Appearance VS Health

It is already December and Christmas is very soon !

December 8th was TABASKI, the most important day (holiday) for Islam like Christmas for Christians. Bobo is very islamic city and even Christans celebrate the day with them.

Each family sacrifices a sheep (if they are capable to get one) or a chicken and shares with the family members and relatives with recalling this year and wishing a better year for the next year.

I celebrated the day with a friend (from Uruguay) at my neighbor's house with having a meal and dancing with the family's kids and their friends who came for visit. (Usually girls stay at home to prepare food and entertain visitors.)

Besides, December 11th was Burkina's Independence day. At each city, there were parades or some events although I stayed at home to take a rest.

A part from that, while it is the cold period (winter) in Japan, Europe and North America, Burkina is now in very middle of dry season.

During the day, it is still 35-40 degrees while at night and early morning, it's about 20, which is very comfortable.

Since 2 months, no rain and harmattan (seasonal wind) blows sand and dust everywhere in the city.

What I always needed when I went out with my bike were...

1.　Straw hat to protect from sunburn

2.　(Sun)glasses to protect from sunshine and some dust

I must already look pretty strange with these two items.

But now, in addition to them,

3.　Mask to protect from sand and dust

As a result...

If I go out like this in Japan, police must stop me to ask some questions...

Of course I don't want to meet my friends when I'm biking like this !

But, with this look, less people scream at me "Chinese!" or "White!". I don't always like to be called in such way so I am happier:)

However, when I told this to a friend, she said to me "that's because you look so scary and they don't want to talk to you"...

Shocked....

Well, she is very right.

See, I show a huge smile under this full cover but who can recognize it ?

Anyway, my health is more important than my look !

The sand and dust is seriously terrible. We never know how many bacteria are in that!

Many Burkinabe put "eye"mask that we can get on the plane on their mouth.

Energy source

Energy source of Africa is …

Kids !

I show today some photos of cheerful and cute kids that I met in Bobo.

As soon as I show my camera in front of them, they try to be as closer as possible to camera.

These kids didn't stop moving so I couldn't take well focused photo...

There are also some shy kids. He withdrew his gaze when I turned the camera to him.

There are others who don't get used to see foreigners (white people). She looked up to me with anxious eyes.

Rai : a kid at a Cote d'Ivoire restautant where I go often. She put my straw hat.

With my glasses. So cute with too big glasses for her face.

This boy takes care very well of the baby.

Many kids play with abandoned tires. He posed with very african clothes and his toy.

This kid wears a sweat shirt which a Japanese kid, Matsuda Motohide used to use.

He can never imagine that his sweat came from Japan, far from his country.

This is my favorite photo. The boy in front is so expressive. Each of his expressions is very joyful and pure.

What kind of life they are going to live in the future… ?

I hope they will grow up without losing their present naivety and natural smile.

For their future, for their country's future, I will try to do my best, what I can do during these 2 years.

Compost follow-up

It has been more than 2 weeks since the compost workshop took place.

One week after, we had the second meeting and we shared each woman's compost condition and some difficulties if there were.

I had thought that it would be diffficult or painful for them to separate organic waste, dead leaves which are good for compost and plastic, paper etc which shouldn't be in the compost, to put the waste in the bag and to close the bag each time.

However, all participants told me that it wasn't hard, no problem.

I was very surprised and at the same time, happy to hear that.

Then I started visiting at each woman's house to observe the compost condition by myself and their private life (condition).

Here, I regtretted one thing...

Because these women live in different district in Bobo which has about 800,000 population!

Therefore, I had to go all around the city by bike... (Now at night and early morning, it is cool while during the day, the temperature is still 30-36...)

I should have chosen women in the same district...

But they came to a meeting place, walking for 30-40min to take me to their house, which is very kind.

Besides, that, there were some who mixed a bit of plastic waste, too much weed or got some insects in the bag but in general the compost was in good condition !

I was again surprised !

In fact, some women's compost was fermented better than mine at home :o !

Others put the bag in a place with roof to protect it and even put a cover on it as well.

I felt very lucky to work with these women at this moment :)

After another one week, I did the second visit.

At the 1st visit, there wasn't much waste yet and the compost base soil tended to be dry for all women's case so I suggested to add some water sometime.

i don't know if the water or watery wastes helped but all women's compost condition was improved !

