Village living- the house

Hi ya- I just realised that I uploaded the pics of my village house to facebook not blogger. So below are a few pics of my house before I moved in.

The house: quite a posh brick and cement place with a tin roof AND glass windows!

Stunning view from the from verandah (aka formal lounge)

The back yard- kitchen on the left, shower and loo in the corner. In this culture, only those that sleep in the house usually go inside. Domestic life happens inside the fence around the back of the house. This is where food is prepared and cooked, clothes are hung over the fence to dry, dishes are washed, chickens roam, kids are bathed and friends and relatives come and sit and visit. Inside the fence is personal living space, so people call out 'odi!' meaning 'let me!' to which you answer 'eh, ajinjile!' or 'odini!' supposedly before they enter.

Bathing area. You take in a bucket of water heated over the fire (or not- if you're useless at lighting fires) and have a wash. the rubble prevents you from standing in mud.

Toilet- the cover keeps flies and bugs out. Otherwise-it's squat, aim, fire! Needless to say, I'm really missing western loo's!

AND...the local pump - a very integral part of my life at the village. It's where I meet and greet ladies, do my washing and of course get my daily water needs.

I've discovered that you use much less water when you have to carry it all yourself- which is fantastic for the environment :) I use 2-3 buckets per day ie 30-45L which I reckon is about the same amount a western house'd use in a day just for toilet flushing!

Ok - enough blogging / procrastinaing. I'm in otwn, using the computer for work reasons- so I'd better get on with it :) basi!

Bike Riding

Yesterday, i decided to visit my friends in the village on a bicycle instead of driving. Why? for fitness, to enjoy the slightly cooler weather, to see what its like for the hundreds of guys who work as 'bicycle taxi's' every day and ...to at least once -not be a typical asungu and show up in a car- looking as if we're incapable or far too busy or important to walk or ride.


So, I borrowed my friends bike and trialled it around the yard- a local squeaky, wobbly, upright girl bike with no gears and a HARD plastic seat. Next I practiced with a chitenje on and discovered that the best combo was a skirt with a slit up the back, and to put the chitenje on backwards so it stayed firm and didn't flap- revealing my skirt (or worse) my knees. Then I packed a light backpack with a couple of bottles of water, slathered myself in sunscreen & hat and set off on my most ecxellent adventure. The deep sand on the road out the front of our house nearly had me off, but I struggled through and was SO happy to get to the bitumen!


The village is about 12km outta town. 10km on the highway, then 2 on a dirt track. Once clear of Mangochi and her sister town -affectionately refered to as Suweto, i was flying along on the wide, open road, wondering why I didn't do this more often?! I got a lot of stunned stares and children screaming 'asungu!' - but no one bothered me.


About half way out I passed a woman and looking back, recognised her as one of my friends from the village. She was crestfallen- no car?! evidently she had planned the trip intt town to coincide with my visit knowing that I'd stop and shorten her trip... I offered her the bike, took her bucket and placing it on my head followed her beside the road for the rest of the trip. She had gone to Mangochi to get parafin (for light at night) and to take her 1yr old daughter to the hospital because she had a bad cough and diarrhoea. The hospital gave her panandol.


I wasn't surprised the child was sick. This was the same child who last week, after we had all washed our hands in the same bowl before and after eating together - was given the hand washing water to drink.

Im also no longer surprised to hear that the district hospital sent a sick and dehydrated shild away with panadol. I contemplated returning to the village later with re-hydration powder and a big bottle of clean water... but decided to be slightly less interventionist and asked the mother if she had salt and sugar. She had salt so we stopped and brought a cup of sugar from a road-side stall for about 20c and I did my best to explain that she had to boil the water and give the child lots to drink etc I donated one of my bottles of water to get her started.


I had a lovley visit at the village. Little 'Ha-' born last week was still alive and the mother was happy and well. I felt like I understood a lot more and was able to communicate better than usual- which was really encouraging. I left early though as I wanted to make sure I got through 'Suweto' in day light. On the way back I realised just how ridiculously unfit I am- and was glad for some beautiful sunset photo opportunities as an excuse to stop. Now that the land is dry and the grass is being burnt, the Boababs stand out majestically.


