Between Here and Benin

Holy Cow 🐄!

I just learned the most fantastic way to keep track of all my references for my doctorate! Hallelujah, hallelujah! LOL. All thanks to Holly Jane, a fellow doctoral student I started following on YouTube. After watching her videos, I want to start speaking with an Irish accent, but I will save you all from that! I could go on and on about how this little integration/piece of code works, but I suppose that might bore some of you to tears??!! Or maybe not??

(Cue transition music…la la la)

Have you ever felt like one bad thing happens and then another and another without a break in between?

Bam

BAm

BAMMMM!

That is how my week has gone. Technically it started last Wednesday, but it continued through the weekend. However, thinking about the difficult situations that have arisen during this past week, I am reminded of a class I spoke to last Friday. One of my doctoral colleagues teaches a Professional and Personal Development college course. During one of our weekly CoP (Communities of Practice) Zoom meetings, he asked his fellow cohort if anyone would like to be a guest speaker in the class. Of course, I thought, why not, and volunteered my name into the pot. Two weeks later, I was preparing a presentation focused on the topics he was covering: self-awareness, understanding team dynamics, and the two key ideas of "ponying up" and "showing up" in life. 

The presentation was titled "Life Lessons from Debra Kouda's Existence Thus Far." It covered my life, with each "chapter" highlighting something challenging and the lessons learned from those situations. It was a straightforward presentation with slides full of pictures providing visual context for what I was talking about. However, we didn't practice putting up the slide deck beforehand. Due to technical issues (most certainly not due to user error), I gave the talk without the slides. Upon reflection, I realized that these were difficult times - but they made me work harder and "show up" for myself and those around me. 

The presentation really woke me up and in these current times, when everything seems to be falling, reminding me that I need to "show up" and put new plans into action. Projects and ideas sitting on the shelf, collecting dust, waiting for me to take them down. Dust them off. Use them. (Like the little penguin squeaker toy from Toy Story). 

So here we go. Idea #1...start a newsletter with a subscription option (yeah!).

And WHY am I creating a subscription? Here are a couple of reasons…

* I am starting to realize how important it is to share my story. This starts from the first "newsletter" that I sent out once a week while an intern at the Cheetah Conservation Center in Namibia all those years ago (yes, I am getting older!). People who received it then still have it in their email inboxes today. For the last couple of years, I have felt that my story is not relevant or not so different from anyone else's. However, speaking to the group of college kids last week made me recognize and remember that I have something to contribute. A laugh, a window into a world that will never be explored by someone on their own, etc, etc, etc (What musical is that from?? Answer at the bottom of the page*). 

* Writing. As obvious and funny as it might be - the best way to become a better writer is to write. This newsletter will provide an outlet to the academic writing world yet allow the practice of writing to take place. 

* An outlet for me to be creative. 

* The chance to be in touch with all of you - friends, family, new subscribers. I am not the best at reaching out one-to-one with people (maybe the time has something to do with that…but I don't want to use that as an excuse!).

* A way to provide for my family.

* A way to financially support me and my future goals (Ekodjaye and The Kouda Company...more on those later!) as I go through this doctoral program. There will be grants and funding opportunities available, but everything is on me right now.  

I suppose I could go on and on - but that is a reasonably good list to start out with, don't ya think?

What will you get with a subscription, you ask?

The Free Plan - a newsletter update about life in general...a little bit of everything if you will 

The Paid Plan - two weekly newsletters and one monthly question and answer video. 

* The "free" one

* And a second newsletter that does a deep dive into a particular area of my life (doctorate, entrepreneurship, tourism, home-schooling, ex-pat life, etc.).

* The video will answer a compilation of questions from the past month. 

I am so looking forward to sharing my stories with you on a more regular basis. So please, join me and subscribe. Read (or listen) to the ramblings of a mother, wife, and doctoral student straddling the worlds of West Africa and the United States! You just might learn something...or if anything...get a laugh for the day!

*The Musical The King and I

"Winds in the east, mist comin' in, like somethin' is brewin',about to begin.Can't put me fingeron what lies in store.But I feel whats to happen,all happened before."

(Bert, "The One-Man Band," Mary Poppins)

And just like that the winds changed and the clouds rolled in. The smell of rain filled the air. Lightning illuminated the sky - and while I was reading nighttime stories to the boys the loud "tap, tap, tap" announced the arrival of something we have been waiting for.

On Wednesday night the 10th of March, we jumped out of bed and shouted, "its raining!!"

