The rains have finally stopped and everyone has begun harvesting for this year. As I've said before, the staple crop in Malawi is maize which is used for porridge and nsima at practically every meal. For the past month or so we’ve been eating lots of fresh corn, mostly just roasted on the fire, but now’s come the time for harvesting, in order to save maize for the rest of the year.
Besides maize, some of the other major crops grown in my area include tobacco, soy beans, beans, pumpkins, squash and groundnuts (peanuts). Of course there are those who grow sugarcane, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and even peppers as well. Tobacco as you’d imagine is the biggest cash crop here and a lot of Malawians depend upon buyers in the U.S. and Europe in order to make a profit.
Also, I’ve been lucky to have a variety of fruits and vegetables over the past few months. Everything’s quite seasonal, especially the fruits. We moved from mango season, to guava season and now to orange season, though I’ve always been able to find bananas no matter what time of year.
I haven’t had a ton of experience harvesting in the fields myself. However, I did spend a day with Susan (my headteacher’s wife aka my Malawian mother and caretaker) and her two nieces Natalia and Monika harvesting groundnuts. We walked to the munda (ground) at 6:30 am and didn’t return until after 4:00pm. I spent the first few hours digging up the groundnut plants, but the majority of my day was spent sitting in the sun with Susan, picking the nuts themselves. We took a break to sit in the fields and eat nsima around lunch time when the girls brought us food they'd gone home to cook earlier in the day.
Another day, I was also able to help them harvest the corn surrounding my house. I spent an entire morning with Susan and the girls cutting corn stalks and then taking husks off the corn cobs. As I said above corn is the staple food in Malawi. To me this may have been a morning of playing in the fields with friends, but to every other rural Malawian it’s an essential chore which if not performed could lead to hunger later in the year.
I’ve posted a few pictures of me and the girls. I still need to teach Susan how to use my camera correctly so I can get some more pictures of me for my mom. :)
Besides maize, some of the other major crops grown in my area include tobacco, soy beans, beans, pumpkins, squash and groundnuts (peanuts). Of course there are those who grow sugarcane, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and even peppers as well. Tobacco as you’d imagine is the biggest cash crop here and a lot of Malawians depend upon buyers in the U.S. and Europe in order to make a profit.
Also, I’ve been lucky to have a variety of fruits and vegetables over the past few months. Everything’s quite seasonal, especially the fruits. We moved from mango season, to guava season and now to orange season, though I’ve always been able to find bananas no matter what time of year.
I haven’t had a ton of experience harvesting in the fields myself. However, I did spend a day with Susan (my headteacher’s wife aka my Malawian mother and caretaker) and her two nieces Natalia and Monika harvesting groundnuts. We walked to the munda (ground) at 6:30 am and didn’t return until after 4:00pm. I spent the first few hours digging up the groundnut plants, but the majority of my day was spent sitting in the sun with Susan, picking the nuts themselves. We took a break to sit in the fields and eat nsima around lunch time when the girls brought us food they'd gone home to cook earlier in the day.
Another day, I was also able to help them harvest the corn surrounding my house. I spent an entire morning with Susan and the girls cutting corn stalks and then taking husks off the corn cobs. As I said above corn is the staple food in Malawi. To me this may have been a morning of playing in the fields with friends, but to every other rural Malawian it’s an essential chore which if not performed could lead to hunger later in the year.I’ve posted a few pictures of me and the girls. I still need to teach Susan how to use my camera correctly so I can get some more pictures of me for my mom. :)
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