Settling in at post: Logozohè

Mid-September
   

Men hard at work making sobadi in the woods (think palm moonshine)

Grandma

Rice fields

We have arrived at post!  I have been placed in Logozohè, a village of (if local estimates are correct) about 6,000 people (not counting the surrounding villages) in the Collines department (see central Benin).  While fully expecting to be “roughing it” here in Africa, I have ended up in relatively luxurious digs.  I do not have running water, but I do have electricity, a well and a rain-fed cistern right outside my door, and an indoor (bucket) shower room (i.e. a hole in the floor).  I am also situated conveniently between Dassa and Savalou, two medium-sized (by Benin standards) cities.  And, the collines (hills) are beautiful – I can’t wait to get out and do some hiking.

Women's soccer team

Each volunteer is placed with a supervisor and a counterpart to help facilitate their integration and, hopefully, their work as well.  My supervisor is the CA (chef d’arrondissement) of Logozohè and my homologue, a seamstress, is one of his four wives.  While neither of them are directly involved with the agricultural/environmental work I will be doing here they are definitely well connected and have been very welcoming.  So far my days are pretty loosely organized and consist of me walking around village and getting to know people.  I have an in-depth étude de milieu (community assessment) due in December that requires me to find out as much about Logozohè as possible, both its strengths and weaknesses.  If done well, it will provide a strong base on which to conduct all of my future work.  It is also a good excuse to get out and about and learn more about where I will be spending the next two years.  As I move along in the process I will be sure to post any interesting tidbits I learn.

Anthonia and me, one of my first night's in village

Papa Tchou kou tou (best maker of fermented millet beer)

Woman rolling out kooli kooli (peanut paste snacks)

Helping kids look at the sun during the solar eclipse

My neighbor Angel and her daughter Astride

Fete outside the king's palace

Rita, my homologue, and out mud stove

My friend, Poncelle, and her daughter Caline

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Fast forward 3 months (since I’m so behind on posting!): So, post-Etude de Milieu, what have I learned about my community?  Well, let me tell you!

• The local language is Mahi (a derivative of Fon)
• The current population is 6,320
• Logozohè was founded in 1769 by Aditi TCHAOU, the second king of Savalou
• The name Logozohè means tortoise (logozo) and bird (he) in Mahi and its emblem is just that, a bird sitting on the back of a tortoise
• Logozohè has two public schools and three private schools and many children from surrounding villages come here to attend the secondary schools, as smaller villages usually don’t have any
• 90% of Logozohè’s population participates in subsistence agriculture activities (more on this later)
• The village market is every 4 days and you can find everything from shoes and clothing to dried fish and vegetables to live animals and school supplies
• The biggest challenges include water scarcity and lack of employment opportunities
• Environmentally, deforestation and a Chinese factory located on the river are the biggest challenges.  The factory specifically is killing the fish and polluting the water by dumping all of its wastes into the river – hello, lack of environmental regulations!

 

Chinese factory



Slaughtering of a cow for a local ceremony

I learned many other interesting facts about Logozohè , but those will have to wait for their own posts.