Just follow the Wakashi…



So I went out on my first field visit to a far community off a beaten dirt road. This was a very fun journey, through trees, across rivers, and into the welcoming hands of a strong fishing village. Children were smiling from every community, some cried at seeing the white woman,  but a game of peek-a-b00 helped cheer them.

It was along the way that we stopped at a Fulani village, which I have never seen one of it’s kind. This place was far off the road, and I could not have ever discovered because it was well hidden amongst the trees. The reason I thought this place so extraordinary was because it was the village of nomadic herdsman.  I was told later that these people were the owners of the cattle that was often seen roaming across the land.

Now as I said, I wouldn’t have ever discovered this on my own, it was my colleague who had a love for Wakashi–cheese that he made this detour. On the way back when we came for the Wakashi I asked if I could come back and stay with them for a few days, they agreed and I was very excited. They asked me jokingly if I would be able to live with them—-as their setting was one of the most rural I had seen, yet this is an opportunity I will not let pass.

During this field visit, I saw some of the inner workings of the communities. How they interacted with outside presence, how they came to decisions, and how their disputes were handled. I went on this journey at the same time the voting registration was being carried out, and I witnessed some of the challenges these officers faced—crossing rivers with costly printers and cameras, having to come back two or three times because people had not come to register.

Interestingly enough, I saw fishermen in some of the most rural places wearing faux Versace and Gucci, and I thought how far the West has permeated. There were small boys wearing US army shorts, and I even saw a shoulder bag that had Korean lettering across it.

I also realized as my colleague greeted people at every community how important relationships are. The value placed on friends and family is monumental, and really in the end this is what counts.