Carcasse - Day 4

Friday, 02/24/2012
Most of the team met with business people in Carcasse in the school auditorium, while I helped more children make rosaries in a nearby classroom. Being the only American speaking native French, I was the only one able to help the kids in their crafts. I took a few moments to steal away from the class, however, to set up a couple solar cookers on the school roof. One of the students, Batisse, followed me up and prepared one of the pots of spaghetti himself. When we returned an hour later, the pots of spaghetti were done, and we decided to bring one down with the cardboard-aluminum panels to the small businesses meeting to show everyone. Father Verdieu invited us on stage, and I asked the student who had helped me to explain to everyone in creole how he had just cooked a pot of spaghetti in the solar cooker. People gasped and started talking to each other when they realized the sun could cook food. While Father Verdieu explained the science behind solar cookers, Batisse went around with the pot and let everyone taste the spaghetti. Batisse and I exited as they resumed the small businesses meeting, and I gave Batisse the other pot of spaghetti to eat with his friends to thank him for showcasing the Cookit. They were done in a few minutes and gave me back the pot.
After the meeting, a woman approached me to tell me she wanted a solar cooker to try it out for herself. Her standing in the community as the APCC representative in Cap-a-Fou made her an ideal person to promote its use. Unfortunately, with her living so far away and a limited number of solar cookers, I didn’t want to give any up just yet. I told her maybe next week we could arrange for a kind of training in the use of solar cookers and make some more.

In the afternoon, we took a walk towards Cap-a-fou. After about 30 minutes of a steep walk up the mountain and 20 minutes of a steep walk down it, we saw the Cap-a-fou village in a valley by the sea from far away and decided that was good enough for us. I was especially ready to head home, as I was wearing my crocs which have little to no traction, and was having a hard time not slipping. I thought I would be the only one with crocs, but strangely enough, many if not most people wear there them here. But most people we passed did not seem to be having any trouble climbing the mountain. They were at ease on their motorcycles, or carrying enormous loads on their head. We especially admired the skill of one older woman carrying a mountain of bread loaves on her head, piled more than a foot high, any loaf or baguette ready to roll off at any wobble. We couldn’t help but comment on what a waste it would be if she should lose her balance. I had heard that Cap-a-fou and Bigarous were part of the Carcasse parish before coming, but I hadn’t realized they were so hard to get to, and that children, merchants and others made this trip every day just to go to school or buy or sell necessities. We made it back exhausted, dusty, and sweaty and made dibs on who would get the shower first.