This weekend was all about hard work, firewood smoke, and good food. I spent it in the village processing garri from scratch with family. From peeling cassava to frying garri in the big pot, it was tiring but so worth it. Let me show you how it went.
We started early. The compound was full of fresh cassava tubers like you can see in the first photo. Me in my Barca wrapper, my sister in white top and ankara, and peels everywhere. Peeling cassava is not beans o. Knives were cutting fast and the ground was soon covered with brown peels. In photo 2 there’s a bowl of clean peeled cassava, ready for the next step. Photo 3 shows my auntie washing while my sister continued peeling. Even the kids were around in photo 5, learning the process. That’s how we do it in the village, everyone helps.
After washing, we grated the cassava and bagged it to ferment for one day. That fermentation is what gives garri its sour taste. Sunday evening was for frying. This is where the real work starts. In photo 6 you’ll see me sitting by the fire outside, stirring a big pot of garri with a wooden spatula. The fire was hot, but the smell was too good. You can’t stop stirring, otherwise it will burn. The smoke, the green trees around, the sound of firewood, it was so peaceful. No light, no stress. Just family and work.
Garri processing will stress your body, but your heart will be full. Eating garri you made yourself hits different. It reminds me of where I come from, of community, and of how much effort goes into simple meals. We didn’t just make garri, we gisted, we laughed, and we connected.
We got several painters of fresh garri that will take us for weeks. Some for soaking with sugar and groundnut, others for hot eba and soup.