We quickly went around the house closing all the glass jalousie windows so that the blustery rain wouldn't make its way into the house. As we were doing this the electricity went out. I have to admit that it was kind of chaotic. The boys were running around, and if you have ever been in a rainstorm with a tin roof, you know that you can't talk with a normal voice - you are yelling to hear one another.

We made our way out to the veranda and realized that there were bags of uncovered peanuts outside! We have a peanut shelling machine (I'll do a post about that later), and people bring large gunny sacks of peanuts to be shelled. As we haven't had rain in a long time, we weren't used to being worried about peanuts and the machine getting wet. The machine was already covered, but I ran out in the rain (it was so cold!) and found whatever sort of covering I could find and protected the peanuts the best that I could. 

Wow, the rain was really whipping around, and the only light that I had was when the lightning flashed. It was raining so hard that I could barely open my eyes, it was pouring down my face! With that done we ran to the back of the house to check out the cistern. 

Because it has been so long since we have had rain and there has been lots of dust - we let the rain wash off the roof before we put the pipe in the cistern to let the water flow in. By the time we made it around, the water coming off the roof was free of any serious dirt so I placed the downspout into the cistern. This of course led to a loud Hurrah! as I could hear the rain filling up our reservoir d'eau that has been nearly empty for so long. FYI we cleaned the cistern a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the rainy season starting.

It was probably around 11pm by this time and the boys were exhausted. They had been sitting with the dogs on the porch, trying to comfort them (although I think it was more to comfort themselves - it has been a long time since they have been in a storm). Our youngest pup, Skyla, had never even seen rain before! The electricity was still off, but we have a wonderful battery-powered nightlight that gives the room just enough light. They cozied up in bed and within 10 minutes were fast asleep. There were a few loud thunderclaps and I thought for sure that they would awaken - but they were out. 

Once they were sleeping I went out and stood on the veranda, listening to the rain. I turned the flashlight off on my phone and was in complete darkness. It was wonderful. I realized in that moment just how much of a blessing rain is.

I just breathed it all in. 

I know that might sound a little corny, but it has been almost four months since rain has graced us with its presence. I believe that our last rain shower was in the middle of November.

In the morning everything seemed fresher. All of the trees appeared a bit greener after having all the dust and grime of the last four months washed away.

As I am writing this post on Friday evening - there is thunder in the distance and the dark clouds are slowly coming our direction. 

(Due to heavy rainfall and panne de courant - another power outage - I am finishing up this post on Saturday.) 

The seal really is broken! Two rain showers in three days, I'll take it! Total rain according to our handy dandy weather station:

Wednesday: 49 mm

Friday: 61 mm

As the rain poured down, the boys made a fort on the veranda, bringing out the bluetooth reading light and cozying up under chairs and blankets with the dogs. 

And of course, I couldn't help but hear "And I want to wake up with the rain falling on a tin roof..." from the Norah Jones song, Come Away With Me. I wonder if Norah knows that if it is raining hard on a tin roof you can hear pretty much nothing?

This song holds a special place in my memory, as it was the album that was playing when my Uncle Jack took me to the JFK airport in NYC for my flight to Namibia. It was my first time flying internationally and first time going to Africa. I don't think that I would have ever thought at that time Africa would become home. Crazy where life leads us!

There has been a rejuvenation in the neighborhood. Because we now know that the rainy season is upon us, we awoke to people pulling out shovel-like hoes and working the soil. Ina (my mother-in-law) had planted sesame by early afternoon in the space just outside our wall. 

The cistern is also full enough that we have pumped it up to the large container and water will flow into the house now! I will do a post later about how we handled the water situation during the dry season. I feel like I can talk about it now that the rains have arrived!

I would like to thank all of you that have done rain dances or sent rainy thoughts our way! It seems like it worked!

Just in case you were wondering about the peanuts 🙂 We put them out in the sun the next day and they were shelled by the afternoon. Phew!

If you enjoy these newsletters please subscribe!

How I keep up with US News!

The Morning Brew - "Awesome daily email that delivers the top business news in a way that's informative and entertaining!"

Marketplace - daily podcast "providing context on the economics news of the day" hosted by Kai Ryssdal

Today it was 109 degrees Fahrenheit at the crest of the afternoon. When I took the picture of the thermometer it was a chill 107 😅.

The dogs have found the shadiest spot and stretched out as thin as they could to the ground, panting. The chickens are walking around with their wings away from their bodies, wooing the breeze to cool down them down. 

