3in1

hurray!!! finally!!! we presented our project and the very next day we drove our bosses to the airport and now it?s the non-stop party in their apartment!!! dolce vita :)

i don?t know why but apparently it?s easier for me to write about events in threes.
this time these are: epe ekpe, fete in the village (along with the presentation of our project) and the departure of our bosses (seriously:))!!!

epe ekpe. the day of the stone. kind of togolaise (what?s the adjective for something coming from togo???) groundhog day. first day of the goun?s (?) year. lots and lots of adepts of voodoo come to one tiny village in togo, right next to the beninian border. they sing, dance and wash themselves in sacred water (with special herbs). then they are ready to go to the sacred forest and pick one of a few stones of different colours. if they didn?t perform the rituals correctly, the stone will vanish when they try to touch it. the color of the stone predicts the weather for the next year. this time it was white, meaning lots of rain and peace in the country. after last year?s bloody elections and with the former dictator?s son as a president, it?s hard to imagine that the prediction could be different.

it?s a big ceremony with lot?s of medias and yovos (lots here means about 15). i went there alone and met with bartek on the spot. it was great! and the benin-togo border is amazing ? a big marketplace where tomatoes are visibly larger on the togo side!

presentation and fete. last saturday we organized a small conference of people involved in alternative forms of tourism in benin. we got about 11 confirmations and got ready to present our project and animate a discussion afterwards. one person came on time. two others were late. about three hours after the beginning another three came. welcome to benin. but still it was good. some friends came, so our lovely conference hall wasn?t empty and the discussion was very interesting and inspiring (even too much ? now we want to change the whole conception of the project?shit, three weeks left and there?s soo much work to be done?).
our lovely conference hall under a bread tree. empty and full :)

then it was a fete (kind of party) in the village. the people of kpotome demanded a long time ago a fete to introduce pantodon to the village. due to many different factors, the fete took place last saturday, right after the presentation. the fete was short and intense: dances of wonderful young dancers, speeches (of pantodonians and the chef de village), soda bi (vodka made of palm wine), food and dances again. the chief drum player was the zongbeto leader and a mason. dancing boys made the same movements as sakpata dancers.

and now seriously. it?s funny to drive to the airport the person that welcomed and hosted you somewhere. but we did it. matial and damien are off to congo for a few days to consult on a fish project for the ministry of agriculture. they are accompanied by khamy, a smart paris/congolaise. as they say, when the cat is not there, the mice are dancing...but before they dance, they have to finish the work...:/



superjoli sidonie (leon's wife) and rouffet and (specially for lucia) the new dog at the farm. her name is Glupi Pies :)

and tomorrow to ghana!! me and meike are going with norliette and her fellow students on a student trip!!! cu in a week! yuppie!!!