It took longer than I thought to get home and it was well and truly dark and i was well and truly exhausted- but it was worth it :)

Musings, golf and reality

Well, my taste of poverty ended on the 6th morning. Nothing major- i just woke up with an overwhelming desire to clean the house in preparation for my folks visiting next week...and there was no way I was going to lug in all that water to hand wash 6 sheets, 2 towels and mop etc so I ceremoniously made myself a piece of toast for brekky-spread with vegemite and hopped into the cleaning.

What did I learn? Malawian food is simply wonderful -and ugali is a great comfort food that is quick and easy to cook. I made it on MK1745- but only because I was feeding 1 person, had no relatives and no unbudgeted needs or emergencies. I really missed my fruit and I'd be struggling to buy clothes or medicine on that. It shocked me how labour intensive life was- not just carrying heavy buckets of water, but ladelling it out one cup at a time, hand washing clothes and wringing them out, making fresh relish and ugali for every meal- no refrigerator or microwave, making extra trips to carry things whilst carrying a candle...and at the end of it all, a cold splash and a hard bed. I didnt even have to pound my own maize or gather and carry firewood or squat over the fire to cook (all with a child strapped to my back!)- and my muscles were still sore! yup- they do it tough.

So what do you do after a week of hard work? Play golf. haha. yup, today we went for a game of golf at one of the lake resorts (I didnt even know there was a golf course there!). It was beautiful- green, shady course, boabab trees, lakes (a little croc arrived with the winter flooding!- one potential problem growing). We played 9 holes in 4 hours with much laughter and fun and Gilmore shots and victory dances...and it was good. Good to laugh, good to have fun, good to do something outside the house and Mangochi, good to forget the world and all its cares for a moment and try and find that little white ball and get it in the hole. It was a breath of fresh air. Many photos to follow Im sure :)

On the way home we passed a matola (minivan country bus/taxi service)by the side of the road and the driver and another man were beating the *#!* out of one of the pssengers dragged form the van while the rest of the passengers looked on. We prayed, slowed right down and discussed whether it would be wise to stop and intervene in such a volatile situation. As we passed they stopped kicking him and got back in the matola. He lay still for a moment then slowly got to his feet. I could see him gingerly limping away as we rounded the corner. We came back to earth with a thud- much like a golf ball landing on the green.

A Taste of Poverty III

Wednesday to Friday- variations on a theme.

I have discovered that hot restless sleep magnifies the sounds of the night...crickets, the breeze rustling the trees, over-ripe guavas thudding to the ground, the close footsteps and muted voices of the night watchmen- all punctuated by the neighbourhood dogs goading each other into a choir of howls.

I have enjoyed the simplicity of eating within my budget- rice with a little sugar for brekky (the cassava I bought were no good), ugali and greens for lunch and steamed pumpkin with kidney bean 'soup' for dinner. I look forward to ugali at lunch time- but don't seem to to be able to face twice a day :)

Kidney Bean Relish/Soup:

bring one cup of dried kidney beans to the boil with plenty of water in the morning. Take off the heat and cover. In the evening, simmer for an hour or so until soft (pre-boiling cuts 2 hrs of simmering time). In a separate pot heat 0.5- 1cm of oil, add a diced onion and a diced tomato or 2 and some salt to taste and allow to cook 'til tomatoes are breaking up. drain most of the bean liquid into a separate bowl and pour the oil mixture over the beans. leave on low heat for a little while to allow the oil/tomato/onion flavour to permeate the beans.

serve the bean relish with ugali or rice OR If you prefer the soup option, serve the relish into bowls and add the reserved bean liquid to taste. simple and delicious.