And there I was, in the kitchen, making a couple loaves of bread and a cake to celebrate International Women's Day, the gas stove putting out the heat to exaggerate the sweat coming from my brow. We make bread and cakes with a dutch oven technique here. Not fancy cast iron, just a big pot with a tomato can on the bottom so that the cake pan doesn't rest directly on the flame. 

To all those women out there reading this newsletter, Happy International Women's Day! I honestly didn't know this day existed until I was in Peace Corps. They see it somewhat as a "mother's day" here, at least where I am. 

We are celebrating the day, as you could have guessed, with a delicious vanilla cake. Oh, and there is more - la pate rouge, fried fish, eggs, and beer. A Doppel for my grandmother-in-law, mother-in-law (Ina), and me. I just have to say there is nothing more satisfying than a nice cold beer at the end of a very hot day. 

It has been a wonderful day. Errands in the morning with the whole family, picking up fish, eggs, butter, and drinks. Then we stopped at a buvette (a bar) to have some cool refreshments. 

I just have to say thank you to everyone who has been reading and listening to this newsletter/audio blog. Thank you for your patience as I figure out how this new endeavor is going to unravel itself. I thoroughly have enjoyed putting it together for you, sharing what our life is like in the tiny country of Benin. 

This newsletter is short today. I have one request: please send rain this way! It has been over three months since the rain clouds have blessed us with their presence. The ground is starting to crack and the cashew and orange trees need a bit to drink in order to produce a good harvest.

Please remember to send any questions my way!

If you are new here, click on the button below to subscribe to the newsletter!

And now, time for cake!

Bon appetit!

How I keep up with US News!

The Morning Brew - "Awesome daily email that delivers the top business news in a way that's informative and entertaining!"

Marketplace - daily podcast "providing context on the economics news of the day" hosted by Kai Ryssdal

The beautiful golden-colored nut that you can find in 2 1/2 pound tubs at Costco. The nut that you now see transformed into creamy milk and butter. You even find it in dairy-free cheeses that rival their cow-milk cousins. (So I am told, I have yet to try one but hear that ShriMu is a fantastic and delicious culinary discovery). A nut so expensive some might even pass it up...

The humble cashew.

There is good reason for the high price tag and here is how I know. 

We are cashew farmers.

About four years ago we purchased land here in Benin and planted cashew trees (Anacardium occidentale) on it. We are now starting to reap the benefits of that endeavor.  Flowers starting developing on our little four year old trees in late December, early January, and now we are seeing the fruits of their labor (no pun intended!). 

I know you are probably thinking - holdup, cashews grow on trees? Yep, they sure do!

Cashews are found at the bottom of what looks like an upside-down pear, known as the "cashew apple". The "apple" (aka a "false fruit") is edible and you can eat it straight from the tree, sucking the sweet but very dry juice right out of it. But don't get the clear juice on your clothes, it stains!

The juice from the cashew apple can be distilled into a liquor, and I just learned that the fruit itself can be boiled down with cinnamon and vanilla to make a delicious jam. 

Harvesting is fairly simple but time consuming. Not all of the cashews are ready at the same time, so we go out to the farm, about a one-mile walk, once a day to check the trees. This involves perusing the trees, searching for the "blueish-grayish" color, as Aden says, signifying their readiness. I have been told that once our trees are a bit older and are producing large quantities, you have to go out twice a day, once in the morning and the other at night, because that 12-hour time difference will be just enough to ripen the nut.

Now, cashews trees are not small once they are fully grown, and cashews grow on the entire tree. How do we reach those cashews that are high? Two options, climb or use a long stick to bat them down. It is very helpful when you have kids with you to do the climbing part!

If we do not go out to the farm often, people will come and steal the cashews. At present we do not have a fence or anything around the farm, so people will walk through it and if they see cashews that are ready they will pluck them for their own. 

We bring the cashews back to the house and detach them from the fruit. The nuts, still in the shell, are placed into a sack (gunny or rice bag). Once the bag is full, it is weighed and then either sold right away or stored until the price is right. As with all agricultural products, the price varies from year to year and even day to day. Right now you are able to purchase a kilogram of cashews (in the shell) for 250 CFA, roughly 50 cents. 

(For those who don't work in kilograms very often, 1kilo = 2.205 pounds.)

So, that is harvesting. Lots of time and having a keen eye to be able to spot the cashews when they are ready. 

And this is where we say goodbye to our cashews. We will sell them and they will travel to a factory where the complicated process begins of extracting the cashew nut or "kernel" from the shell. 

Here is a video Peace Corps Volunteers in Ghana at a small cashew processing facility where everything is done by hand.

