Last week there was a fire in Tangaye, a neighbouring village of Nimpouya. I witnessed it because I was visiting the ‘market’ there. A woman had been trying to make fire for here cooking place, but a burning piece of wood fell on a hay mat. It caught fire and it spread to the wooden roof of a small house where they store stock: bags of corn and millet. The house itself is made of clay so that did not catch fire, but some of the bags inside did: half the stock was burnt. This is a disaster for the family because they use this food to get through the ‘winter period’ (which is from December to May – it is not cold like our winter, in fact it is only getting hotter! But it is the dry season, where nothing grows.) From all over the neighbouring encampments women brought buckets with water to stop the fire. People now wonder how the family is going to get through the months April and May, because if half of your stock is burnt, it is going to be difficult. People cannot give some of their food away, because they have barely enough themselves. By the time that food is finished, these people probably need to visit relatives and beg for food.
Besides from this, nothing special happens really in the village. Women prepare dinner, get water and search for wood in the fields, men go to the market, feed the cattle, go to the mosque five times a day and play cards under a tree while drinking tea…. ‘the usual stuff’!
For people who wonder how do I survive in these small villages?! Well I’m only here for a few days, and then I am one or two days in ‘the city’ of Ouahigouya to ‘recharge’, after which I am in the village again for a few days. So it isn’t really that bad! ;-) But of course my research takes place in the villages (Nimpouya and Risci) so I will try to explain a bit of daily life here:
At 5 o’clock in the morning the women get water. They prepare breakfast (leftovers from yesterday’s diner) and wash and feed the young children.
Besides from this, nothing special happens really in the village. Women prepare dinner, get water and search for wood in the fields, men go to the market, feed the cattle, go to the mosque five times a day and play cards under a tree while drinking tea…. ‘the usual stuff’!
For people who wonder how do I survive in these small villages?! Well I’m only here for a few days, and then I am one or two days in ‘the city’ of Ouahigouya to ‘recharge’, after which I am in the village again for a few days. So it isn’t really that bad! ;-) But of course my research takes place in the villages (Nimpouya and Risci) so I will try to explain a bit of daily life here:
At 5 o’clock in the morning the women get water. They prepare breakfast (leftovers from yesterday’s diner) and wash and feed the young children.
Meanwhile the men are washing themselves and go for the morning prayers to the mosque. After this they feed their livestock: cows, goats and chickens. They get water for the animals and give them hay. Some of them get on their bikes to go to the market in the neighbour village Tangaye or in Ouahigouya. Others construct a house or other building together.
The women get water again and go into the fields to collect wood. They also crush millet to make flour – with which they make almost every dish that they eat in the village. For lunch and diner they usually eat the same thing. At noon, after the prayer, the women bring the food to the men who all eat together out of the same bowl with their right hand. The women and the smallest children eat together in their houses. After lunch everybody goes for a nap. The men sleep outside in the shade.
The younger boys who do not want to go to sleep make tea (which takes an hour or two) or go to the fields together to look for wood. Children are getting water and playing around in the sand. At three o’clock it is time for the afternoon prayer and then the men will visit relatives, (elderly or ill people) or play cards in the shade.
The women are preparing diner, making zonkoom (a drink of millet flour and water) or working on cotton that they bought on the market other handcraft stuff. During the rainy season they work on the land. Now it is dry season and the fields are dry and empty. The cows and goats have eaten all that was left over after the harvest. Fortunately there is now still enough water available from the pump. Busy hours of the day at the water points are 5 am, 10 am and 4 pm.
I cannot drink this water straight away: I have to boil it first, when it has cooled down a bit I add a few drops of purification liquid and after half and hour I can drink it. But it is not always that bad; I usually bring loads of bottled water with me or sent somebody away to buy a bottle for me. Luckily there is a ‘shop’ in the village which sells Coca Cola (although not chilled). And there is always somebody that is going to Ouahigouya, so they can bring me water.
People go to sleep usually very early: at about 9 pm, because they get up between 4 and 5. However, I still find it very difficult to get used to this. There is no electricity but most houses have an oil lamp (?) or sometimes a torch. Some houses have also a small radio. There are many local radio stations here, and the most listened to are: Radio de l’Amitié, which is based in Ouahigouya, and an other one which is in Mooré.
Now that it is end February it is getting warmer and warmer, although the wind is still blowing: at noon it might get up to 40 degrees. So when you’re in the shade, where it is 30 degrees, it feels quite cool there!
I am now on the verge of an Africa-culture-crisis: I can feel it coming up. The more I do things the past few days; the more energy they take. I’m a bit fed up with the landscape, the temperature, the people, the food…. Basically everything! However, I still have 5 more weeks to go, so I try to stay positive and happy: because being fed up with everything does not really help with doing research! So from dry and hot Burkina Faso I hope everything is alright back home and that everyone is doing fine.
Now that it is end February it is getting warmer and warmer, although the wind is still blowing: at noon it might get up to 40 degrees. So when you’re in the shade, where it is 30 degrees, it feels quite cool there!
I am now on the verge of an Africa-culture-crisis: I can feel it coming up. The more I do things the past few days; the more energy they take. I’m a bit fed up with the landscape, the temperature, the people, the food…. Basically everything! However, I still have 5 more weeks to go, so I try to stay positive and happy: because being fed up with everything does not really help with doing research! So from dry and hot Burkina Faso I hope everything is alright back home and that everyone is doing fine.
Love, Rosie
