Shirley has pancakes, toast, eggs, rice, veggies, beans, corn tortillas, yoghurt, fruit & tuna already set out on the table. It was enough to feed a small army & both of us are still very full from dinner the previous night.
We eat a small amount with some coffee, before walking along the muddy dirt road, back towards the centre of town & the community hall.
We've got a pretty big day today, starting with a hike through the local rain forrest & a cassava plantation, where we have the chance to see how they are harvested & planted.
It's not the first time we've heard of cassava, it's the staple diet in Malawi. We walk about 10 minutes away from the community hall towards a plantation of cassava waiting to be harvested. This simply involves pulling the plants out of the ground & checking if there is a big root, which is the edible cassava. There's no real way to tell if the tree will have an edible root underneath it & quite a few had nothing under them. This would make for some unpredictable crops & I'm sure some seasons would yield lots, while others would have a lot less.
After we had finished the harvesting process, the trees we pulled out of the ground were cut into pieces about 10 - 15 cm long & planted back in the ground. It's easy to see why it's such a popular staple food for many people in many countries around the world.
Interestingly, the sap from the cut tree is poisonous, but the root, which you eat is obviously not.
Following our time at the cassava plantation, we went for our rain forrest hike. The first point of interest was a Ceiba tree.
A Ceiba is the Mayan tree of life & connects them with the gods of the sky, by its branches & the underground via the roots. We were explained about an ancient ritual which involved holding hands, encircling the tree & putting your forehead against the tree.
The next stop was to see a walking palm tree (Socratea exorrhiza), a type of plant with lots of roots above the ground, that slowly, over time moves across the forrest floor, chasing sunlight. Our guide claims that he has been keeping track of this particular palm & it has 'walked' 2 metres in his life time, so far. I really wanted to believe this palm tree could walk, after all, the Venus fly trap moves.
Unfortunately after a quick google search I found a paper written by a Biologist called Gerardo Avalos, director of the Center for Sustainable Development Studies in Atenas, Costa Rica. Who is one of the world's top experts on the Socratea exorrhiza & who has proven that the walking theory is just a myth.
We were shown a few plants that will aid in your survival if you were to get lost in the forrest. One of these is a vine that can hold a gallon of water in its hollow centre.
We were also shown a medicinal plant called Ryesena or Epica (I'm unsure of the correct spelling) which is an anti emetic when the root is eaten. It's very bitter to the taste & expensive, 1 kg is worth $100 US & in the USA it's commonly sold in liquid form.
We were only out in the forrest for about an hour before walking back to the community hall, where we were given cassava root that had been deep fried. It was very tasty, especially when smothered in chilli sauce.
After lunch we had free time to spend playing cards with each other or we could join in on the locals games of volleyball or soccer.
Tom got involved in a very strenuous game of volleyball which did result in him hurting his shoulder after diving particularly hard for the ball. The afternoon slowly drifted along & it was spent doing not a lot of anything. It's really nice to relax in rural communities & the slow pace of life is evident here.
At 7pm, all the host families gathered in the community hall with a dish each which we would all share. The dishes ranged from savoury to sweet & there was quite a few vegetarian options.
After dinner we gathered outside by the fire & had the opportunity to learn the history of the community & ask questions, which were answered by 2 of the ladies that had been there from the beginning.
Coope San Juan is a community cooperative dedicated to the conservation of the forrest & agriculture. It was started in 1985 with 12 families, who moved here with basically nothing & slowly built everything that we now see. It initially was a very primitive life, sharing a few houses & cooking together on a fire.
We learned that there is now 17 families & a total population of 60 people.
It originally was a dairy farm, however now the land is primarily used for cassava plantations, with 62% of the 416 hectares used for agriculture.
The majority of income is from the land & tourism provides some income with tour groups & researchers who study the nearby forrest staying with the host families.
Travelling to the nearest hospital is a challenge, however they have a first aid officer who is the first response & in the entire existence of the community, there has only been 3 non fatal instances when an ambulance has been needed & met half way.
It is very hard to join the community, which normally happens by marriage. Every potential new person is trialled & has to come with skills to help better the community. You also can't have a criminal history. They love the fact that the community has no vices for the youth, who can grow up close to nature.
The women are very grateful for the opportunities Planterra foundation has been able to provide the community. By allowing tourists to stay in the community & hosting them, it provides an income. G Adventures have included this homestay in most of their itineraries through Costa Rica & Central America, with an estimated 1000 tourists visiting annually.
We feel very privlidged to have visited the community & learnt about the history & their lives. It's a great experience & we went to bed after dinner feeling warm & fuzzy.
- Alli
We were shown a few plants that will aid in your survival if you were to get lost in the forrest. One of these is a vine that can hold a gallon of water in its hollow centre.
We were also shown a medicinal plant called Ryesena or Epica (I'm unsure of the correct spelling) which is an anti emetic when the root is eaten. It's very bitter to the taste & expensive, 1 kg is worth $100 US & in the USA it's commonly sold in liquid form.
We were only out in the forrest for about an hour before walking back to the community hall, where we were given cassava root that had been deep fried. It was very tasty, especially when smothered in chilli sauce.
After lunch we had free time to spend playing cards with each other or we could join in on the locals games of volleyball or soccer.
Tom got involved in a very strenuous game of volleyball which did result in him hurting his shoulder after diving particularly hard for the ball. The afternoon slowly drifted along & it was spent doing not a lot of anything. It's really nice to relax in rural communities & the slow pace of life is evident here.
At 7pm, all the host families gathered in the community hall with a dish each which we would all share. The dishes ranged from savoury to sweet & there was quite a few vegetarian options.
After dinner we gathered outside by the fire & had the opportunity to learn the history of the community & ask questions, which were answered by 2 of the ladies that had been there from the beginning.
Coope San Juan is a community cooperative dedicated to the conservation of the forrest & agriculture. It was started in 1985 with 12 families, who moved here with basically nothing & slowly built everything that we now see. It initially was a very primitive life, sharing a few houses & cooking together on a fire.
We learned that there is now 17 families & a total population of 60 people.
It originally was a dairy farm, however now the land is primarily used for cassava plantations, with 62% of the 416 hectares used for agriculture.
The majority of income is from the land & tourism provides some income with tour groups & researchers who study the nearby forrest staying with the host families.
Travelling to the nearest hospital is a challenge, however they have a first aid officer who is the first response & in the entire existence of the community, there has only been 3 non fatal instances when an ambulance has been needed & met half way.
It is very hard to join the community, which normally happens by marriage. Every potential new person is trialled & has to come with skills to help better the community. You also can't have a criminal history. They love the fact that the community has no vices for the youth, who can grow up close to nature.
The women are very grateful for the opportunities Planterra foundation has been able to provide the community. By allowing tourists to stay in the community & hosting them, it provides an income. G Adventures have included this homestay in most of their itineraries through Costa Rica & Central America, with an estimated 1000 tourists visiting annually.
We feel very privlidged to have visited the community & learnt about the history & their lives. It's a great experience & we went to bed after dinner feeling warm & fuzzy.
- Alli
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