The Humble Manioc Plant

The Manioc (also know as Cassava) plant is a food staple in Congo. It is easy to grow, tolerates the tropics, and flourishes despite poor soil.


The plant takes about 6 months to mature before the long, tuberous root is harvested and processed to produce a kind of flour. Along the way some of the leaves are taken and boiled to make something that looks kind of like spinach. After harvest the leftover stalk is cut into pieces and stuck back in the ground where it takes root and starts the process all over again.


The popular bitter variety, more tolerate of pests, contains cyanide, so the starchy root needs to be peeled, boiled, left to slightly ferment (which neutralizes the poison, but leaves a sour taste), dried, and pounded into a flour. Around here in Congo, people like Fou-Kou, in which the flour is boiled into a super thick glob, which ends up looking a lot like Polenta, but the taste is more sour. It must really be loved because people cut off a huge piece, about the size of a softball, out of the pot in which it is cooked and served, and eat it with a fork or their hands.

Since the Manioc is primary starch it has very little protein and is poor in nutrients, yet remains a staple of the Congo diet. In other parts of the world the root is made into tapioca.

Living in the Congo

Since there is no electricity, there is no refrigeration - so shopping for food must be done almost every day.

We visited the Gemena market one afternoon. What an experience! It was pandemonium! (Check out some of my photos by clicking on one of the Picasa photos on the right of the screen.) Crowded, noisy, hot, yet not rude like I've experienced in some tourist markets. In fact, even though the several of us were the only "anglos", I felt very safe. A good portion of the merchants in the markets are local church members. And since we are so welcomed in this region anyone "messing" with us would probably get into a lot of trouble.

There's not a lot of variety. Some items are strange, like live caterpillars. Other items raise questions, like fresh meat sitting out on an open table all day. Other things are familiar, the fresh pinneapples, bananas, locally grown coffee, and the ever present manioc. I'll write more about that item later.

African Orphans

Orphans have it rough in Africa. There are no social systems to care for their needs so relatives try to accommodate them in their usually overburdened homes. As a result, since school is not free, few of them have opportunity for education, vocational training, making an income, or even buying basic necessities.

A ReachGlobal project called GlobalFingerprints has been set up to help the most needy. It's a sponsorship program to help orphans get into a local school, have needed supplies, clothes, food, etc. It's not a residential orphanage, but an assistance program. It's unique in that it is run by local churches, so followup is natural and indigenous.

One of the pastor's on my trip made a special visit to "his" orphan today. What a joyful encounter!! He left her with a new flashlight (very handy in an area that has no electricity), a toothbrush, some school supplies, a packet of tuna (I'm not really sure what's behind that), and pictures of his family. Isn't that great?!!

Congo - July 2009 - Getting There

When the U.S. State Dept. recommended that groups of Americans avoid traveling through Kinshasa, the capital and primary city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), getting to the Ubangi, the Northwest region of the Congo where we minister, became much more complicated.

The trip from Chicago to Gemena, one of the main cities of the Ubangi, took 4 full days. First, an overnight trip to Europe. Then a long layover before another 6 hour flight south, across the Mediterranean, the Sahara, and the northern tropical rain forest into Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). Then, the next morning an early crossing of the river border between CAR and the DRC in large dugout canoes.

(Click for larger image)

Finally, a rugged 12 hour journey in trucks into the interior of the DRC. Every few miles we ran into a spot that felt like a real road (even if unpaved), but the bulk of the journey was brutal. We only had one flat tire. Fortunately, the spare was sound so changing it only took about a half hour.


Now we're here, safe & sound. Now we're ready to embrace the discoveries and new friendships a trip like this will provide!