VOMAYAGE: 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