The soil was very hot which means microorganisms are working hard to decompose wastes.

A woman cut wastes in small pieces to let them decompose quicker.

Another said, looking at organic wastes thrown on the street,

"I would take this waste at home and put in the compost"


"I would like to introduce compost to my neighbors"


One another started preparing a new compost base (corn bran, dead leaves and soil) by herself.

Or, a woman's husband told me that

"We used to throw all wastes in the street but now we can use most of them for compost"

Honestly at the beginning, I wasn't sure how it would work, if women will be interested in doing this because this workshop wasn't based on their demand but I decided to do by myself and asked them to participate in it.

I was very anxious about the result.

But now I have a bit of confidence.

Anyway I enjoy very much the activity by myself !

Although I don't know the effect of this homemade compost...

I am thinking to ask women to do some gardening with veggies or flowers to see the effects then use the result to interest more people to compost :)

There are some other members of YANTA who got interested in compost and asked me to teach it so the next compost workshop might take place soon !?

Party, party and party !!!

This summer (July-October), there were pretty many parties at different friends' house.

I couldn't write about it each time so here, I show some photos of many.

Each brings some food or drinks.

African, european, japanese, korean, etc international food and champagne, wine, beer etc !

● Birthday party of our (volunteer) field coodinator : fried brochettes

We prepared all by ourselves

We made even T-shirts with her and her son's photo!

● Birthday party of 2 volunteers who work in Bobo: BBQ

This net is ordermade!

with same age friends

with volonteers from same term

Presents were hidden at the bottom of the pool

● Pot luck home party at a French friend's house

Karaoke～♪

♪♪♪

● Farewell party (part 1)

Bon appetit ☆

● Farewell party (part 2)

● Friend's art (painting) exhibition

My favorite painting with the artist

Help !!!

At these parties, I meet people from different background, which is so interesting.

I enjoy them a lot :)

Another workshop

Between October 20-25, it was the workshop week for me.

That’s because, as I wrote in the last blog, I organized at first the compost workshop then during the same whole week, my colleague organized an improved oven making workshop for instructor training. I participated in it too.

“Improved oven”

If you are the regular visitor of my blog from the beginning, you must know what it is, mustn’t you ?

Yes, in Komagane, on the snow, I made it with other volunteers with frozen hands and feet…although this time, the oven is based on 3 rocks with soil but not the square block one.

My colleague is oven professional maker. She is demanded from all over the Burkina. She made an example one, very nice one so quickly.

It seemed to me pretty easy to make it.

In fact, no it wasn’t… When I made one by myself, mine was somehow different from hers…

I learned that it was very important to do that by oneself, not only watching the process.

Other participants (5members of YANTA) made one everyday from Mon to Thu, in total 4. I made 2 on Tue and Wed. On Thu, I was going to make 3rd one but I didn’t feel well then gave up.

Anyway I know now the main technique after two oven making.

With my colleague’s guaranty☆

Didn’t you notice something about my making position on photos ?

“Why I don’t bend knees?”

This is the African style ! I didn’t do on purpose. This is easier than the position with bent knees !

The last day of the workshop (Fri), we tested the wood consumption amount of different type of ovens with making riz gras (=greasy rice: it doesn’t sound good but it is good !) We would like to use our own oven that we had made but they weren’t enough dried so we used others

Riz gras is a daily food in Burkina. Make rice in tomato based veggies’ sauce with meat or add later fried fish.

I tried to cook it in local way (with an improved oven on wood) with other women!

I used the same type of oven that we made during the week.

We started splitting wood. I couldn’t manipulate well the sickle then everyone laughed at me then a woman got the sickle from me then did for me…

During the whole cooking process, the women, daily cook, couldn’t keep watching me.
To make fire, cut veggies, fry fish, season the soup etc, different women helped me, well did it for me…

At the end, a woman was going to even wash rice for me so I said that rice is Japanese daily food so I know how to wash it at least !

It was however true that I wasn’t accustomed to cooking in African style : I cut my finger with cutting veggies on hand with knife

Anyway the rice was sooooooooo good ☆

What? The test result ?

I will confirm it to my colleague later ! :p