tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039158490742495228.post7382326057476589377..comments2023-03-16T09:23:43.435-04:00Comments on Kudya Bwino Bwino (Eating Well): Do the Clothes Make the Man?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12449807663146965333noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039158490742495228.post-82379635702875432942009-10-06T20:49:16.876-04:002009-10-06T20:49:16.876-04:00Yes, yes. She was a fan of nsima from day one. Lau...Yes, yes. She was a fan of nsima from day one. Laugh ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449807663146965333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039158490742495228.post-54992070597006418072009-10-06T15:35:21.912-04:002009-10-06T15:35:21.912-04:00Jim I do believe that one reason you fell in love ...Jim I do believe that one reason you fell in love with your future wife Pam is that she graciously respected and appreciated the offerings of nsima in your travels together in Malawi. love, your Mom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039158490742495228.post-71024149395339670732009-10-01T07:04:26.478-04:002009-10-01T07:04:26.478-04:00Eaten nsima? A wonderful coincidence. Well, there ...Eaten nsima? A wonderful coincidence. Well, there aren't many outside of Malawi who can attest to having eaten nsima. I may make a batch and talk about it here. Growing your own food, like participating in community supported agriculture (CSA), can significantly diversify our diets here in the U.S. Where subsistence agriculture is predominant, as in Malawi, there a few viable options for a more complex diet given the many natural and man-made constraints.<br /><br />My students ate nsima (boiled corn flour) three meals each day, supplemented with greens, beans, and the infrequent egg. Meat almost never entered the picture.<br /><br />At the macro level, Malawi is greatly impacted by quasi-governmental organizations and policies/practices of entities like the IMF and World Bank. My years (1992-1994) there overlapped with the replacement of Kamuzu Banda (President for Life) with a democratically-elected government. This represented an enormous political realignment. More importantly, it exacerbated the many food insecurities facing Malawians day-to-day. Sugar and corn were in scare supply. Most people were eating a meal per day (or every other day). All the while, they were working to plant and tend their "gardens", hoping to ensure they would have a supply of food in the coming year. Local environmental and national economic conditions made this a truly heroic act for many.<br /><br />Despite this, the Malawian people were (are) exceedingly generous with one another - particularly with food...nearly all homegrown.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449807663146965333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039158490742495228.post-15311923528553704832009-09-28T21:29:32.932-04:002009-09-28T21:29:32.932-04:00I'm honored by your generous words. Thank you...I'm honored by your generous words. Thank you. I'm glad you took the picture. <br /><br />How interesting that you would write about a past that involves Malawi... as I have also been there (only for three weeks), eaten N'sima, and heard stories and reports about how the IMF structural adjustments made it exceedingly difficult for Malawians to grow their own food and share it... as they were required to sell much of it on the international market to cover debt payments. And, as there was not enough n'sima to feed themselves after selling so much corn, Malawian-folks ended up re-purchasing corn-- at a higher price-- in order to eat.<br /><br />Your story of drumming remind me that when we visited our friends in Mzuzu, they gave us rice and beans and corn as presents. It reflects a reality in which food is critical and special. In the States, by contrast, we rarely offer food as gifts... unless it is an exotic dish or a "secret family recipe," or home-made sugary stuffs. Staples, however, are not given. The assumption so many of us live with is that "everyone already has that," so we go to great lengths to find things to give.<br /><br />Here's what I love about homegrown food: even though such foods as collards and lettuce and tomatoes and oranges are fairly routine, when they are grown by the giver... such presents are accepted in spite of the fact folks could "just get it at the store," because... when it comes down to it: people mostly don't have "primo" produce. They're staples and luxuries at the same time.aka Nathan Ballentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16405520658427459713noreply@blogger.com