Please note cashews are surrounded by a membrane that contains a toxin similar to poison ivy, so never stick a cashew nut still in the shell in your mouth! When I was in Peace Corps, another volunteer did just this and she ended up with blisters all over her lips - sometimes you have to learn the lesson the hard way I guess!

The second video a more automated cashew processing factory.

The process to remove the cashew kernel from the shell is as follows: 

* Steaming

* Drying

* Cutting

* Shelling/Cracking

* Drying (Oven)

* Peeling

* Sorting

You can see that a simple nutcracker won't work for this nut! I hope that you are beginning to see why this delicious nut is so expensive.

And the journey of the cashew is not even finished yet! It may head to a roaster or directly to another factory to be transformed into milk or another product.

D'Aquin and I had the opportunity to visit a nut roasting plant in northern California in 2017. They roast all sorts of nuts from all over the world, but we chose to visit this one because they source cashews from Benin. In fact, the plant we visited supplies Costco with its cashew nuts. I took a photo of a cashew container from Costco before we left - and you can see Benin is actually on there now! Pretty amazing really. 

West Africa is becoming one of the largest producers of cashew nuts, with the Ivory Coast producing the most of any region in 2019 (with Vietnam and India close behind). 

The dream for our cashews is to sell them directly to consumers one day - or even to sell directly to a company to use in their products. Farm to table if you will. How to make this happen, I am not sure, but we do have time to sort things out as our trees have a bit more growing time needed to really produce quantity amounts. Even starting a small coop would be intriguing. So many ideas!

One strange thing, I have rarely seen people actually eat cashews here. I have purchased them in Cotonou once or twice, but I have yet to eat a "cashew sauce" with la pate. I'm sure there is good reason for this, as cashews are a cash crop, and you can see from the explanation above, difficult to even get to the point where you can eat the actual nut. I would say money beats out time for consumption of this nut here! In a way, it is kind of sad - they should be able to enjoy some of the crop that they produce. 

The cashew really is one of the tastiest nuts, in my opinion. 

I will also just note here that on the cashew tree farm we also plant peanuts, chickpeas, and sometimes navy beans. 

There really is so much more to learn about cashews, so I have placed a link to read more about them (where they originated from, what the byproducts of cashew processing are, etc.). Click here!Maybe now you will look at a cashew differently when you eat it! 

Bon appetit! 

Just in case you missed the links to the YouTube videos of the cashew facilities…

Peace Corps Ghana - Cashew Nut Processing by Hand

Automated Cashew Factory in Ghana

How I keep up with US News!

The Morning Brew - "Awesome daily email that delivers the top business news in a way that's informative and entertaining!"

Marketplace - daily podcast "providing context on the economics news of the day" hosted by Kai Ryssdal

I was watching Living Big In A Tiny House on YouTube recently (yes, I have a slight obsession with tiny houses) and in the episode, Bryce Langston, the host, said the following when walking into the bedroom:

“What a dreamy space, especially with the mosquito net above the bed. It looks quite idyllic, doesn't it.”

They might be idyllic in the "Oh my I'm in the middle of the Serengeti and surrounded by giraffes and a picturesque setting" sense - but I can tell you that at three in the morning when your bladder is screaming and you can't untuck the net from the bed you are not thinking, wow - this mosquito net is so idyllic! 

Mosquito nets are another layer that you have to worry about, and I can honestly tell you that it has stopped me more than once from getting out of bed to get a drink of water. One more thing blocking the way when all you really want to do is sleep. There have been near misses when one of the boys needs to go pee during the middle of the night and you have to lift up the net, grab the child, tuck the net back in and then hope that you make it to the bathroom on time.

Needless to say, they play a very important role in combatting malaria, a disease which is still quite prevalent in Benin. 

As quoted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:

"According to the 2018 World Malaria Report, there were more than 200 million malaria cases in 2017. An estimated 435,000 people died from malaria in 2017, mostly children under age 5, and more than 90 percent of them in Africa." (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, https://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/global-health/malaria, accessed February 26, 2021)

Growing up in Fairbanks, Alaska, I was used to mosquitos (without the fear of malaria of course), also known as the state bird due to their large size. I remember nights trying to sleep when one or two would fly around my ears and I would end up giving myself a headache because I kept slapping my head to kill the insistent buzzing. At the time I probably very much would have appreciated a mosquito net!

