Harvest

Millet is the main staple of Chad, and most families in and around Mongo have land in the perimeter for planting this seed. It is what most Chadians eat every day, so if there is a year with a very good harvest, the farmers, and the area as a whole, are very well off. Likewise, if the crops are very bad, then many will go hungry. There are two harvest times for millet. Red millet is harvested in November, and white millet is harvested now, in January.Image result for white millet

Image result for white millet

The news for this year’s harvest is neither great, nor bad. So, although we all love a big return, we can be thankful that there will be food on the “table” for our friends in Chad until next harvest.

Please also pray for the spiritual harvest to ripen in the hearts of the Dadjo as God’s Word works it’s way into their lives.

 

 

The Question Everyone asks: What Millet Should I Grow?

Two different kinds of Millet, Chad, AfricaNow that rainy season in gone, although the humidity still lingers, the first harvest is ready for the people of Chad.

There are two harvest seasons because of the different millet (the main food staple) that the people in central Chad grow: red millet, which handles a drier rainy season better, and white millet, which handles a wetter season better.

Of course if the season is perfect, both grow great. A friend of ours had it bad for a few years. One year, it was just plain dry and nothing wanted to grow. The following year, he planted more white millet than red assuming another bad year. Unfortunately for him, it rained too much and drowned almost his whole crop. So the next year he went after the red millet, and you can guess what happened. It was too dry, and the red millet died leaving his family with another very poor harvest.:(

Rainy Season

Rainy season in Chad, AfricaBetter late than never. Rainy season is a very important time of year for everyone in Chad. So many people are sustenance farmers that if the rains don’t come, the people have nothing to eat for the next year. Millet, which is their main staple, is brought in from neighboring countries at very high prices which not many can afford enough of.
But thankfully we received news that August has brought some good rains. It’s over a month late, but it’s better late than never. Another thing to consider with this is if there will be enough rain at the end of the season to ripen the crop for harvest come November-January.

hungry?

Thanks to the French military and UN presence, there is a growing variety of food available in the capital of Chad. We took advantage of that often when we were in the capital. But if you really wanted to eat the way most Chadians do, you would probably get tired of their food after one day. That is because they eat what they call boule for most of their meals. It is made of boiled ground millet. (You can buy millet seed in the States, usually for bird food.) It’s boiled into a consistency similar to that of play-doe, but the part that makes it nice most of the time is the sauce that you dip it into. This is usually made of a leafy sauce spiced up to be quite tasty… most of the time. A platter for the boule for everyone to share off of, and a bowl for the sauce for everyone to dip into. No table and chairs, and best of all, apart from the one platter and bowl, no dishes to clean up afterwards. Bon apetit!

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