Blanchiment de la peau….par des personnes de peau noire ?!?

Oh, blanchiment de la peau par des personnes dotant d’une peau noire, fallait préciser !

On retrouve déjà un certain antagonisme dans l’intitulé. Comment blanchir sa peau, on connait déjà le comment mais Pourquoi …C’est ce qui m’a toujours intriguée, pourquoi certains africains, asiatique ou autres sont aussi accro au produits de blanchiment ?

Est-ce un complexe d’infériorité vis-à-vis de nos confrères de peau blanche, ce que j’y crois d’un point de vue totalement personnel. En tout cas cette pratique m’indigne énormément voir même m’énerve… la diversité existe et existera toujours, faut juste embrasser cette diversité qui fait la beauté de l’espèce humaine. 

On est tous différent et unique, la nature a bien fait les choses, donc faut célébrer cette diversité et non la nier.

Questions qui me tracassent, j’ai jamais vu de crèmes de ‘’noircissement ‘’de la peau (à part les crèmes de bronzage) ?!?!? En plus ca se voit quand on blanchit sa peau et c’est mocheee sans oublier les risques de cancer et brulure de la peau !

Blanchir la Peau Jusqu'à se Détruire ! Un Drame Africain...

By Edith Kitoko, a human rights activist defending the rights of Asian and African migrants in Lebanon: edithkitoko@hotmail.com

Track of the day - Hugh Masekela Mas que Nada - South Africa

Hugh Ramopolo Masekela (born April 4, 1939) is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.

Masekela is involved in several social initiatives, and serves for instance as a director on the board of The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization which provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto of South Africa.

By Saad Kurdi, an expert on international music: saadeddinkurdi@gmail.com

How to carry a baby à l'africaine

A while back, I was roaming the streets of Cape Town, Ghana with a fellow American expat, who genuinely seemed to question the laws of physics that govern a baby being strapped to its mother’s back with a pagne. I, on the other hand, was unfazed by this scene; after all, it’s how my mom, my aunties and grandmothers pacified my cries. And as far as I know, I didn’t suffer any concussions or other bodily injuries. 

Although not exclusively African, this method has been employed by generations of African women across the continent, mainly due to its convenience. Whether you’re working in the field, selling produce at a market stall, cooking or just around the house, there’s no need to fret over watching the baby and multitasking. There’s also no need to purchase an extremely expensive baby carrier, all you need is two yards (six foot) of pagne! In my opinion, I’m no baby psychologist, it provides an incredible bonding experience for the baby and carrier. But above all, it’s probably the easiest way to navigate on foot with a baby in tow in some of these cities. I would be flabbergasted if any woman tried to push a stroller through le marché d’Adjamé in Abidjan…it’s not pragmatic. 

 

Every country has it’s own technique to carry babies, in the US it tends to be gadgets full of straps, the latest fad is wraps and shoulder slings; our method just happens to be a little more colorful.  You might be tempted to question the safety of the child with his head dangling to the side or the baby who appears it might slid down, if his mother takes one more step. But don't, they are fine and extremely comfortable. Trust me, I’m a living example! 

Life was so simple 

An illustration from Aya de Yopougon on how to strap a baby to your back 

Even the guys are getting into the action 

And a video tutorial

By Ahoua Koné : Email: ahoua.b.kone@gmail.com

Peanut butter soup and the phenomenon of "Riz Couché"

This is one of my favorite dish ever!


It's highly consumed in the Ivory Coast and could easily rival garba in popularity!


What makes this dish special, is the tradition of "riz couché" and the relationship that exist with foutou banane and sauce arachide.


Riz couché (literal translation: the sleeping rice, but essentially means leftovers) is when you keep leftovers of any stew, specifically sauce arachide (peanut butter soup) in the fridge to eat it in the morning with garba, rice, placali or even foutou banana.


Most Ivoirians prefer having riz couché in the morning rather than a European style breakfast. They favor this early morning ritual of riz couché because it's thought to prevent hunger for most of the day.


Some friends told me that the tradition of riz couché  started when poor families used to cook plain rice at night to eat the next morning, only adding palm oil to enable them to work all day long without feeling as hungry as possible.


I leave you with a recipe and as we say in Cote d’Ivoire, “baraka!”*


*Baraka means bon appétit in Dioula.

Name: Peanut butter soup, sauce arachide, mafé

Eaten in: West Africa

Foodie: Elodie

Peanut butter soup is one of the easiest of the soups commonly found in Côte d’Ivoire, and in neighboring countries such as Mali, where it is often known as mafé. I also found it to be a wonderful comfort food especially during the cold months of winter. Peanut butter is available in every grocery store in America, but most people consume it as is.