Wednesday both my language helpers arrived for the lesson having not eaten one or two of their previous meals. I guessed from their restless lack of concentration and served up anzacs and bananas with the usual glass of water. 'pangali' was said with a shrug or the 'malawian gesture' of clapping both hands together then holding them apart with a resigned shrug- 'there is nothing' AAAAAAAH!!!! How do I respond? they are both very well off by malawian standards- not only do they work for me, one is a teacher and the others husband has a well paid job. If they're running out of food on a regular basis- then what about the rest of the population?Budgeting doesn't work in this culture- the extended families needs come before the individuals - but at the same time- i know my generosity has been factored into the equation. take a deep breath and respond to one at a time....

the power has been on and off a lot this week which hasn't effected me much- except for internet access and the outside taps running out of water haha another bout of divine sense of humour :) I haven't been using my alotted 4 buckets of water a day- partly cos my wrists and lower back hurt from carrying it. By Thursday night everyone elses houses had no lights cos their transformer batteries had run out- but my place was a conspicuous glow of outdoor security lights :)

speaking of lights-I haven't minded spending each evening reading by candle light but I don't feel much like spending Friday night alone with no lights- so Im breaking that one from now on. thought I had better be honest :) well- have a good friday night- I would love to go out fo rdinner with friends and go see a band afterwards...oh the things we take for-granted

A Taste of Poverty III

Tuesday afternoon: Who'd have thought this would become a foodie blog?! well its not your average foodie blog and its definitely temporary. After a delicious lunch of ugali and greens (pictured), I sat down to do my budget...and im scarily close to having spent my (generous) $2/day already.

Rent (equivalent for a 2 roomed, tin roofed ‘apartment’ with shared ablutions), charcoal (fee for using gas stove), soap and candles come to 610MK. 4 Buckets of water a day and food items already purchased brings the grand total to 1515MK. My food supply so far consists of a weeks supply of maize flour, oil, salt, onions, beans and rice, and a few tomatoes, cassava, a pumpkin, a days supply of greens and some peanuts. Im really hoping there’ll be room in the budget for an egg with dinner tonight.

I’ve chosen a bad time to take on this challenge. With harvest still a few weeks away, maize flour is at an all time high price and tomatoes... I dunno why they are so expensive- but they are 20-25 MK each which means if you are working a manual labour job- your days wage could buy you...4 or 5 tomatoes! Go figure.

I also have a confession to make- this afternoon as I was starting my grammar lesson, my blood sugar levels dropped and I got the shakes and couldn't concentrate...so I ate an anzac bikky. I guess it shows that the ugali looks impressive in quantity but doesn't have substance. Esn- then informed me that i could buy a quarter kg of sugarfor 30MK, so, as soon as the lesson was over I stunned a shop keeper and she introduced me to the evening markets- amazing seeing the whole place bustling with people in the cool of the evening and lit with candles!

I ended up having my egg for dinner. yum!

If you like the look of the food - or you're curious to try it -the recipies are all in my blog archives somewhere tagged with 'cooking'. Im amazed at how tasty oil, onion and tomato can be- and how comforting a stomach full of ugali is- Im really enjoying this challenge.

A Taste of Poverty II

Your challenge should you chose to accept it is to taste poverty for 7 days.

yup, I say 'taste', cos as was pointed out- we cannot truly have any any idea what its like to have nothing- until we have lost everything...so until then, my goal for the week (starting Monday 10th March am) is to live as close to the standard of a middle class Malawian as possible.

Monday & Tuesday morning: So far, it has gone much as could be expected...
The bed wasn’t too bad- not too great either, but I slept ok. I decided to forgo the cold splash this morning- but after and hour of hauling water and scrubbing to get my clothes clean...Im dripping sweat at 7.30 am and a cold bathe is sounding pretty good...except that means carrying more water...

Breakfast yesterday was abysmal. I was assured that it was possible to make a nice rice porridge using just rice and water... but I ended up with plain rice for brekky that only marginally improved when I poured my black tea over it. This morning Im trying cassava which is a root vegetable that smells almost like bread...but tastes like a whole lotta starch- again, not too bad, but not great either!

