The Battle of the Ants
It has been a while since we wrote our last blog post and a lot has happened since then. That same Sunday evening was particularly eventful. It all started when Layla was taking a shower, washing off all the sunscreen and DEET of the day, when she heard a repetitive ticking noise. The source of the noise were - ANTS!! It was quite a shock, they were entering through the ceiling and spreading all over the walls. They were falling off the tiles which they couldn’t walk on because of the smooth surface - causing the noise. When Layla came running hurriedly out of the shower Nell and Sarah came to see what all the fuss was about. It turned out they were also invading the toilet and were not planning to stop there.
After the initial panic we quickly started looking for ways to get the ants out of our room. It wasn’t long before the first bucket of water was splashed all over the bathroom walls - declaring the beginning of the battle of the ants. Towels and DEET sprays were quickly added to the defense (although not as effective as we had hoped). At the point where we had the situation under control it was actually quite hilarious. We were standing there in our PJs with our headlamps on, trying not to get bitten while holding improvised ant repellents.
Lesson of the day: ants are surprisingly resistant to smashing flip-flops. An hour or so later we could finally call victory against - we have to admit - quite a worthy opponent.
"HUH - WHAT - ALÉ" - Layla seeing ants in the shower
Bohicon & Abomey
Our next project-related trip was to an apicultural center in Bohicon. We planned to combine this with a visit to the nearby historical city of Abomey.
The visit to the center was really interesting. Camil - the person who owns the center - is very passionate about bees and insects in general. He has an extensive collection of insects that he prepared himself in his small lab and carefully placed in frames for exhibition. The most impressive piece of art - which you can definitely call his work - is an illustration of the working of a bee colony in which every little bee is placed in a specific area depending on its role, with the queen figuring in the center. Next to this talent, Camil is also an established beekeeper. He works with dadant hives and has quite a honey production going.
Abomey is the capital of the former kingdom of Dahomey. We arrived there in the afternoon. Pascal, who came with us to Bohicon, dropped us off at Chez Monique, a guesthouse recommended to us by a friendly French couple staying at the farm. The first thing you notice when entering the place are the statues. It looked like an open-air museum and was quite impressive!
The first thing we did after arranging a room was … eat! We were really hungry. It was well past noon as we had spent quite a while in Bohicon. The food was delicious, although the portions were quite a bit larger than we had expected when we ordered. We tried some of the foods that were listed as local specialties. This included a special kind of cheese made from soya, a chicken dish called ‘poulet bicyclette’ and ‘aloco’, which are fried plantains.
After the late lunch / early dinner we quickly got ready for our guided tour in Abomey which we had arranged while waiting for our food. Our guide Sylvain had arranged for two motor taxis, also called ‘Zém’, to bring us to the different places we would visit. We were very excited that we finally had the opportunity to travel by zém, since we had seen them everywhere from the moment we arrived in Benin. We had chosen to combine a historical tour together with the vodoun tour to get to know more about Benin’s rich history and culture. Our first stop was the ‘palais princier’, the palace of a former prince of Dahomey. This was a residential palace. We learned more about the different people that were part of it, the events that took place there and what the different rooms were destined for. Presently the place is taken up by a group of artists that make sculptures out of waste materials, most definitely worth the visit!
The sun was already setting when we left the palace, so we quickly made for our next destination; a vodoun temple. Here we learned that vodoun, although often negatively represented, is all about connection. To others, nature and good spirits who bring strength and good fortune. Fact of the day: vodoun stems from 'vodu' meaning 'spirit' in Fon language.
After the temple we went back to our guesthouse, but the day was not over yet! Sylvain had invited us to join a vodoun dance event later that evening. Back at chez Monique, still having some time left before the event, we decided to go for a stroll around the neighborhood. When the time came Sylvain picked us up and we made our way to the square where the dance would take place. When we arrived, the people making the music we had already heard from a distance caught our attention. Men, women and children were gathered around the square, enjoying the music and patiently waiting for the dancers. We joined the crowd in anticipation for what was to come. We were told that it was not just anyone who would take part in the dance. The dancers were ‘trances’, people who were host to good-natured spirits, which were passed onto them by a specific ritual. The music was meant to awaken the spirits after which the trances would spontaneously erupt into an enigmatic but vibrant dance. It was quite the experience, you could feel the enthusiasm of all the people around you, singing and shouting things in what we supposed was Fon. Sylvain assured us it was okay to take a picture, which we will happily share with you in this blog.