This is something that I definitely was not used to until moving to this side of the Atlantic Ocean, and I remember being at first reluctant to trying the national peanut butter and jelly sandwich. However, I eventually got over it, and I found that I quite enjoyed it. So I invite you to try to step out of your “peanut butter comfort zone”! You might find that peanut butter soup becomes one of your favorite staple one pan dish to prepare.

Recipe (for 2-3 people):

- one cup and a half (1 ½) of creamy peanut butter ( both reduced and non reduced fat work)
- ½ cup of tomato paste
- 4-5 chicken drumsticks and/or chicken breasts bones in
- salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper to taste
- adobo powder ( if available)
- half a green pepper, chopped (optional)
- oil

• put enough oil in the sauce pan to cover the bottom of it, once the oil is hot, add the chicken
• add some garlic and salt and adobo
• let the chicken brown, turning it from time to time to allow all the sides to brown
• once all the chicken pieces are a golden brown, add about 2 cups of water and turn the heat up
• once the water is boiling add the tomato paste and the peanut butter
• turn to allow the tomato and peanut butter to be uniformly distributed
• add the chopped green pepper, if using one
• turn the heat on medium and let the soup cook. This is the step where your chicken will cook, so make sure to allow enough time (20-25min).
• it is ready when there is some oil on the surface. You can poke through the chicken a little bit to make sure it is cooked through. If not, leave the soup on the stovetop on low heat for a little while longer.
• serve with white rice

The left overs can be refrigerated or frozen. The soup can be easily warmed up in the microwave. 

Source of the recipe: http://www.tropicalfoodies.com/2011/01/17/you-cant-go-wrong-with-peanut-butter-soup/


By Ali Latifa Fakhry, a communication and media expert living in Ivory Coast: aafakhry@gmail.com

Track of the day - Abdullah Ibrahim - South Africa

This track is a remake from an original composition by Abdullah Ibrahim, Thaba Nchu, and it is one of many remakes. The first remake to be titled "Mountain in the night" was on the album "African Suite".

For this remake, Ibrahim collaborated with the Munich Radio Symphony, drummer George Gray, bassist Marcus McLaurine, Daniel Schnyder and the Absolute Ensemble to produce it along with other delightful tracks. The album this collaboration produced, "African Symphony", is a great album to play late at night, alone, while chilling on your balcony, hanging next to your window, or relaxing in your living room - and in case you are a rich person pretending to be sophisticated, sitting in your garden.

Abdullah Ibrahim is a South African pianist and composer. He is formerly known as Adolph Johannes Brand and as Dollar Brand. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cape Town, ranging from traditional African songs to the gospel of the AME Church and ragas, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. Within jazz, his music particularly reflects the influence of Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. With his wife, the jazz singer Sathima Bea Benjamin, he is father to the New York underground rapper Jean Grae, as well as to a son, Tsakwe.

By Saad Kurdi, an expert on international music : saadeddinkurdi@gmail.com

Rois du sape - the African kings of Faro Faro

Qui dit Congo (RDC) dit les Sapeurs qui n’est autre que la société des ambianceurs et des personnes élégantes – SAPE, une mode vestimentaire qui a vu le jour après l’indépendance des deux Congo – Kinshasa et Brazzaville .

Les sapeurs s’habillent chez les grands couturiers et pratiquent la sapelogie, les sapeurs se projettent dans l’art du paraître et celui de l’exhibition, un Sapeur a pour référence vestimentaire l'aristocratie bourgeoise française du XIX^e siècle.  Le kitendiste a pour référence vestimentaire l'aristocratie japonaise, mélangée au style people des années disco aux États-Unis (très coloré).

Il  suffit à souligner qu’il existe une nuance entre la Société Africaine des Personnes élégantes, et les sapeurs de la Société des Ambianceurs des Personnes Élégantes, le premier étant de l'école de Christian Loubaki (dit Mystère), qui a pour référence le dandysme bourgeois du XIX^e siècle et du début du XX^e siècle. Et les seconds, Ben Mukasha et compagnie, ont comme référence DJO Ballard, ils sont en représentation permanente, dans le "m'as-tu-vu", dans l'exhibition de leurs marques de vêtements.

Certaines personnes au sein même de la communauté congolaise prennent leurs distances avec ce mouvement^., Ce qui est reproché est l'étalage d'une abondance futile et l'exhibition fastueuse de vêtements hors de prix. Les détracteurs affirment que les priorités sont inversées dans un pays touché par l'analphabétisme, le chômage et la pauvreté (plus de 60 % des ménages vivent sous le seuil de pauvreté.

By Edith Kitoko, a human rights activist defending the rights of Asian and African migrants in Lebanon: edithkitoko@hotmail.com

Assouindé la rival d'Assini, le Hawaï de la Cote d'Ivoire

Lors d’un week-end avec un groupe d’ami, nous avons découvert l’extraordinaire plage d’Assouindé.

