in a bucket. Each time we use it we 'flush' with a handful of ash and a handful of leaves to control smell and absorb liquid. When the bucket gets full we take it out and add it to our compost pile. The waste is broken down by bacteria and worms into nutrients (fertilizer) that the plants can use and removes harmful bacteria that can get us sick. We then add it back into our garden for more food.

Composting Toilet with bucket inside.

Not everyone in Malawi has a way to get rid of their waste so they partake in what is called "open defecation" (pooping on the ground). Also, in certain parts of the country, seasonal rains flood out the latrines so they are unusable leading to open defecation. As Peace Corps Volunteers it is our job is to teach about positive waste management. How to use and build pit latrines or alternative systems like compost toilets.

But how do you use the bathroom when you're in the car? No gas stations here so, you pull over on the side of the road and drop trou!

Next time on Kids Korner: 

If you don't have electricity, how do you cook?

Kid's Korner: KITTEN time!

I know it has been quite a while since we posted. Sooo, we would like to make that up to you by posting 3 blogs in 3 days! Starting with our promised, Kid's Korner, where we answer questions we have gotten from children and youth.  Our first post features our adorable kitten!

Question: Do people have pets in Malawi? 

Short answer: Yes.  Not a lot of people have pets but the ones that do have cats and dogs.  Many people have chickens, cows, doves, rabbits, pigs and goats but they are not pets, they are food.   

The cover of his book entitled:
"The Art of Being Adorable"

The complicated answer: Not a lot of people have pets and not a lot of people treat their pets very nicely.  People have pets for different reasons.  Someone might have a dog to guard the house or someone might have a cat to eat mice.  It is not very often that a person has a pet as a friend.  You know how you play with your dog or cat and make sure that they have good food and water?  Cats and dogs are not treated exactly the same way.  Some times, people have trouble making sure everyone in the house has food, so to feed an animal is considered rude, or culturally inappropriate.  Also, because many dogs are raised to be guard dogs and to chase and bark at people many people are scared of dogs and don't like to play with them.  While, in the U.S. we might think of pets as something to love and play with or a good friend, here in Malawi, everything has to have a purpose.  So, if you have a dog or cat it must do something.  

He insists on helping with
EVERYTHING

BUT that did not keep us from getting a little kitten of our own!  His name is The Amazing Gonzo, for the fact that he is really clutzy, silly, and lots of times does not land his tricks! 

Often times our community thinks we are weird for picking him up, playing with him or feeding him.  But we have been sooo happy to have him!  He has graduated from eating crickets to spiders and we believe he will soon be on his way to a BA in Mouse Hunting...we couldn't be more proud.  

In some ways it has allowed us to share some of our culture with the community and sometimes it has made it harder for the community to understand us.  But we love the little bugger and are super glad he is with us!

Snoozin' and toys...
toys and snoozin'

Once a month or so we will answer a new question from a child or youth!  

So send them to us via: e-mail, letters, or whatsapp!! (we promise to do better!!)

Next Time on Kids Korner:

How and where do you poop?