We sleep with a mosquito net every night here. They are especially important during the rainy season when there is more water around. Since we haven't had a good rain shower since about the middle of November (2020), mosquitos are fairly scarce, although I do see them every now and again. Besides bodies of water, mosquitoes like to hide in folded clothes. For example, all of our clothes are kept on open shelves and when the seasons are right, when you take down a shirt to wear for the day, a swarm of mosquitoes come right along with it. When we see this, we take down all of the clothes and do a thorough spray of insecticide - closing the room off and leaving all the malaria carriers to die.

There are all different shapes of mosquito nets. You have the ones that hang from a circle ring or those that are a large square or rectangle, both of which hang from the ceiling and tuck into the sides of the bed. When we came to Benin in 2017, I purchased some mosquito nets from Amazon that were tent-like with zippered entrances on two sides. These were fantastic because you only had to tuck them in once and then use the zippers to get in and out. Only problem which I am realizing now (3 years later) is that the zippers were not the best quality and they have fallen off all of the nets. We currently have a hybrid system - the tent with a square mosquito net blanketed over the top. 

Some mosquito nets even have an insecticide baked into the mesh netting.

For some reason many hotels in the country do not provide mosquito nets. Maybe it is because the windows and doors are closed to the rooms. I'm not quite sure.

You have to keep a close eye on holes in the nets as well. The tiniest hole is the perfect entrance for a mosquito that is searching for its next meal. In the rainy season if there are holes you could wake up to 10 or even 15 mosquitos flying around inside the net. Something you do not want to see! 

If there are too many holes, the mosquito nets are repurposed for other tasks: protecting young trees from birds or goats, fencing off your garden, or a new shower loofah. Very few are just thrown away. There is always something else they could be used for. 

However, I am grateful for mosquito nets, and how a simple mesh netting can combat a disease that effects young children. I hope that research continues to be done so that hopefully, one day, we will be able to see a mosquito net as "idyllic" and not as a preventative measure for malaria.

(In fact, I learned today that Elieud Kipchoge, the famous Kenyan marathoner, has just joined the UK Leadership Council of Malaria No More, "a globally recognized non-profit organization with the visionary mission to end the world’s oldest, deadliest disease in our lifetime.")

I thought I would leave you going into the weekend with a song that has been on repeat lately,  Espoir, by Josey. Translated, espoir means hope, and the song reflects that no matter how hard life may seem, God is watching out for you. Even though it is in French, I hope that you enjoy the vibe and maybe you take a minute and let the music move your feet! Feel free to look up the lyrics - but be careful as translations are not always accurate to the context of the song! (for example, pété means "to pass gas or fart" in French, but in the context of this song, it means an explosion - in a good way...languages!). 

Feel free to check it out on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube (linked accordingly).

Spotify - Espoir

Apple Music - Espoir

YouTube - Espoir

Mentioned Content

Living Big in a Tiny House - Bryce Langston"Enchanting Tiny House & Gardens on Generational Family Farm"

How I keep up with US News!

The Morning Brew - "Awesome daily email that delivers the top business news in a way that's informative and entertaining!"

Marketplace - daily podcast "providing context on the economics news of the day" hosted by Kai Ryssdal

(Preface: I wrote this post on November 28th, 2020 and had wanted to share it on social media but for one reason or another did not. It is a fairly personal post - but one that I felt like sharing after learning this past week that over 500,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the US. 

Because it is mentioned in the post, sodabi is one of Benin's country drinks, akin to Russian Vodka or US Moonshine. It is a liquor distilled from palm trees and is a staple in many Beninese households. 

And now, the post.)

Death.

It is something I didn't have much experience with growing up. There were a few that I can remember when I was young (under the age of 10) - my maternal grandmother and paternal great-grandmother "nana" - but I didn’t go to my first funeral until I was around 15 or 16. 

On the other hand, my husband, who grew up in Benin, helped his photographer father while he was growing up, encountering death at a very young age.

Here in Benin, even before the pandemic, you could easily attend a funeral every weekend if you wanted. In the last couple of months, each weekend there has been a funeral of an extended family member that we could have gone to. 

Why am I bringing this subject up? 

Yesterday I lost an uncle to Covid. A death. Those feelings that arise when death arrives started to surface and it made me start to think. 

Here in Benin, the circle of life is very apparent. It is not something that is hidden or talked about in quiet voices around children. Death is real and you face the reality of that all the time. In fact, my mother-in-law is at a funeral right now. 

 You see that grief is 100% allowed, and you don’t have to cover your face or cry in silence. Wail if you need to. Dance the grief out if you need to. Drink a shot of sodabi if you need to. Reminisce with family members if you need to. Pray if you need to. Listen to music if you need to. Play the piano if you need to. Write if you need to. Sit by yourself under a mango tree if you need to. Any and all forms of grief are accepted.