After a day in the villages where 4 of the 7 meetings were cancelled due funerals or attendees busy in their gardens protecting them from elephants, and 2 villages inaccessible due to road conditions...we got back early and I decided to visit our neighbours over the road who were sitting out the front braiding hair. Communication was pretty limited as only one of them spoke Ciyawo and another a little English, but they were very friendly and shared their baobab fruit with me (ish!) and tried putting my hair into 3 braids which slipped out within minutes :-)

Dinner was a candle lit affair of steamed corn, pumpkin and left over rice (not a Malawian meal as such but I wasn’t hungry enough to eat ugali), whilst reading ‘Kidnapped’ by Robert Lewis Stevenson. Its all about atmosphere I say!

Well, I would post this now if I could but either our internet connection is stuffed or google/blogger is experiencing some problems... and just when I finally got a microphone that works for skyping too :-( ok..its now wednesday and we've finally got internet AND power back (not that Im using the lights- but its handy for powering computers... hehe).

A Taste of Poverty

Your challenge, should you chose to accept it is ...

Most of us have never experienced true poverty. We’ve never wondered where our next meal is coming from. We’ve never needed an ‘essential for life’ commodity (ie food, medicine, clean water etc) and not had the means to secure it.

The closest I have come to being in true need was backpacking (where banks were fewer and farther between than I had anticipated) and at uni. The first year at uni we lived day to day- and it was amazing how God provided- even if it was weeds from the backyard (nettles) and rice for dinner! Another year at uni I was working 3 jobs and living off $10 a week for food. But even in those ‘tough’ times- I was in such a position of wealth and power! Backpacking; the need was temporary- I am wealthy enough to travel!- that is not poverty. At uni; my money was being spent on rent and paying bills for a car and text books, and later- paying a mortgage!- that is certainly not poverty- especially when there is centrelink to fall back on.

In contrast, the poverty here is true poverty. Systemic through the whole community. No government welfare system to fall back on. Day by day, living on the edge.
Then I read the world stats:

Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.

The poorest 40% of the world’s population accounts for 5% of global income. The richest 20% accounts for three-quarters of world income.

According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”

Its hard to believe isn't it? I thought living here would make it more real for me- but in many ways it hasn’t. We are great at blocking out that which we don’t understand- and even better at seeking out our personal comfort first.

I have felt challenged to use my resources more wisely (see 'Food glorious food'); I have been challenged by my own double standards of what is good enough for me vs what is good enough for others (see blog ‘money money money') and I have been challenged – as a global citizen to proactively identify at a deeper level with 3 billion of the people I share this planet with.

My response? At a life and heart level- is to leave the wealth and comfort of my home and see what can be done practically. But even in that I can cling to my comfort, my way. So, as an experiment, as a step towards identifying, Im going to cut my standard of living for a week- and i would like to invite you join me (pregnant and nursing mothers excluded).

Your challenge, should you chose to accept it is to taste poverty for 7 days.

I’m not going to prescribe how, or what that looks like for you- if you join me in this you need to own your commitment. But i recommend you set the bar out of your comfort zone. It may be forgoing your take-away latte for a week and giving the money saved to a charity. It may be halving your grocery shopping allowance or choosing to not use electricity in your house for the week. think about over the weekend. If it is something you would like to do with me -write me a comment/email to let me know you’re on board (accountability! :-) and savour the experience and the insight the week will bring.

My goal for the week (starting Monday 10th March am) is to live as close to the standard of a middle class Malawian as possible. That means:
-Money for the week: 1725Mk- approximately $14 (usually supporting a family of 6+ so Im being soft!)
- no electricity (except for my computer so I can tell you how its going!)
- no running water- and paying the local rate for every bucket carried in from the tap outside
- cardboard instead of a mattress (but Im keeping my pillow!)
- pay rent and pay the equivalent of a weeks supply of charcoal to use the gas stove
- pantry access denied :-)
To be honest- Im not sure how I’ll go- I may not be able to make it the whole week- or i may go hungry- but Im going to give it a good shot.

Im off to Blantyre tomorrow- so I'll 'see' you Monday!