The African Gourmet Foodways Archive
Entry: The Weight of Firewood — Time, Trauma, and the Hearth
This entry documents the invisible labor in every meal across much of Africa: the collection of firewood. It archives not just the act, but the time lost, the body burdened, the fear endured, and the health sacrificed so that food can be cooked.
Sensory Archive: The Smell of Smoke, The Weight of Wood
- Smell: Resinous eucalyptus smoke, acrid dust, sweat, dry earth.
- Sound: Chopping, footsteps for miles, silence filled with fear, crackling fire.
- Touch: Splintered wood on the back, strain in the spine, blisters on feet.
- Taste: Dust in the mouth, thirst, later—the smoky taste of food cooked over that fire.
Time Poverty: The Hours That Disappear
Women and girls spend 20+ hours per week collecting firewood. That is time not spent in school, not spent resting, not spent with children, not spent building a business.
Comparison: A household with gas or electricity regains 3–4 hours each day. That is the difference between illiteracy and education, between exhaustion and energy, between vulnerability and safety.
Trauma & Health: The Body Pays
- Physical: Spinal injuries, pelvic damage, chronic respiratory disease. Cooking with firewood is equivalent to smoking 3–20 packs of cigarettes a day (WHO).
- Sexual Violence: Women searching in remote or conflict areas face rape, harassment, assault. The threat is a constant companion.
- Mental: Anxiety, hypervigilance, PTSD—the psychological tax of dangerous labor.
Environmental & Economic Reality
Over 80% of energy in African countries comes from wood. It is both an engine of survival and a source of deforestation, air pollution, and climate vulnerability.
The trade provides income for millions, but often under unsafe, exploitative conditions for women and girls.
Why Archive This?
Because food heritage is not just recipes. It is fuel, time, labor, and risk. To understand African foodways, you must understand the weight of the wood that cooks it—and the weight of the hours lost carrying it.
We preserve this so future generations know: the flavor of a meal is also the taste of the struggle to prepare it.
