Our Farm
I am amazed that we are already starting our third week in Benin. Time has passed by so gently as we adapt to the rhythm of life here. Much has happened of course, so I’m going to parse out the stories a little bit by a little bit!
Our house in Kabole.
We arrived at our house in Kabole last Tuesday (October 2nd), and it honestly was a welcome sight! In our yard, manioc, corn, peanuts, okra, and soybeans growing. I forgot how much space we have here! Kabole is a village north of Dassa and just south of Glazoue off the main road. I highly doubt that you will find it on a map, but who knows, Google could have taken a recent picture!
Papa Eugene leading us to the farm.
On our first full day at our house D’Aquin’s dad - Papa Eugene - took us to see our farm. It has been raining quite a bit here, so Aden and I put on our puddle boots that are a staple to any Northwest Washington closet. The first mistake I made was wearing puddle boots with sheepskin on the bottom in a hot climate, and the second was I did not wear socks. I put Ben in the ergo, and we headed out. Within five minutes of walking, I could already feel a blister making itself at home on my right heel. Great. I knew the other heel would follow by the end of the excursion. Halfway there, Aden hitched a ride on his father and ended up on his back or shoulders for the rest of the time. The sun was beating down, and our bodies had not yet quite adjusted to the daily heat of Benin.
A hot walk to the farm!
Our 10+ acre farm with about 200 cashew trees is not far from the house, and on this particular day, we took a long way around because of the excess water on the paths. It took about 25 minutes walking, and I knew our land right away. It has been beautifully kept up by D’Aquin’s family. Everything is clean, and the rows of produce just call you to walk through them. This was my first time seeing the farm as we purchased it after the last time that I had been in Benin two years ago.
The cashew trees are growing as they should, with a few on one part refusing. We have had to replace some, as is expected, but overall the land has proved to be perfect. During the time that the trees are growing, about 3-4 years, we have other crops planted to keep the area looking neat and tidy. As of this posting, we have peanuts (arachide) and chickpeas (venzu) that are almost ready to be harvested. You will see from the pictures, peanuts grow in the ground, and you similarly collect them to potatoes. Chickpeas are like green beans or soybeans that develop in a pod. The catch with chickpeas is that there is only one bean per pod. Hence why you might find them more expensive at the store - a little more labor to get them out!
This part of Benin is growing rather rapidly, and there are plans for a lot of additional roads, mainly to connect the main road going north to the primary way that takes people west and north. One of these roads will go very close to our farm, which will make access a lot nicer! It will also increase the value of the land. We were aware of this when we purchased the property, and to prepare for that, we have planted large trees, eucalyptus, and cassedra, on the edges to form a natural border.
Once we had a thorough tour of the farm, we decided that it was time to head back to the house. Aden had a blast walking through all the water along the way (thank goodness for puddle boots!). We were all sweating and tired, but so happy that our little piece of land was doing so well.
Another view of the farm. Nice and clean!