Down South

We (Mayeso, the driver and I) left for Blantyre in the afternoon. The drive is just a few hours but I slept the entire way. I suppose I will still getting over some jet lag. We got to Blantyre in the early evening and got some pretty good pizza. The next morning we went from news station to new station picking up reporters. Once the car was full we headed for Malanje.

We visited a bird’s eye chili farmer’s cooperative. ADF, in partnership with the Malawian government, helped provide funds for the cooperative to start a factory. There, they turn the chili’s into higher-value products. This increases the incomes of the small farmers and provides more jobs for community members.

When we drove in a group of about 30 women were standing in a circle singing and dancing. As we got out of the car they turned toward us and sang to us. It was fantastic! Mayeso showed me how to use the embassy’s camera while we waited for the ADF Chairman, Jack Leslie, and staff to arrive. It would be my responsibility to take pictures of the event that could be used in news coverage.

The Chairman finally arrived with his two kids and the Malawi Program Director. Jack Leslie’s kids are both in college (one is a freshman and the other a senior). They have the good fortune of being able to accompany their dad as he does a tour of ADF’s programs throughout Africa. Both of them were really nice and excited to be longer for the ride.

The program in Malanje was full of photo ops. and tours of the factory and speeches and press interviews and gift giving. However, it was also punctuated with choreographed dances and songs. All of the performances were mini-dramas with a plot and usually some detectable social message.

That night I went with Mayeso to a local resturante and had insima for the first time. Any of you who read my Uganda blog will remember the cultural staple called Matoke. Well, encima is the Malawi’s Matoke. It is a white mush made from maize that you work between your fingers until it’s a good scope for picking up the other items on your plate. I had it with beans and it was pretty good.

On the way home the next morning we stopped on the side of the road and the driver bought mice on a stick. Apparently this is also a common Malawian food. I will try it eventually, but today wasn’t the day.