So I’ve received many questions on how life is lived in Zambia, and I figured the best way to answer them would be to do it is here, so enjoy!
What do Zambians do for work?
Most of the people in my village, if not all, are farmers. People usually wake up at the crack of dawn and go to their farms. Right now most villagers have planted their crops and applied fertilizer so now they are waiting to harvest their crops at the end of this month. The biggest harvest months here are April and May, right at the end of rainy season.
So if they’re farmers, what do they farm?
Most farm maize and kasava. People who have small farms usually grow groundnuts (which are being harvested now), beans, pumpkin (they usually eat the leaves first as a relish), rape (a leafy green), sorghum (like really tall wheat with a sweeter taste), finger millet (another type of grain), tomatoes, carrots, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, onion, and so on.
What do Zambians eat?
All of the above. The staple food in Zambia is N’shima. Or ‘ublawi’ in Bemba. It is a mixture of ground maize with water until it forms a hard consistency. Some regions add kasava to their N’shima, others add sorghum. As a relish they use leafy greens, boiled with a tomato, onion, and oil soup. If they don’t have greens (which is the cheapest relish), they use something like beans or capenta (a small fish). Luapula region is big on eating fish because there’s tons of it. We have many natural water sources and also fish farmers that make their own fish ponds and stock them to produce more and sell. The RAP program in Zambia basically works with these fish farmers to help them produce more yield.
What do you eat?
I eat a lot of American-style food. Oatmeal for breakfast, maybe crackers and tuna for lunch, beans for dinner. Sadly, I find a lot of what I eat actually comes from America (so keep the packages coming!). Nuts, dried fruit, fruit preserves, Clif Bars, Primal Strips, Annie’s Mac & Cheese…eating familiar food helps me stay sane, usually because when I’m eating alone in my hut I prefer to cook things I KNOW I’m going to enjoy…nothing’s worse than cooking something and not enjoying it!
Do you have electricity or running water?
I wish! There is no electricity in my village and I collect all of my water from a well near my house. Peace Corps gives us a water filter to use. I am lucky enough that my water is clean so I don’t have to boil the water before I filter it, like more volunteers in Zambia.
Where do you buy your food?
I buy most of my food in town:
Shoprite: A South African grocery store that Mansa is lucky enough to have. There are about 8-10 in all of Zambia. This is where I buy things like long-life butter, peanut butter, beers, yoghurt, sugar and so on…keep in mind that without electricity, the amount of dairy that I can house is very very limited. If I get yoghurt in town, I will either eat if right away or bring it to the Peace Corps house.
Green Market: This is where I buy, you guessed it: my vegetables. Usually I get my onions, tomatoes, and beans there, plus whatever is in season. On a lucky day I can find some fruit if I arrive early enough. I went a few months where I would go to the green market just to buy pineapple, and I would leave with like 4 or 5 and eat them all within a week. They are so good!
Other places to get food:
Village: Children come by my house and sell leafy greens and the occasional carrot, banana, or pineapple (word has spread of my pineapple obsession).
Villagers: My neighbors often come by and give me things like groundnuts and other fun things.
How do you cook your food?
On a brazure. A brazure is a metal device that you put charcoal in and when the charcoal is lit you place your pot or pan on top. There’s no way to regulate the heat but the coals get hotter the longer you wait. If you wait too long, the heat decreases. Just like any charcoal grill. I buy my charcoal from a local man in the village, and I purchased my brazures from the market in Mansa.
Where do you go to the bathroom? And what about feminine products?
I have a pit latrine behind my house. Peace Corps supplies name-brand feminine products. Emergencies at night call for a chamber pot.
Where do you bathe?
I have a bathing shelter outside, with walls made of grass. After the third attempt to build the bathing shelter because the rains continued to knock it down, I build an indoor bathing shelter. This was life altering because now I can bathe at any time of the day! I use a bucket and a cup to bathe…bucket showering if you will. I much prefer it over the ‘normal’ showering method, but this was known before I stepped foot in Zambia…
What do you do all day?
Ah, this question. I have a lot of time on my hands. This doesn’t mean that I am not working, it just shows that rural Zambians have a very slow-paced lifestyle. Usually I wake up in the morning, feed my cat, and go on a long bike ride exploring the bush around my village. When I get back I sweep my hut and rest in my hammock. I’ll read until about lunch time and prepare some food. Around this time is when I fetch my water, bathe, wash dishes, and maybe do some laundry. I usually have meetings in the afternoons, so I’ll bike to the meeting and wait for it to start. When it’s over I’ll go back to my house and hang out with my neighbors, visit for a while (usually in silence because my Bemba is not so great). When it starts to get dark I’ll go back to my hut and read some more, do some yoga/stretching/meditation, relax, and cook dinner. After dinner I…read! All of night activities are done with candlelight. Sometimes I listen to my iPod and paint or write letters. Some days I am so busy that when I lay in bed at night I’m exhausted. Other days are slooooowwww and I find myself counting down the hours until it is acceptable for me to go to bed. It all depends on meetings I have lined up, the season, day of week…you get the picture.
What sort of projects are you working on?
My village is really interested in building a nutrition center near the clinic. Plans have not started but what we are going to do is build a small area to house food and have a community garden. This will be a place where I can teach conservation farming, do nutrition talks, cooking demos, and introduce veggies/herbs to the villagers. I’m really excited about it and hopefully we can start plans soon to get this show on the road. Lately, I’ve been busy getting my floors cemented…yahoo! So I’m in town for the next few days waiting for the cement in my house to dry. It’s all very exciting; Extreme Home Makeover: Zambia, if you will. I even put some tiles and river rocks in the cement on the floor of my bathing shelter. It’s all very exciting. I’ve also been working with a few youth groups, meeting with the head teacher at the local school to start some projects, working with the Neighborhood Health Committees (NHC) on trainings and U5 clinics. U5 clinics are in different villages each month to weigh and vaccinate all children under 5. This helps the clinic keep a hold on the massive amounts of work. The NHC is also responsible for doing health talks during these U5 clinics, so basically teaching the moms and answering their questions.
Alright, well that’s all for now! Please let me know any questions you may have. I am more than happy to answer them!!!
Love,
b
