Local traditions and culture in Togo

3 more images

Hot Chocolate is huge in Togo (Lome). It's their coffee or tea. Pick a local spot and enjoy. The guys running this outdoor (make shift by our standards) were jovial, happy to oblige; all for less than $1 U.S. dollar. They also have food prepared as you wait/watch. Local breakfast is spaghetti with a fried egg on top.

4 more images

We stumbled across a strange custom in the Djendi village of the Kotakoli – foot fetish amongst the men! Apparently, the men like their women to have soft feet and hands, so their lady folk will do their best to accommodate these wishes. An herb known as LALE is used to beautify their feet and to make them soft. The herb is ground to a pulp on a stone and then mixed with water for it to become a soft a pliable pulp. The feet are washed thoroughly prior to the treatment.

This pulp is applied to the edge of the soles of the feet with their hands. It is left on for two-three hours, after which is becomes a nice red colour, rather like the henna which is used in India. Overnight it will become dark and black – just like henna! This is considered a real treat in their customs and their men love it!

1 more image

It never ceased to amaze me how ingenuititive (I think I might just have made that word up) the local people are. I have said it several times: waste not want not. These oil lamps are fashioned from discarded food cans. Much cheaper than making them from ‘new’ metal and much more sustainable. We have a lot to learn from the African in the west!

3 more images

When making millet or sorghum beer, a pulp is remaining after the beer has been filtered through a fine mesh. This pulp is dried and made into patties and sold in the market for fuel. It is known as pelebe.

2 more images

Shea butter has a sizeable quantity of unsaponifiable fats, several vitamins and other active elements, as well as soothing, moisturising and protecting properties. Shea butter also helps cell regeneration and capillary circulation which in turn speeds up the healing of small wounds, skin cracks and crevices, and skin ulcers. It is also believed to aid in the fight against ageing. Shea butter is produced by extracting fat from the fruit of the shea tree by crushing and boiling. As well as being used as a body moisturiser, shea butter is also used for cooking and sometimes in the production of chocolate in place of cocoa butter.

This is probably a lot healthier than the western counterpart, as these natural toothbrushes are disposable and biodegradable. I didn’t actually try them, but did try some similar ones in Mali some years ago and they worked a treat! It just shows that you can still have impeccable personal hygiene without the modern trappings.

This is the equivalent of the ubiquitous handbag in England or purse as it is known in the States. No self-respecting Togolese would be seen without one! Everything and anything is carried in these shallow metal bowls: shopping, sales goods, laundry, water, food…….the list is endless!

4 more images

In Togo, blacksmith is not just any old trade; it is a very special trade. Blacksmiths are special, different, extraordinary people, as if they are from a totally different society, and are almost revered like semi-gods. You cannot just set yourself up as a blacksmith, you have to belong to the secret society where everyone knows everyone else.

Only post-menopausal women were allowed to collect the raw materials from the nearby mountains. The reason for choosing post-menopausal women was that they are considered pure, as they no longer engage in sexual activities.

Many people would come to the furnaces (picture 2) from nearby villages to buy the iron to make into farming implements.

The process would involve a layer of firewood inside the cone, then the raw iron materials, grain wood on top of that, topped with fire. The iron ore would then be collected at some later stage from the holes at the bottom of the cone once it had melted.

Forming the iron into a useful object is a two-man job. The smiths work inside a well ventilated hut, where a piece of iron is heated in the fire and held down on a stone where the second person hammers it heavily with a large rock. Very rudimentary, but it works (see picture 1.

Can you imagine how hot it is in the blacksmiths’ hut? It is 30°C outside in the sunshine and in this hut they have a ferocious fire burning as well as the fact that they are doing heavy manual work! No thanks! Obviously, regular breaks are a necessity. See picture 3.

Most of the items they make a hoes, spades and other father implements. In picture 4 you can see Noah holding up a hoe they have recently completed. They made tools for themselves as well as to sell in the market. We were offered a how, but declined.

Africans could show us westerners a thing or two about sustainability – here it is ingrained in them and has been for centuries. Waste not, want not. If there is a fire going, hang a pot full of dinner over it to utilise the heat! Simple, effect and energy saving. See picture 5.