Christmas in Africa: Village-Style in Burundi

Christmas in Burundi: Celebrations in the nearby village

Christmas Day 2011>

The village is about 15 minutes from Hotel Club du lac Tanganyika, and many of the residents work for the hotel. There is no electricity, but that should change in a few months.

In this Google map, the Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika is on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, and the village is located up the straight road and to the left

The hotel has organized a contract farming project in which villagers grow vegetables to order for the hotel, which bypasses merchant middle-men and thus increases profits of the growers. These ladies are harvesting amaranth that will go to the hotel.

First task, is to select a goat for the Christmas feast. A little doe was donated from our herd (shown here).

Off to be slaughtered and prepared

Preparing the goat for a stew with red peppers

Cassava (manioc) leaves are pounded into a paste with green peppers and some other ingredients to make sombé – a favorite vegetable

Palm oil nuts are collected  from one of the palm trees in the village, to make fresh palm oil for cooking the feast.

Cooking for a group is a shared activity – on charcoal burners

Banana beer has been made, and is enjoyed by guests

Children are washed up

Others enjoy Premus Beer while chatting

It is now against the law in Burundi to cut down trees for Christmas, and so a tree was made using palm fronds and banana leaves. There is no electricity in the village, the lights on this tree were strung up just for decoration.

After eating, more visiting with family members – here, grandfather with granddaughter

Women show off their new outfits

And Nona gives me a wonderful present… -

A jar of wild bee honey!! Delicious!

Sunset through the oil palms

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• Batwa Pots in Burundi: Traditional Clay Pot Cuisine, Pt. 2 of 2 (dianabuja.wordpress.com)
• African Beef Stew with sweet potatoes and mangos, cooked and served in a Pumpkin (dianabuja.wordpress.com)
• Using the Fruits of the Earth: Feasting in Burundi (dianabuja.wordpress.com)
• Notes on Dairy Goats and Artisan Cheese Production in Central Africa (dianabuja.wordpress.com)
• It’s That Time of the Year Again: Rice Harvesting and Processing (dianabuja.wordpress.com)
• Sombé – Manioc (Cassava) Leaves and Goat Meat in a Hot Sauce, Served with Manioc porridge (dianabuja.wordpress.com)
• The Life of Monitor Lizards along Lake Tanganyika (dianabuja.wordpress.com)
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