Field day

With one week until my departure from Malawi, yesterday was my last day in the field before I dedicate myself entirely to writing the final report. I decided to make the most of it.

I traveled an hour away to Domasi, a small town outside Zomba, the former colonial capital. There I met with Mrs. Katunu, a truly remarkable woman of the same mettle as Ma Ramotswe, the lovable character from The Ladies Detective Agency series.

Mrs. Katundu runs a small enterprise that makes and sells an interesting array of cassava based products including cassava wine, cassava juice, and a cassava energy drink. (I am brining some cassava wine with me to South Africa to sample!) She is an astute entrepreneur and has carved out a niche for herself selling mostly at International Trade fairs in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

I found her because one of the ingredients in her energy shake is Gondolosi - an indigenous plant that is most well-known in Malawi for its aphrodisiac properties. She has noticed that it is becoming harder to find in the wild and so she has decided to start cultivating it. This fits well with the project I'm working with because while Gondolosi has a strong local market, we have been struggling with the ethical issues of encouraging the use of aphrodisiacs in a country with a major HIV/AIDS epidemic. (Do you think the makers of Viagra think about these things?) Mrs. Katundu’s product allows us to sidestep the issue – it’s an energy drink!

We went to visit her field of aphrodisiac, which is at her traditional home. When we finished meandering through the field, we sat on a grass mat on the front stoop of her older sister's house and she fed me and my driver lunch. When she brought out a steaming dish of livers and gizzards, I had to tell her that I am a vegetarian - something I try to avoid, but her surprising response was, 'my sister doesn't eat meat either'. Her sister brought out some freshly cooked local spinach to eat with my cassava rolls. As I left, they brought out some newly roasted peanuts for me to enjoy on the road. The generosity of those with so little to give will never cease to astound me.