togo

togo est bon

when it rains...make chocolate

So I may have mentioned to some of you my experiences in transforming the cacao grain I collect with my farm cooperative here in Togo. One day I decided that since they only sell the raw product that it would be great to try to transform the grain into real chocolate for a taste test of what they are currently producing. Basically, I decided to put myself in charge of "quality control." I mean why not experiment with a raw product, and if all goes well with what little equipment I have, I may even be able to teach others how to transform it into a marketable local delicacy.

The farmers I work with compose to form a cooperative of farmers from the plateau region of Togo. Together, they have the capacity to fulfill export demands by combining and stocking the grain that is harvested from all the members farms. They pack the fermented and dried cacao beans into burlap sacs which are weighed and then loaded into a truck to ship down to the port in Lome. The grain is sold based on weight. There are different grades given to the raw bean and most is determined by size and weight. A grain that is properly fermented and dried will give a solid weight based on moisture content. The farmers know how to sort out the good beans from the bad, although in the end, since they do not transform the bean into edible chocolate, thay have no context to determine the quality of the taste. Thus, that is where I come in. I have been know to have fine sensabilities in distinguishing the taste of fine chocolate. (or at least I love trying)

and so it goes...on y va!... It takes 3-5 years for a Cacao tree to produce the pods that carry the chocolate bean. White flowers sprout from the trunk and then turn into tiny pods that grow in size of up to 35cm long. (about the size of a small Nerf football) These pods start out as a pale green then turn to a golden yellow as well as shades of orange and red once they are ready to be harvested. The pods are harvested by knocking them down with a large sickle.

After enough pods are collected to fill a basin, they are taken to a spot where they are opened to remove the grain (the chocolate bean itself). In each pod you can find as many as 30-40 beans, all covered in a white pulp (which tasted much like lychees). After all the grain is removed from the pods, the empty pods are tossed aside and the beans are taken to a spot to be fermented and dried.Nothing is wasted: the split open pods are turned into compost to help the trees grow or are burned and the ash is used to make a kind of soap which is cheap and works really well.

The beans are then wrapped in banana leaves and left to ferment in the shade. Inside the leaf package, heat is trapped. The heat makes the pulp ferment, which means that bacteria and yeasts in the pulp multiply. This releases chemicals that give the cocoa beans their chocolatey flavor and color.

After a week of fermenting in banana leaves, the beans are spread out onto long bamboo tables and dried in the sun for up to 10 days. As the beans dry they shrink in size as they lose a lot of the water inside them. A good bean will still have some moisture content. You can break a bean in half to notice if it was well fermented. If a bean has a pale purple-redish tone on the inside then it has not been properly treated. Good beans have a nice dark brown-purple color inside.

In the first sttep of making chocolate, the cocoa beans go through a process of roasting and something called ‘winnowing’ to get rid of their shells. I laid the beans out in a single layer on a skillet over a low-med flame and continued to toss them until they started to pop and crackle. I tried not to burn the bean, only to heat it enough to be able to remove the hull (reddish brown shell) Another time I tried to cook them in my dutch oven to slowly heat them until they popped thier shells.

After roasting I rubbed the beans to remove the hulls and prepare them for grinding. There is also a fine film that is easily removed by shaking, or blowing the beans with a hot air dryer. This is called winnowing. What is then left is the cocoa nib.

I then took the cocoa nibs and grinded them with my small coffee grinder. The grinding tends to release the moisture in the beans, turning them into a paste. I had done this one time before and all I got was a gritty powder which indicated that the beans may not have been well fermented, with a lack of moisture content. After grinding to for a paste I heated it in a pan while adding a touch of water. I then returned it to the grinder to continue to minimize the grittiness. I repeated this step several times. Finally, I poured the mixture back into the pot to fondu and continued to add powdered milk, fine confectioners sugar,cocoa butter and a touch of vanilla while stirring over low heat. I added these things to taste, since I am only a novice, not quite a chocolate alchemist. Well, not yet.

I then seperated the mixture into a couple different bowls to create some "melanges" In one bowl I added peanut butter (made from scratch by the local marche mamas), in another, curry powder topped with roasted flaked coconut, and in the last, a touch of cayenne "piedmont" powder that is used locally to spice up almost any dish. (I once made a spicy rendition of snickerdoodles with it) I left one bowl to represent the natural "unaltered" taste. I then rolled them into truffle like balls to rest and harden.

ehh voila! enyo ento!...c'est bon!

