Food to art by Eileen Bogweh Nchanji. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
Growing up, we always had a back yard farm which was divided into two unequal parts.
My mother decided on what had to be grown on the larger part, while we decided on what we will “experiment” on in the smaller area.
Maize, groundnuts, yams and egusi were my mother’s favourite crops depending on the season.
We, on the other hand, experimented with potatoes, ginger, celery, plums, garlic and beans.
Growing up, we always had a back yard farm which was divided into two unequal parts. My mother decided on what had to be grown on the larger part, while we decided on what we will “experiment” on in the smaller area.
Maize, groundnuts, yams and egusi were my mother’s favourite crops depending on the season. We, on the other hand, experimented with potatoes, ginger, celery, plums, garlic and beans.
My mum also had other farms. The choice of the crops grown in these different farms was primarily influenced by the location and what the people there consumed more. For example, she grew beans mainly in Wat (North West Region), where she could hire women to work on her farms.
Hiring female labourers was a natural choice as beans are the source of livelihood for women. This meant I had little experience growing beans since we stayed in the South West Region.
Before starting work with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), I had little experience in beans production but knew what variety I enjoyed eating.
My love for the small reds and blacks comes from the attention given to them during cooking and their unique taste. My mother also told me stories about why they were a delicacy.
Coming to East Africa, and working with the Pan African Bean Alliance (PABRA) network which extends across Africa, I have come to know and now consume the white sparkled beans commonly known as sugar types; beans of different yellow colouring known as yellow beans; and purple beans known as the kablaketi.
During a recent visit to Malawi, something other than the bean seeds caught my attention. I saw Bean Arts. In a flash, I started imagining what I could do with all the arts in front of me. I will wear and flash my bean earrings everywhere I go as Mama Beans.
What of a bean clock, a bean map of all varieties or market classes? My list just grew long and long as I chatted with the creator of the bean arts, Grace Mijiga, on how to achieve zero waste in bean production and marketing.
The rough bean plate could be hung on the wall. The decor is made from bean seeds which cannot be sold and those which have been eaten up by insects and are unfit for human consumption.
Ms Mijiga intends to train women in Malawi on how to make bean jewellery and decor to sell during the bean off season so that women can earn an all-year income.
She is one of the women who have come forth with an innovation that will enhance women farmer’s livelihood.
Dr Eileen is a gender specialist at International Center for Tropical Agriculture
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