Okay, the live Tiyeni Tipewe show last night convinced me that I need to get this blog going again. Thank you to everyone who listened to the show, and of course to those who called or wrote in. I hope our discussions won’t stop after each show, but will continue here on this blog.
Just a quick note for now, on a less serious subject. On the show, Paul Ncozana asked me if there’s something I miss from Malawi, and I answered “nsima.” I explained that I was taught how to make it, but that I don’t think it’d be as good here.
I think I should explain. Here’s the thing, it’s not just the nsima, but the experience I associate with it. Sharing a meal as a group, eating with my hands (to the amusement of those around me who were better at it than I was), visiting people in their homes. Something that I loved about being in Malawi was that people always had time. It didn’t matter if we showed up unannounced; they would sit and chat for a few minutes or a few hours, and always seemed happy to see us.
And Paul, here’s my nsima lesson with my friend Edna Chiunda. This is the first time I met her. When Arichie and I entered her house, she greeted us, and then handed me a chitenje to wear over my jeans. People said the nsima was good - and even took seconds!
You're right about the nsima experience. It's a pity I can't make nsima in the US, and even if I did, it'd taste different. If you come to think about it, nsima alone doesn't taste like anything. It's the experience that really makes nsima times special!
ReplyDeleteAnd I must say you looked 'Malawian' in that chitenje though! I'm sure the nsima was equally tasty.
Just thought you might be interested in a piece I wrote from Lilongwe, Malawi, for the Wausau Daily Herald called "Husband and his wife are helping an African nation farm it’s was out of poverty." I am blogging everyday from Africa and writing for the Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet blog at http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/. Please feel free to cross-post on your site. All the best, Danielle Nierenberg
ReplyDeleteHere is the piece:
Stacia and Kristof Nordin have an unusual backyard, and it looks a lot different from the Edgar yard in which Kristof grew up.
Rather than the typical bare dirt patch of land that most Malawians sweep “clean” every day, the Nordins have more than 200 varieties of mostly indigenous vegetables growing organically around their house. They came to Malawi in 1997 as Peace Corps volunteers, but now call Malawi home. Stacia is a technical adviser to the Malawi Ministry of Education, working to sensitize both policymakers and citizens about the importance of using indigenous foods and permaculture to improve livelihoods and nutrition. Kristof is a community educator who works to train people at all levels of Malawian society in low-input and sustainable agricultural practices.
The Nordins use their home as a demonstration plot for permaculture methods that incorporate composting, water harvesting, intercropping and other methods that help build organic matter in soils, conserve water, and protect agricultural diversity. Most Malawians think of traditional foods, such as amaranth and African eggplant, as poor-people foods grown by “bad” farmers. But these crops might hold the key for solving hunger, malnutrition and poverty in Malawi — as well as in other African countries.
Nowhere needs the help more than Malawi, a nation of 14 million in southeast Africa that is among the least developed and most densely populated on Earth.
The country might be best known for the so-called “Malawi Miracle.” Five years ago, the government decided to do something controversial and provide fertilizer subsidies to farmers to grow maize. Since then, maize production has tripled and Malawi has been touted as an agricultural success story.
But the way they are refining that corn, says Kristof, makes it “kind of like Wonder Bread,” leaving it with just two or three nutrients. Traditional varieties of corn, which aren’t usually so highly processed, are more nutritious and don’t require as much artificial fertilizer as do hybrid varieties.
To read the rest of the article go to http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/wausau-daily-herald-husband-and-his-wife-are-helping-an-african-nation-farm-its-was-out-of-poverty/.
@Kathryn -- I can definitely relate to your nsima experience. In my family and in Chinese culture, eating is such a central part of social and family life. I've missed that in college and now, where I'm usually just thankful if I can eat three healthy meals in a day!
ReplyDelete@Danielle -- Interesting stuff. It sounds eerily reminiscent of corn subsidies in the US!