Assouindé est un petit village balnéaire à 2h de route d’Abidjan. C’est un endroit qui semble ordinaire à première vue.

Quand on l’a parcouru on s’en rendu compte qu’il n’a rien à envier aux plages de Cancun ou Hawaï. C’est un village peu peuplé, où les habitants vivent  de la pêche et du tourisme. Les autochtones se mélangent aux touristes. Contre toute attente, leur présence ne change rien à leurs habitudes. Bien au contraire, leurs habitudes fascinent les novices comme nous. Nous avons pu les regarder pécher, vendre leurs poissons, réparer leur filets, préparer leurs attiékés (met local)

La plage est magnifique avec son sable fin et tout blanc. Elle parait encore plus magique quand on l’admire au lever du soleil aux environs de 5 h 30 – 6h du matin.

Les habitations qui s’y trouvent sont en général des plages privées pour des particuliers, mais il y a aussi quelques hôtels à porté de toutes les bourses. La plage d’Assouindé est idéale pour une nuit de noce ou des vacances. Nous avons dégusté des mets typiques. En plus d’être riche en épice, les repas à Assouindé son composé de  poisson.  Il y a : le machoiron piqué, la soupe de fruit de mer, le poisson braisé, le kedjenou de carpe, la sole grillé, des beignets fourrés aux poissons, l’attiéké huile rouge accompagné de poisson

Katy Mary Ouattara is an Ivorian web-developer and writer, she is in charge of the communication department at AfricaBox TV: katy892001@yahoo.fr

Track of the Day, a vibe from Mali - Toumani Diabaté

A master of the kora (21-string West African harp), Toumani Diabaté has brought the traditional music of his native Mali to the attention of an international audience with a series of well-received solo albums and some unlikely, but acclaimed, collaborations. Although he came from a family of musicians, Diabaté (born August 10, 1965) taught himself to play the kora from an early age, as his father, who also played the instrument, was often away touring. He developed a style of playing that, while being strongly rooted in the Malian tradition, is also open to a wide range of other influences, such as jazz and flamenco.

By Saad Kurdi, an expert on international music: saadeddinkurdi@gmail.com

“Ya bissap, ya gnamakoudji! 100 francs! 100 francs!”

With the month of Ramadan upon us – Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim readers – I wanted to feature two popular Ivorian drinks, bissap and gnamakoudji, whose rates of consumptions are bound to increase during this month. I never understood the correlation between the drinks and Ramadan because they always leave me yearning for water.

Bissap is a juice made from dried hibiscus leaves, the leaves are formally known as roselle calyces.  Truth be told, I don’t have the slightest idea on its origins, but it’s pretty popular in West Africa and beyond. The drink can be purchased at various locations: street vendors, depots, restaurants and grocery stores, though from my last trip, I noticed a decline in street vendors; the same situation applies to gnamakoudji.

The actual plant 

 

What it looks like once it's dried 

 

While writing this post, I attempted to have a discussion with my mom about bissap's nutritional value and it’s ability to increase blood production. She nonchalantly dismissed my non-scientific claims, though I really cannot blame her, I don’t recall where I heard about the blood production and Google, with all its infinite wisdom was unable to assist me. At this point, it appears to be something conjured up by my brain due to the color of the drink.  There are different types of bissap recipes, the only thing consistent is the hue of the drink, a color comparable to red wine or cranberry juice.

The initial preparation phase 

The final product 

I would provide you my own recipe, but I tend to wing it by adding a little of this and a tad of that.  These following links should do the trick though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6F2UDVcZA

http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_jus-de-bissap_51124.aspx

http://www.azurs.net/mercredi/archives/2005/08/pour_faire_un_b.html

Gnamakoudji (jus de gingembre) is Dioula for ginger (gnamakou) juice (ji, actually means water), it’s made from freshly grated ginger and is normally very spicy. I’ve heard of people using prepackaged ginger juice, which is just an abomination, there is no way you can produce the same flavor and burning tongue sensation. Now, not everyone likes their gnamakoudji to scold their mouth, but my experience with Ivorians is they will hurl insults your way if it’s not piquant.

 

It does have a lighter tint, you might even confuse it with lemon juice 

 

And according to les rumeurs d’Abidjan, it’s the Ivorian equivalent of Viagra…

A couple of recipes: 

http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_gnamakoudji-ou-jus-de-gingembre-cote-d-ivoire_35603.aspx

http://cuisine.journaldesfemmes.com/recette/328835-gnamakoudji

http://www.1001cocktails.com/cocktails/3988/recette-cocktail-gnamakoudji.html

If you don’t care to make these drinks from scratch, then hop on a plane, avoid the vendors and get yourself invited to a wedding or just crash it, and drink to your hearts content. 

But you can always take a leap of faith, contact me and we'll wing it together! 

By Ahou Koné