I send out my love and condolences to my aunt and cousins who have lost a husband, father, and grandfather. Quiet tears are falling as I write this...as I remember the times that I spent around my uncle...and for the grief that most certainly will encircle my aunt and their daughters. 

Tonight I will send out a toast to my uncle’s life with a glass of sodabi and imagine him riding his Harley in heaven. 

To all those that have lost during this difficult time, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Grieve however you need to. There is no judgement coming from this corner of the world. 

How I keep up with US News!

The Morning Brew - "Awesome daily email that delivers the top business news in a way that's informative and entertaining!"

Marketplace - daily podcast "providing context on the economics news of the day" hosted by Kai Ryssdal

I'm sure there are some of you who noticed that one day I was on social media - and the next I wasn't. Well, maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic. For awhile at least I was posting pretty regularly, pictures of the family and short updates about what was going on. And then I just kind of stopped. That happened for a couple of reasons. First off, we were able to get wifi (yes LTE wifi!) at our house, which in and of itself is very amazing. I found myself spending lots of time scrolling through social media, not at all worried about wracking up huge data fees. Second, a project came up for me (to be explained later) and I really needed to hone in and get it done.

At the time I was reading James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, and he mentioned that when he was working against a deadline he would have his assistant change the password for his social media accounts, and could only let him know what the new passwords were on the weekend. So I tried that - social media (in my case Instagram and Facebook) only on the weekends, except I didn't change the password, I just deleted the app from my phone. And something kind of phenomenal happened. When I went to go scrolling on the weekends, I realized how much I didn't miss it. The timeframe was around the end of November, beginning of December, and one person I follow on Instagram was going away from social media for the month of December, so I thought, why not? Might as well try! 

Around the same time I also watched the documentary The Social Dilemma on Netflix. Honestly, there weren't many surprises to me in this film, companies have to make money somehow! Just a stark reality of how social media affects a large group of people when there are no boundaries. Here in Benin, people are just as encompassed in social media, mainly WhatsApp and Facebook. It isn't surprising to see a whole group of people glued to their phones. But, it only fueled the fire  to not be on social media for awhile. I have to admit that I did sneak download it a couple of times, but after scrolling through the apps maybe once, I would delete it again.

And then, while I was talking to my Mom one day, she mentioned that people were wondering how we were doing in Benin, that they hadn't seen me on social media platforms for awhile. I explained why I hadn't been posting, and she said that is the way the extended family keeps up with what is going on in our lives. The positive aspect of social media, right? I realized that I never explained to any of my followers that I was taking a break (as so many others do when they leave social media for an extended period of time), and after much consideration, I started posting again. 

However, I wanted to be able to connect and share our stories with family and others outside of social media and was stuck onto how to do that. Well, not so much stuck as I didn't want to pay the money to write and email and then pay for a newsletter service to be sent out. And then I was watching Ali Abdaal on YouTube, and he mentioned the platform Substack - which allowed you to have a blog post style site with email newsletter function built in - for free! (Yes, there are paid versions). 

So here we are - email newsletters from Substack coming into your inbox so that you can keep up with what we, The Kouda's (from my perspective!), are up to. I have decided to also make these newsletters in audio/podcast form. I have wanted to start a podcast for awhile now, since putting one together for a "fake class" I designed while doing my master's,  but was never sure what exactly to talk about. I guess I will just start out narrating my newsletters/blog posts! Give people multiple ways to receive the news of what the Kouda's are up to!

Quick Update

We are still in Benin. It has been almost 3.5 months since the last rainfall, and as someone who lived in western Washington for the last two years, that is a LONG time to go without rain! We have nice breezes most evenings as it is the end of Harmattan, the season where sands from the Sahara blow south. Lots and lots of dust! I cover my desk with a blanket and still find a thin layer of dust in the morning. Dust is everywhere - but the breezes make it totally worth it!

Since arriving in Benin in late June, we have been through two peanut harvests (one good, one bad) and a soybean harvest (fairly good!). Due to the low amount of rainfall this past year (climate change?), daily agricultural goods are in short supply - peanuts, soybeans, corn, rice, cashews. Good if you are able to buy cheap and sell for a profit, but not so good if you are the farmer with little to sell. Such is the way with farming!

