Adventures at Nyumba Yanga: Part one

The trip was long, but we arrived safe and sound (if not a little tired). On the first day we mostly rested. We divided the clothing that J.L. Jordan School donated, which made the girls very happy. We got them to check which ones fit, and then write their names on the labels. We've started a master list of who already has clothes, and who still needs them. Sister Ruby is very conscious of fairness. Because not everyone will get an outfit this time, we will go to a second hand store here to make up for the rest – that way, when the clothes are distributed, everyone will get something.

The girls showed us how to pick ground-nuts today. They are not all ripe yet, but it seems like they are starting to get there. There is a cycle of produce here: something is always growing and something is always ready to eat!

So the basics to finding ground-nuts:

-Finger your way through the bush, while being weary of burrs – they are almost unavoidable.
-Find the stem of the ground-nut. Pull (hard)!
-If they are ready, they'll come up. If not, well ... they're still down there and stem-less! I'm guessing that is how the ground-nuts keep coming up every year.
-Pick them off the roots, throw them in a bowl.
-Repeat.

Micaela and I tried them. They look just like peanuts, but because they're fresh they're not dry like the peanuts we're used too. While we were with the girls Amanda was learning how to husk corn with the house mothers. The corn --- often called maize -- they grow here isn't used to eat like we do in Canada. It's almost always dried out. Some of it is completely dehydrated, which is used as a snack to make popcorn. The rest is ground up with a large mortar and pestle. (I’ve been told that maize and corn are different things. Further investigation is needed!)

Some of the girls let us watch and (try to) help them grind the maize yesterday morning. They put dried maize kernels into a big wooden bowl that looks like a jembe drum without a skin, and add a bit of water. Then, with a long stick, they crush the maize. It takes a lot of muscle – they let us attempt a go at it, but we tired out pretty quickly! After the maize is crushed, it is poured onto plastic trays where they dustiest bits are removed, and the cracked corn is saved. Kernels that are still whole are picked out, returned to the mortar, and crushed again.

The adventures never cease here! Until next time, take care.

Angi