The next morning was fully packed with visiting different parts in and around Abomey. However, for the sake of the length of this blog, we shall not elaborate on this. In the early afternoon we arranged a taxi to get back to Ferme-école SAIN, pleased with all the new experiences we made in Abomey.
Back to the Bees
After a well-deserved weekend away and after all those lovely road trips, our batteries were charged and we were ready to get back to work. Ready to get back to the bees! We did actually have an important deadline. On Saturday at 7 o’clock the training would start which meant that by Friday night everything would have to be finished. So, back to work. We were putting together a three-day training which included both theoretical lessons as well as practical work. This for a group of 20 students that showed interest in becoming beekeepers. We developed a PowerPoint to accompany the theory which will be given by two very knowledgeable and experienced beekeepers; Daniel and Nassirou. Daniel is responsible for the apiculture branch at the ferme and has thus been working with us since the beginning, giving his point of view on important aspects that have to be a part of the training and contributing to the content we were creating. Nassirou is from Parakou, which is situated much more towards the North of Benin, meaning that he would be coming especially for the three-day training. Daniel and Nassirou are also the ones who will lead the practical sessions where the students will learn beekeeping in a very hands-on manner. Because a three-day training is packed with a lot of information, we also decided to develop a written training course which includes all the information given during the training and even extra information the students may need in the future.
A special guest
There was a special guest coming to SAIN! Being Frank, together with his wife Melanie who has been working in Benin for several years. Frank is a Belgian beekeeper who has been advising us on the project. He has been on Ferme SAIN several times before and is a good friend of Pascal and Bernadin. It was really nice to see him in person, since all our meetings in Belgium had been online. We had a very productive meeting with everyone discussing our plans for the training program. Unfortunately, Frank could not stay until then since he and Melanie were very busy with moving out from their house in Cotonou.
Glimpse of the morning
Our morning routine consists of getting up earlier than we were used to. Putting on clothes that never quite feel like they're fully dry, due to the high humidity, and heading downhill for breakfast. Walking down the sandy passage we make sure not to tread on any ants. There's always a bunch of flies buzzing around our heads following us all the way to the dining room (and yes we do shower). But, even if those flies can be quite annoying, it's totally worth it seeing that we wake up with a beautiful view every day.
Once at the breakfast table, often already prepared with some bread, honey, butter marmalade, and a large can of hot water (Yes, we are very much spoiled here by Noélie and Victorine). We also get packages of instant coffee and powdered milk. These are very much appreciated since some of us are coffee addicts. This leads us to a very particular feature that has become part of our morning routine; namely, the opening of the powered milk package. Let us say that it is far from easy. Especially for Nell, who has tried on countless occasions - all of them fruit- (or should we say milk-) less. After which the package is passed on to someone else (aka Layla - coffee addict) to give it a try. But we shall not give up hope, one day Nell will open the milk package on the first try.
"Packaging industry: 10 - Nell: 0" - Layla
Be careful what you wish for
"Sarah did some oepsies" - Nell
Ants weren’t the only animals that attacked us… the three of us together probably have more than 50 mosquito bites (even with generous applications of DEET). The mosquito attacks resulted in Sarah having some infected wounds, eventually leading to us having to go to the hospital several times (no worries, she’s now very much back to her old self).
When we were complaining that our training program days were becoming a bit monotonous this was definitely not the change we had in mind.
There can never be too much DEET - Sarah
However, it did bring us some fun car rides where we finally found coconuts (which we had long been looking for!). We also bought some oranges, milk for our daily coffee, peanuts, beignets, etc. On one of the trips our lovely driver Romaric also took a small detour to a nearby village where we had the most amazing view over the valley. Now, let us say no more and enjoy the view. Because as we all know; a picture says more than a thousand words.
Our time so far in Benin has been full amazing experiences. We can't believe how much time has already passed since we arrived. We'll definitely make the most out of the remaining days. Stay tuned for more posts! Big hugs - Sarah, Nell and Layla