The boys (Aden - 6 and Benjamin - 3) have adapted to life quite well here. Aden knows all the secret ways around the village and is always hanging out with the neighbor kids, going to the water pump or playing on the playground equipment at the school. Occasionally his brother tags along. Aden builds new train track designs on the regular and he and Ben build with Lego on a daily basis. I am homeschooling Aden and once again his brother hangs out with us (unless he is taking a nap). The boys keep me busy as only children can. We bake, work in the "schloffice" (school-office room), go for walks, and a host of other activities. 

The boys and I have started taking daily walks to our cashew tree farm to check and see if there are any cashew apples/nuts ready to harvest. If you don't check regularly, people come and steal them right from your trees. Our trees are three years old and have started producing - small amounts, but there is great potential! Oh, and our two dogs, Shadow and Sklya, are our constant companions!

D'Aquin stays busy with the different businesses that he is helping out with here. He plays soccer regularly on the weekends, although every once in a while he will say that he is getting too old for the game!

Besides looking out for the boys, I have started working on pursuing my Doctorate of Education from Arizona State University (ASU). At this point, it looks like I will officially start the program in the Fall of 2021, completely online (woohoo!). When I sent my letter of intent to a connection at ASU in late December, he was thrilled by the project that I mentioned wanting to pursue once I had my EdD in hand. After multiple conversations with him, I have decided to pursue that project - creating a Center for Education Research, Innovation, and Practice in Benin - to be done in tandem with my doctorate. I have included the concept paper for the project at the bottom of this update for those that are interested in learning more about it! So, now I'm in the stages of officially applying for the EdD program and expanding the concept paper into a proposal so that I can start to apply for funding. 

I am also still working with a class of students in a small village outside of Dassa, about a 40-minute drive from our house. 

I'm sure most of you are curious about Covid-19 in Benin, I know I would be! Here is my perspective from living in a rural village in the middle of the country - it seems non-existent. I have a hard time grasping that so many are still under lock and key because of the virus. 

Officially, there have been 4,193 positive cases reported with 55 deaths. Surely the actual numbers are higher than this. You are required to wear masks in the streets and on/in all forms of transportation . Stores and restaurants have hand-washing stations and to enter some official buildings your temperature is taken. Honestly, I have found this part to be more common in the bigger cities of Cotonou and Porto Novo, although lots of places around our house have hand-washing stations. Covid tests are required (and you pay!) before you enter and exit the country. When we arrived, it was $200/person/test - we had a test upon arrival and 14 days later. If you have symptoms, the government will treat you free of charge.

*Quick little update here - I happened into a bank in Dassa a couple of days ago and here was my experience: mask required, wash hands before entering, temperature taken at the door - and no talking once inside (just kidding, that is just what I told my kids when they asked what all the infographic signs said!).

But really, where we are, I don't even think about it - except if I call family in the US. We certainly worry about family in the US, especially when there was surge in cases reported. The world is curious as to why this virus hasn't plagued Africa like other countries. I'm not a scientist, but here is what I could offer: people are outside here more often, diabetes and obesity are not (as) common, and I would guess that people's immune systems are on hyperdrive all the time here. From yellow fever, malaria, zika, the flu, the common cold...so many viruses hitting the body all the time.

Food is going to be a big part of these newsletter and to start off I will tell you about my new favorite sauce: sauce grain. WOW. It is so delicious. The sauce originally from Ghana that my mother-in-law (Ina) knows how to make because she spent quite a bit of time there. I asked her why we hadn't eaten it here before and she said it was only recently they started selling the "palm grain" here in Benin that is used to make the sauce. As mentioned, the basis for the sauce is the palm grain, the same which is used to make red palm oil. When the sauce is finished, especially when prepared with fish and meat, it reminds me of a red enchilada sauce. Yummy!

You might be wondering what you eat with this sauce and I will get into that more later - but here this particular sauce is eaten with la pâte, pounded yam, or even on rice. It is very versatile and as sauces do only tastes better the more time it has for all the flavors to marry together. 

I am looking forward to sharing more with you, don't want to give it all away in the first edition!

These newsletters will be hitting your email inbox a couple of times a week...feel free to share and ask questions so that I always have something interesting to write about! 

Tout a l'heure! (See you later)

Concept Paper:  CREATING A CENTER for EDUCATION RESEARCH, INNOVATION, AND PRACTICE IN BENIN

Project Goal:Establish a Center for Education Research, Innovation, and Practice in Benin as a major new program initiative of Education for Leadership (E4L).  The innovative and sustainable educational not-for-profit will have a mission to develop a relevant, accessible, and culturally appropriate higher educational environment. E4L would act in partnership with the Center for Advanced Studies in Global Education at Arizona State University (ASU) and the Arrondissement of Zaffe (Borough of Zaffe) to achieve this goal. The proposed Center will conduct internationally recognized multidisciplinary research on Beninese education as well as to be a resource to transfer research, technology, and best practices from other nations to benefit life-long learning in Benin. 

