three stones system

three stones system
in rural areas in many African countries, people are still cooking with the "three stones system". This system use firewood. because it does not keep the heat, waste more firewood than modern system. However, the system also has a cultural meaning: the three stones represent respectively: the father, the mother and the child. It gives a sense of a family. This is system you'll see in fulani households.
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# Posté le vendredi 17 juin 2005 07:14

3 stones system in my camp!

3 stones system in my camp!
in november 2004, i went with my field team (yacoubou, marcelin, idi, yarou) to the National Park W of Benin. This is in the upper North of the country. It was during one of the coldest period of the year. We were surveying Khaya senegalensis populations out there in the park. we were supposed to find the most intact (unharvested) population there. we spent 4 days camping in the middle of the park, and we used the 3 stones cooking system. although our system was a bit modernized with concrete instead of stone,... it was a good experience!
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# Posté le vendredi 17 juin 2005 07:21

fieldwork with gifts..

fieldwork with gifts..
you might be suprised but indigenous people in Benin are keen to please their visitors. whenever i go to fulani and if they have milk, they will give it to me. this time, I could not use my truck to go to one of the fulani villages where i am doing my study. i had to get someone in the village carry me and Liamidi (one of field assistant) on his motorbike (mate yamaha 80 chinois). The trail was bad, rocky, and swampy at certain point! on our way back, the fulani chief gave me a chicken for the diner. it is common to see fulani people raising chicken in their backyard. you may want to take a close look at the type of chicken that is!
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# Posté le vendredi 17 juin 2005 19:56

Do you know where Benin is?

Do you know where Benin is?
I remember that when i introduce my self to colleagues and other friends,. they usually ask me where i am from. when i say i'm from Benin, most of them get lost and think about berlin, or belize, or beijin. some of them feel guilty of not knowing much about Africa. here is where Benin is! it is small country in West Africa. it is a french speaking country, and was formely call Dahomey.
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# Posté le samedi 18 juin 2005 21:02

Modifié le jeudi 31 août 2006 00:26

Benin, vegetation map 1970

Benin, vegetation map 1970
I got this map from the website of Univ of Texas. It shows the vegatation of Benin in the 1970. it doesn't look right to me. it is too sketchy and show weird vegetation along the rivers that might be a true gallery forest!
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# Posté le samedi 18 juin 2005 21:03

Modifié le dimanche 27 mai 2007 14:09