Though the real process of transforming cacao beans into fine chocolate requires an amount of technical machinery unavailable to me here in Togo, in the end I was able to capture the taste of bitter dark chocolate..made from scratch and harvested by hand. It may not be as smooth and creamy with a nice waxy snap, but it works for me...esp since I made it. I am hoping to see if there will be a market for it in my village, if so, my groupment could start to sell some of the beans to women who will transform it for local sale. I brought the final product to the members at the office and it was a hit. They keep asking for more. So there's hope that there may be a market for it here in Togo. Although, what I need to concentrate more on is getting their office records better organized, potentially computerizing their bureau, and hoping that one day they will be able to become Fair Trade certified in coffee and cocoa. That idea has been difficult to propose (although, they are wanting to register) since it is a hard, lengthy process and difficult to finance in order to have the certifier come and verify. I hope I can get them on their way.

coming soon...Robusta Coffee..from berry to bean...to cup...

Chicago Represents

sOrry SO long....no wORd on tHings in tOgO

...allo yovo!

Well I know, so long and no word from the girl in Africa you all know so well. I promise to keep better attention focused on updating this from time to time but with lack of connectivity well, let's say...this is all you get.

HUmm..where to start...
let's see,
* In 20 days I will be posed at the start of the Accra Marathon in an attempt to run 26.2 miles in the African heat, while hoping someone will toss me a water bag before I dehydrate.

*In two months I will be going to my first African tradeshow/artisinal exposition in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso where the woman who I have been helping expand her batiking business will be debuting her new line. http://www.siao.bf/ Check out her products on my other blog.. aklala de Togo http://aklala.blogspot.com/ We are also hoping to market some of her product to a Whole Foods Representative who will be visiting Togo. We are going to develope other styles using organic cotton and natural plant dyes.

*Currently due to flooding and poor road conditions travel within Togo is hard and my once paved road that passes through my village is turning into a dirt path. There was a bridge that collapsed on the Route Nationale (main road that connects the port of Lome, Togo to the other land-locked countries to the north) and most of the traffic has been redirected through my road. This means all the large and overloaded Titans have caused the road to crumble turning into a mudpit. It's amazing how fast the road has crumbled. This has made travel hard and I am forced to stay at post more often. Which also means lack of access to internet which is in the town 28k south of me.

*I am having a great time in village and feel well loved by all. I have never felt so popular in all my life and at times is extremely exhausting. I walk through town and do my Miss Togo wave, as they all sream my name..."Adjovi...Adjovi" The other day it was "Fatima" as I practiced the art of fasting and the life of a Muslim for one day during this years Ramadan.

*When it rains I stay inside and convert locally harvested chocolate beans into fine dark chocolate truffles...you'll see... I make my own chocolate and roast my own coffee here through having access to the raw materials. I have been transforming the grains in an attempt to do a feasibility study on taste and quality.

* I finally started my little box garden where I have radishes, carrots, onion, tomato, cucumber, pepper and ...broccoli (not found in all of Togo) With the rain we have been having things are growing in full form.

* I am anticipating another visit from Wil, hopefully in the coming months. We will camp out on my rooftop under the African starry sky since I have constructed a ladder to get on top. It's like my lookout tower now, where I can spy on everyone in village.

*Chances are you might see me in Chicago for Christmas where I may fall victim to the effects of cold weather on a girl who has spent the last year and some in Africa. Right now I have a cold, though I think it is more due to the mildew from the humidity and dampness as well as all the dust in the air from traveling down dirt roads, while following semi trucks.

* I would love to hear from you all and let me know about life "stateside"..life, loves, family, friends, jobs, politics (They LOVE Obama here in Togo and probably most all of Africa) You mention the US election and all they want to talk about is Obama.

I miss you all!!! Let me know the news...you know I'm at a disconnect here and am missin' NPR bigtime..let alone contact with all of you.

all is not lost

I am soo sorry for those of you who hope for continual entertainment through my blog. I am trying to get a couple good postings together but have been so busy in village and abound.

For some updates:

Health-doing well and have been managing the heat. It is now rainy season so the bug are biting and I probably have about 20 new bites daily. Self restrain to not scratch is futile.

Happiness- Coming back from visiting Wil in Mauritania I had a new found appreciation for life in village. I was well recieved by my friends in village. I think they thought I left for good. Now that they know I haven't, they want to know where thier presents are that I forgot to bring them back from my trip. Geeeezzz... Only thing missing...Wil. I have plans to try to have him relocated to Togo to live with me. We will see.

Love- Still difficult without family and friends(hometown) near by but doing well lovin myself. Wil and I are stronger than ever and who knows.. Will keep you posted of future status change.

