Ewe Proverb
Akpa le tome gake menya tsi fe vevie nyenyeo. (Ewe)
A fish is in water but does not know the importance of water. (English translation)
What does it mean?
The meaning of this proverb is that a fish is always in the water, but until it comes out of the water it doesn’t even recognize that the water exists. This proverb is about “taking things for granted” and similar to the saying that familiarity brings discontent.
NOTE: This proverb is No. 25 in a forthcoming booklet Collection of 100 Ewe Proverbs from the website www.afriproverb.org
Kenya is a medium sized country on the eastern part of Africa. It measures approximately 580,367 km2 and it is the 47th largest country in the world. Its capital city is Nairobi which is in central Kenya. Other major cities include Kisumu and Mombasa while major towns are Nakuru, Kericho, Eldoret and Nyeri. Kenya has forty different ethnic groups which fall under Bantu, Nilotic and Cushitic speakers. The Bantu group is the largest with the Agikuyu community dominating it. Kenya is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south east, Lake Victoria and Uganda to the west, Somalia to the north east, Ethiopia to the north and Tanzania to the south.
The biggest ethnic group is the Kikuyu. They are part of the Bantu speaking people. They occupy the fertile slopes of Mount Kenya and they are mostly farmers. The name Kenya was derived from the kikuyu, kamba and embu names for Mount Kenya. These are Kirinyaga, Kiinya, and Kirinyaa. They believed that the mountain was God’s resting place. They treated the mountain as a holy and sacred place. The word Kenya means God’s resting place.
Kenya has a tropical climate. At the coast and central Kenya, it is very humid. The northern part of Kenya is very dry. The Great Rift Valley passes through the Kenya’s highland making the region very fertile and it the best in the area for crop production. Kenya is also home of many different species of animals and birds. This is because o9f the conducive climate. The big five which are the lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo and leopard can be found here too.
Cape Verde pronounced [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ] located in Western Africa is a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. Cape Verde is slightly larger than Rhode Island. The once uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and resupply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cape Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa’s most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cape Verde’s expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.
An easy Cape Verdean Meal:
Octopus Stew
Yields 4-6 servings
2 lbs. fresh or thawed octopus
2 whole bay leaves
1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 cups of water or seafood stock
l tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon minced garlic
l medium onion
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cut octopus into small pieces and place in a pot with bay leaves and oil. Saute on medium heat 4-5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stew on medium low stir occasionally for 20 minutes.
Growing up on a coffee plantation, Asnakech Thomas is proud that her family comes from a coffee-rich region in Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region. She is also proud that, in February 2007, her coffee was ranked highest in a pre-selection process for Ethiopia’s first-ever private coffee auction. This enabled her to sell the coffee for $2 per pound, a 50 percent increase from before the auction.
Asnakech is participating in a USAID program focused on improving specialty coffee production and quality in Ethiopia. The program helped Asnakech install and operate an eco-friendly coffee processing machine. The project also provided her with expertise on how to create specialty coffee throughout the production process — from tree care, to picking and drying techniques. At the same time, USAID worked with the coffee chains to organize a coffee auction. The auction connected Ethiopian farmers with buyers from more than 40 countries. Some of these specialty coffees sold for as much as $5 per pound, 280 percent more than typical prices.
As Asnakech finished processing coffee for the season, samples of coffee from her and 20 other growers with the program were shipped around the world for buyers to taste and grade. The auction gave producers like Asnakech an opportunity to reach new markets and showcase their specialty coffees. The samples sold at the auction were small and select, and enabled buyers and producers to connect and make long-term trade commitments. After USAID assistance from seed to sales, Asnakech’s samples were bought by an exporter and she made connections with other buyers for future sales.
Asnakech knows she stands out in the coffee industry as a woman, but being the only woman coffee producer and exporter makes her want to work harder. She explained that at first, the farmers who brought their coffee berries (the fruit that contains the coffee beans) to her mill could not believe a woman was in charge. “Now they are used to it. It’s good — almost 80 percent of the people who pick my coffee are women. I want to encourage them,” she said.
As for her coffee placing highest, Asnakech says that it was good, but not good enough. “I received a score of 95. Next time, I want 100.”
Credit USAID
The most common ingredients in Chadian cuisine are local fruit, rains and vegetables, milk and meat products. Millet forms the basis for many Chadian staples, as does sorghum. The main protein source is fish, though beef and chicken also form a significant part of the diet. Stews are often made with okra and cassava leaves are the main greens.
Fried Fish is a traditional Chadian recipe for classic dish of fish with garlic cooked in tomato sauce.
Ingredients
6 medium whole fish with the heads on
12 garlic cloves
2 tbsp flour
5 tbsp oil
3 large ripe tomatoes
Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
Directions
Clean and scale the fish then cut into steaks. Pierce the flesh of the fish with a knife and place the garlic slivers inside. Dip the fish in the flour then heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the fish on high heat. When the fish is golden brown all over add the halved tomatoes, cover the pan and allow to simmer on a very low heat for about 40 minutes. Add a little water if necessary and serve immediately on a bed of rice.
