Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetables are a key ingredient of a nutritious meal.  That's what we know here in the developed world.

But in the developing world, like Congo, only fresh fruits and vegetables are available.  So there are other factors that cause the people to be malnourished.  The quantity of food is at fault.

First, not enough of fresh fruits and vegetables are grown during some periods of the year.  Also, lack of transportation limits the available of fresh fruits and vegetables to near the farm.  Finally, the lack of electricity and refrigeration limits the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Sharing A Meal and Avoiding Waste

Food is precious.  It is especially precious for the poor.  The opportunity to eat a meal is a welcomed and cherished activity.

In Congo, food is always shared and eaten.  Food is not wasted.  Especially in rural areas without electricity, it is impossible to save food. 

Reasons to eat Locusts

In rural Congo, the poor can not afford meat.  They only eat meat about once a week.  So it is not uncommon for them to eat bugs.  Termites, caterpillars, and locusts are favorites. 

I tried a plate of locusts.  They were not delicious.  But they were not bad either.  I checked the box and put that experience behind me. 

Then I watched this recent speech, "Why not eat insects?" by Marcel Dicke.  He makes an compelling case for adding insects to everyone's diet.  For example, pound for pound insects are more nutritious and healthier.  Also, they easier and cheaper to produce than a pound of meat.

 

That's Our Thanksgiving Day

 
Congolese are interested in our world.  Some of our American culture and practices are really hard to explain.  The hardest holiday to explain is our Thanksgiving Day. 

First, you have to imagine you are talking a poor rural Congolese.  One who eats about one meal a day.  And that meal is without meat.  Also, one who owns very few material things.  And finally, one who is may have never seen a paved street lined with high skyscapers.  With those images in mind, you are ready to try to explain Thanksgiving now.

The last Thursday of November is Thanksgiving Day.  It's always on Thursday versus a Friday, a Saturday, or a Sunday.  And it's no particular date just the last Thursday.  It's a day of feasting.  Everyone or almost everyone cooks and eats turkey.

While the turkey is cooking.  We saw parades of people and giant floating animal go down some main street or boulevard in New York.  Also, there are people riding on brightly decorated trailers being pulled or driven down the same streets.  Hundreds of thousands of people are standing out to see the spectacle.  It's a wonderful timed laced with delicious smelling food.

Next, it time to eat.  We have prepared a big golden brown turkey along with tons of potatoes, rices, pastas, beans, corns, greens, and salads available in thousands of varieties and tastes.  We eat until we are full.  Then we eat some more.

Our insane grazing is followed by an afternoon and evening of watching football and our favorite classic movies.  Finally, we go to sleep for a couple of hours before we get up to go stand in line at store.  We start shopping at about 4am and shop til we fully exhausted.  That's our Thanksgiving Day celebration and feast.

Afterward, you noticed that something must have been lost in the translation.  Or is there something wrong with us? 

Eat More Chicken

We have beef, pork, or chicken as our primary meats.  Then there are fish or lamb.  Our choices are limitless.  We can buy any type of meat at our stores.

In Congo, the two primary meats are goat and chicken.  In our rural village of Bulape, there are cows that roam around the village.  However, I have eaten beef there.  Why?

I think that the size of a cow makes it prohibitive in a place without electricity and refrigeration.  A cow is too big to eat for one meal.  So Congolese naturally eat more chicken.

The Other Main Dish

A dish of Bidia, cooked cassava and corn meal, is a centerpiece of the Congolese table.  It's the main dish of the meal.  In the developed world and more affluent cultural, the main dish of the meal is some type of meat.  The courses of the meal are set to enhance the favor of the served meat deal.

In Congo, the flavorof Bidia is enhanced by the dishes of greens and beans.  To many, the Bidia is flavor-less.  Actually, Bidia is more like dumplings without anything.  That is, it's like Chicken and Dumplings without the chicken (the meat) and sauce.

As you realize, meat is the most expensive part of the meal.  Hence, the poor can't afford meat.  That's why, there is little or no meat at the center of the poorer Congolese table.

More Fish Needed

Fish is a good source of protein and nutrients for health bodies.  Even Congolese are aware of the benefits of eating fish, too.  But fish is not a popular food eaten in Congo.

Fisheries are scare in Congo.  Currently, most fish come from rivers, creeks, and lakes.  The development of fish ponds could solve nutrition problems.

However, Congolese have had problems growing fish in controlled fish ponds.  Training is needed to help develop the skills necessary.

In the future, it may become customary for rural Congolese to eat fish on Fridays.

The World According to Congo

 
Most of the state fair farm exhibitions have come and gone.  The giant pumpkins and squash have been eaten or destroyed.  The oversized animals have been sold or retired.  

It's time to get back to the real world of farming.  Real farmers are harvesting their crops.  Plenty of produce is in the markets.  Tons of canned or frozen vegetables have been processed for off-season eating.  But that's not the world according to Congo.

Vegetables are NOT stored for off-season eating.  Vegetables are eaten fresh or not at all.  When you don't eat, you starve.  That's the world according to Congo.

Career Advice

What is your career goal?  If you want to be a tourist agent, Congo is not a good location.  If you want to be a top chef, Congo is not a good location.

No one wants to come and help the poor and suffering.  So tourism is out of the question. 

Food is expensive and scare.  The poor are hungry for just the basics of rice and beans.  Most of them wish to eat cassava in some variation if they can afford.  It's filling.  But it's not nutritious or tasty.

That's some career advice.

Getting Their Daily Needs

 
Occassionally, you may experience long lines while going to your favorite store or shopping mall.  But in rural Congo, it is not usual to see women and children going to "the water source" or to "the farm fields".  It is a different sight to see. 

My first thought, I imagined we had arrived in a village or town.  There was no village in sight.  It was just women and children walking along the road.  Then I noticed the buckets, basin, and jars for water.  And then I noticed the baskets for food stuff.

That's a daily and common sight of the poor women and children getting their daily needs.