Voyages- Had a great time visiting Wil in Mauritania. From camel sandwiches to hot car rides through the barren wasteland. Everything is so much more fun when we're together. I will post a blip on my comparisions to life here and there.

Food-IT's MANGO time...wow here there everywhere there's a mango! I have a new found appreciation for all things birthed in nature, including fruits and vegetables. I crave pineapple, apples(though imported here), mango, grapefruit on a daily basis and all i have to do to tame the crave is walk a few feet and drop a coin for a whole pile. I am going to have a hard time returning to bying produce in the states. It's so cheap here..and plentiful...mmmm. I also can't stop eating these damn yummy peanuts. I plan on buying a bowl at marche, blanching them and sand roasting myself. I feel that if I do I will eat them all and potentially OD..so I but the little sacs on the streets to control my obsessive noshing. If you only knew the difference, I will never be able to eat a planters peanut again..it just doesn't compare. I am also planning on creating a food journal of all the oddities and locally eaten goodies here...

Work- everything is going great in village and I have a lot of things to do. I am going to be a camp counselor for a girls apprentice camp in JUne. I am working with a batiker developing products for local market and beyond. Had a meeting with USAID that went well, to see how to develop artists locally by participating in local and international trade shows. (I knew my previous employment would come in handy at some point) Making chocolate at home from the cacao beans from my counterparts stocks. (and tools, ie small food processor, molds,books on making chocolate, soy lechitin, cocoa butter etc..can be sent at any whim) Working with women's groups in village to build improved cookstoves (that use less wood or charcoal) Ohh this is a whole post in itself..soon..I promise.


Well in a wrap..more to come..stay tuned...sorry my satellite has been down and all you get is static. "The Yovo Show" staring Adjovi (Megan) to be continued...

piedmont doodles n passin time

Journal.......



Feb 14th 2008


So last night we celebrated the anniversary of George. George was a lapin (rabbit) who made his way up from Lome with a couple members of Aglame's ONG (NGO). George was unable to express his gratitude for the celebration because his birthday was also the death of him. You see, George the lapin was a product of their new project of elevage (animal husbandry). Rabbits here are rare but the meat tender, so in search of an income generating activity they have turned to raising little George cotton tails. I have to admit...as I sat there amongst them and stared at the little piment covered chunks of meat laying on a bed of a brown cement paper bag..I was interested in a taste. So they poured the glasses of 2buck table wine as we sat in front of the buvette chanting “joyeaux anniversaire” to George. Then we nibbled on him. Tender indeed and quite yummy as the last time I had rabbit was when I studied abroad in Italy 2002. By the taste of it, I think they have the beginnings of a great business if they are able to charge top CFA for them.

Earlier that day I had all intentions to go into the office but got a little distracted. My homologue called me to say that they were in the middle of organizing the “cahier de caisse.” The last time we went through that I remember sitting there for about 4 hours as we taught the importance of recording transactions in a log for each groupment. Two hours went to just explaining what info was to be placed in each of the columns...leaving about an hour for one person amongst them to finally figure out that “objet de transaction” was not a calculation or date but what in fact they bought or sold. Next time I think we should start with basic vocab. En route to the office I decided to take the long way and visit my “good friend” the menusier (carpenter) just to see if in fact he had finished my pantry cupboard. Ohh “pas-encore”...so I critiqued what was yet to be finished and told him to bring it to my house by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. There is a long story that goes along with my relationship with him, full of disappointment, delay and disgust. I have already used the terms “merde” and “fache” in my conversations with him.

Leaving chez lui I popped in to see what was going on in the mini cafe. Dieu-Donne(“God-Given”..love the names here) was watching a fuzzy tele that flashed in and out of what seemed to be a test of the National Weather Alert System. I soon realized that what they were watching in broken fuzzy translated French was “Red Dragon.” I proceeded to try to discuss the film in which a disturbed man turns to cannibalism. The conversation quickly turned to the fact that in the US our televisions are not crappy like the ones here, because in Togo “nous suffrons.” I threw in the whole debate on suffering over television quality and reminded him that he ate well today and there are not those in my village at least who are starving. But Dieu Donne will continue to ask God for a new television as if that was his only wish.

