Community Built through Shared Tasks

My best days here in Mozambique are the ones that have been the most uneventful. Days where I pass time with people doing the simplest of things. I enjoy just sitting with people and visiting as they get their hair braided, sort beans, or  hand wash and hang their clothes to dry.  These common tasks can take a full day to complete. Hence they are more of a social event filled with conversation, laughter, and the sharing of the chores. Here we do not have the distraction of technology and the busyness of life. Life is more social and community oriented. People take the time to sit and visit with their neighbors, getting to know them and sharing their burdens with each other. 

 I recently spent a day with one of our Sunshine families making badjias. I adore badjias! They are a traditional Mozambican food- a small bean patty fried in oil that you put in pão (the Mozambican bread which sort of resembles a small loaf of Italian bread) and eat like a sandwich. As we all know, anything fried in oil is delicious. As the bread soaks in the oil from the badjias, it makes for a great grunge of a meal that is so satisfying...especially when enjoyed with a Mozambican Coke made with real sugar! People make the badjias at home and walk around the street selling them to passersby for only 2 meticais a piece. This is the equivalent of 3 cents. To make the perfect sandwich, you would use about 5 bajias for a half loaf of pão. I have enjoyed these sandwiches over the years, and now I was ready to learn how to make them. 

BUT...after seeing the work and time that goes into making badjias, it is most certain that I will continue to purchase them on the street! The labor that goes into making them is exceedingly great! In my opinion, they charge wayyyyy too little an amount for these delicacies! As we worked together all morning making the badjias, I took photos so I could remember the process. The photos illustrate the work that was done as well as the sense of community that is a part of the process. 

After the beans are purchased at market, one must sort through them and pull out any debris such as pieces of grass, small stones, etc. The beans are then poured into a pilão.
A pilão is a gift traditionally given to a daughter from her mother  when she gets married. 

The beans are then pounded with the long wooden pilador- which in my opinion weighs at least 10 pounds! Again and again and again the pilador is lifted and brought down upon the beans in the pilão. It is not a task for the weak!

Ilda was kind enough to let me have a try...I lasted only about 30 seconds until she took control of the pilador again stating that we would be working all night if I were to continue my feeble efforts!

All of this effort is required just to remove the red shells off the beans.

As you will see, most of the steps require several people to participate. Here, Ilda is using the pilador to smash the beans while Madalena holds the pilão steady and Virginia adds in more beans.

From time to time, the beans are taken out of the pilão and placed in a basket called a pimeira.

The pimeira basket is used to toss the beans into the air and cause the deshelled beans to separate from the skins. This is an art form to accomplish successfully. Virginia made it look easy. I thought to myself, "Finally...a task I can do!" But when I tried it, there were more beans on the ground than in the basket! Again, I was pushed to the side to allow those more experienced to complete the task. 

Ilda, Helio and Nina are removing the beans that still have shells on them. These are placed back into the pilão and pounded yet again.

After the beans have been deshelled, they will be ground using this bowl, called a moedeira, made from clay. Virginia scrubbed for a long time to get it all clean.                                               

  The deshelled beans are placed in water to soak and soften. 

While the beans soak, the garlic is peeled and crushed. 

The fuel for the cooking braai is prepared. Coconut shells are broken up and used as kindling. 

 The charcoal is placed in the braai with the coconut shells on top. A little plastic is added to make lighting it easier.

After the beans have softened, the water is drained.

The beans are placed in the clean moedeira. The pilador is now used to grind the beans into a pasty flour. This takes even more physical effort and stamina as you press the pilador in and rotate it around and around repeatedly. The moedeira does not have a flat bottom. It is all curved, so it is placed in a tire to help hold it steady. 

I can personally verify that this task takes a lot of muscle. So when the children and I get tired...

We call the "big guns" back in again. Ilda is very experienced and strong from years of doing such work. She made us all look like weaklings. 

 As the beans are ground, more water is added to make it into a paste.

As we worked, other women in the community who were passing by would stop to lend a hand and chat for a bit. 

 It was fun to experience the sense of support and community these women share.

 Once the beans are finally ground into a paste, the dough is scooped by the spoonful and fried in hot oil over the braai.

This is repeated again and again until the bowl is scraped clean.

 Finally, we have a bowl full of fresh, hot badjias!

And now for the best part of the day...sharing the fruit of our labor and eating them together!