Problem Summary

Benin received independence from France in 1960 after 68 years under their colonial rule. Despite multiple education conferences and donor aid in the millions, a genuine Beninese education system has yet to be developed. The closure of teaching colleges in the 1980s has left a major void within the teaching profession, hampering the production of qualified teachers trained according to a recognized Beninese model. Instead, the teacher education curriculum was adapted from western post-industrial countries and uses a constructivist “put the children first” approach, a stark contrast to how the teachers were taught. While there has been success in girls attending primary school, there is a severe decline in secondary and university arenas. There is a lack of focus on the growing demand for secondary education and the assurance that education is effective in preparing Benin for long-term development and labor market needs. In order to address these long-term national issues, E4L can encourage investment along these three interrelated but distinct pathways:

* Access to higher education opportunities, both in Benin and internationally, for all of Benin’s citizens.

* Support for teacher education at all levels (includes transformation of teacher education curricula in Benin’s universities and national curriculum development)

* Enhancing school to work transitions for women

Background of the Problem

Prior to the 1892 colonization by the French, Dahomey (present-day Benin), was made up of several flourishing empires, politically, socially, and culturally, demonstrating successful traditional educational systems. The French colonists arrived and placed a substantial premium on education, limiting access to the wealthy, and working in the interest of the colonial administration. Following liberation in 1960, Benin went through 15 coups d’etats, a major economic crisis, and a switch from Marxism-Leninism (established after independence) to democracy. The 1990s sought to bring educational reforms, including improving the quality of the entire system, but was plagued by financial, institutional, and political constraints. In 2005, the New Study Program (NPE) was developed, a foreign-curriculum based on a constructivist “child-centered approach”. 

Dissatisfaction among teachers continues to be prevelant for the following reasons: growing number of students in the classroom, a more heterogeneous body of students, teaching conditions, and the current NPE curriculum as it is completely different from the highly hierarchical approach that they experienced themselves. Dropout rates continue to be a problem and are responsible for low learning outcomes, the negative perceptions of schools, and low-esteem teaching quality. Foreign/donor aid has been significant in the realm of education since Benin’s independence. While certainly necessary, there are worries that the huge role of development partners is turning Benin into a “playground” for donor-led reforms, and letting the government shun its responsibility when it comes to developing and implementing plans in the education space.

Steps of the Organization

Community Center Approach - a multi-arm organization incorporating the community to instill the value of education

* Online learning center for connecting Benin students with ASU online programs - focus that they will be able to study at western institutions while living in Benin

* Educational Research department

* Community outreach and involvement in indigenous/cultural knowledge - storytelling, singing, drumming, dancing, local language writing, local artisans, etc.

* English as a Second Language (ESL)

* Library

* Research Room - legos, puzzles, computers, tablets, 3D printers, technology with regular seminars from local and visiting professionals

* Teaching seminars 

* Media studio to capture oral history and other research-oriented materials

Partnership with ASU

* Provide online degree programs in relevant disciplines at the baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels for qualified candidates, whether or not those students who have not passed the baccalaureate test “le BAC” (similar to a high school exit exam)

* Assist in the development of a teachers college

* Provide graduate student research opportunities that would be able to work with the Beninese to start the initial research into indigenous knowledge and what the country needs in order to successfully develop

* Provide ESL courses, by way of visiting faculty and/or online

Project Methodology

The Center would be a highly innovative, technologically advanced educational facility, with a community-centric approach, in keeping with the communal atmosphere that is sewn into the cultural fabric of Benin. Education is meant to provide the necessary skills to succeed in the world they live in and the Center’s purpose is to enhance and strengthen that cultural fabric.

Apart from the Center would be dormitories and accommodations for students and visiting faculty or educational specialists. Students (men and women)  would participate in running of the dorms/accomodations in order to encourage the student’s sense of responsibility for their own education.

Goals/Desired Outcomes

* Establish a methodology to identify the indigenous knowledge regarding education before colonialism.

* Development of a teaching institution/college

* Create a standard of importance for research-based educational programs

* Enhance the value of a country-owned education and a decrease in dependency on foreign aid and foreign models for education

* Develop a culturally appropriate educational environment, including curriculum, specifically for the Beninese.

* Increase the number of girls/women in secondary and higher education

* Have 5-10 Beninese graduate with degrees from online programs at ASU per year

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