I then made my way over to my budding Starbucks cafe. Issac was sitting in there chattin it up with the gens. I took a look around his boutique and noticed empty boxes...dust and a few products on the shelf. What's going on? Ohh waiting for the money to roll in before he does something about restocking the shelves, he mentions. I explain to him that now would be a good time to clean up and make it “proper” for when he does in fact find money to re-stock. Ohh...but I'm lazy, he explains. So I begin to do what I think is needed here. I take action into my own hands and begin to move empty boxes and reorganize. I think what they need is just a bit of a push from a little yovo to get things up and running. Little before we know...brooms are flying, dust fills the air and Issac, his employees and I are all in the middle of a clean sweep. A couple young boys (lazy teenagers of which my village has more than I would like) pop in to seek amusement in watching me help them. I turn to them and say that it's not a television show and if you want to stand there and watch you better help out. I must have made my point because soon they were moving boxes and taking action. That lasted all of 5 minutes as they headed back out to the streets to sit with all the other moto drivers. In due time we had wiped all of the shelves, reorganized the remaining inventory, caught a mouse, learned a bit of spiritual healing with melted rosin that warns off bad spirits (not Voodoo..but Muslim spiritual rituals), and created a bit of enthusiasm for a new beginning. I decided to return home after Issac thanked me for my time with a great big “Ak bey ka ka.”

Upon my return home all dusty and dingy I discovered the water was cut so I proceeded to make a little income generating product for Issac. I turned to baking as I love so much here and adapted a time old traditional recipe of Snicker doodles to Togolese taste....instead of hard to find cinnamon to mis with the sugar..I replaced it with cayenne powder for a spicy substitution.

Try it sometime...”Pimentdoodles”...mmmmmmm




Feb 17th 2008

So the weekend has passed again and in a wink I am approaching the new week. I biked to Kpalime to spend the V-day love with the other volunteers in my region. I love the bike down to Kpalime. I am stressing the down....with ups ..but more downs. I don't mean emotional downs..more of momentum..physical..it's a nice ride lets say. I say that even more so because it's Sunday morning and I am sitting here, sweat dripping down my leg with a huge bruise on my knee that marks the results of my return. It's hot here..currently 101 degrees at about 3 in the afternoon. I left Kpalime this morning around 9 to make the 28K journey back home. Due to the seasonal winds, and of course lay of the land I had to bike uphill with a strong head-wind. Upon my return, I then cleaned the house a bit and decided to wash up...till I noticed the water cut. So dirty me decides to take a nap instead. I was never one for naps but with the heat, bordem and at times the sheer lack of nothing better to do you tend to cut up your day with a nap. Plus, everyone else is on “repo” too.

The weekend was great fun. It's nice to get out once and a while to be around other volunteers and hide out together. What is funny is that even together, we don't talk much. It's good to have the company of others just to have a sense of home but we don't entertain one another all the time. Which is a good thing because we would probably drive one another nuts with our problems. It's also a time for dinner parties and we all love to eat here in Togo. It's usually no fun cooking for yourself so making a nice meal to be shared is a welcome pastime here. We went on a whole Mexican theme making flour tortillas, beans and salsa and sides for burritos, as well as cheese dip and fried tortilla corn chips. To top it off we also had a chocolate cake, my little strawberry heart cookies and some good ole American box brownie mix. Not bad eh? Everytime we get into the whole cooking thing it always comes out great, maybe it's the though of eating something other than rice and beans, or pate and fufu? In any case it's always one of the best meals in country.

Now I'm back at home bored out of my mind. Bored of myself and wondering what I'm going to do with my week. I think tomorrow I'll go to the office in the morning, then hang out with the marche mamas in the afternoon. I love my marche days. In those I learn so much and feel that it is my time to do a little cultural exchange. That and there is something going on in village where everyone is occupied and busy doing something. That means they don't bother or annoy me as much because they aren't sitting around needing the “Yovo Show.”

My new loves....


Food:
*Almonds, raw (my love for them is unmeasurable when all you get are peanuts here)
*Dried fruits esp: apples, apricots, prunes and figs ....teachin them fruit dryin..Cayenne Pepper and *Wasabi
Hummus and Veggies
Grapefruit and Apples
*Dark Chocolate..the darker the better and with almonds even better...Green Tea, White Tea (expensive here)
*Cereal...I would kill 4 some mini wheats...lucky charms...any of the 100 varieties America stocksTogo Meringues
Beans and Tofo...the possibilities are endless (mmm lettuce wraps)
*Got Latte?...not in Togo(International Delights Powder?...ohh please)

*Feel free to send me more rations of the ones with the asterick, as those are unavailable here..hint hint

Fun with Food in Togo

Here are some of my favorite dishes.



Fulani Cheese "Wagash" and Tamarind Chews

Ohh My Meringues

My Mom's Best in Togo

Pom and Peanuts

Homemade Bagels in my Bitty Dutch Oven