Chew or Swallow?

If you ever travel to Ghana, don't leave without sampling some "fufu" and soup while you're here. As demonstrated in the video below, making fufu is a two person job. While one person keeps the rhythm of pounding, the second person skillfully turns and kneads the fufu.

As you pound the plantain and cassava inside the mortar, the starch in them breaks down and you end up with a blob of carbohydrates, which resembles bubblegum in consistency and elasticity. It's served with a super tasty groundnut soup and chicken. But watch out if you ever eat fufu in the presence of Ghanaians: you're not supposed to chew it! If you do, people may get offended, repulsed, or just laugh at you. I chew.

For the record, pounding fufu is incredibly hard regardless of the role you play. The "pounding stick" is heavy as hell, and I don't dare put my fingers anywhere near the fufu when someone is pounding.



Anyways, today we held a technology fair in the Suame Magazine. I was wandering from booth to booth, seeing the innovative ideas our artisans are using, when I came across... an automated fufu pounding machine. WTF?!?



Innovation is good. Technology is good. But in the case of Ghana where the greatest natural resource is human labour, this isn't exactly what the economy is asking for...