Washing Clothes and Cooking

The vast majority of people here do not have washing machines. Either they or their house girl wash the clothes by hand. Wayne and Barb and I have a HAU employee that does our laundry for us, as well as cleaning our apartments.

Usually a large rubber/plastic container is used, along with a 3 gallon pail. The container is about 5 inches deep and circular, about 15 inches in diameter. The soap (which is a blue powder), water and clothes are put in the container, and washed by hand one a a time. Then they are rinsed out with the clean water that is in the pail. Some people have clothesline strung behind their house, other lay the clothes on bushes that surround their property.


Here at HAU, behind the dorm is a large concrete sink with 2 long sinks in it. Each sink is about 4 feet long, and each sink has 2 faucets in in (only cold water). The students often put the container and pail in the sink, and fill both with water. We have extensive clothes lines next to the sink. Usually the students wash their clothes early in the morning. It is not uncommon to see several students out there at 6:00 a.m.

It is rainy season now, so one has to work around the rain, which often comes mid or late morning, and sometimes again during the late afternoon or early evening. Most days are sunny, or at least warm if it is overcast, so working around the rain isn’t usually too much of a problem.

Most people have outside sinks like the one described above. Most have indoor sinks as well. The indoor sinks only have one faucet, so water has to be heated. Many people use charcoal to cook with, but some have a propane tank as well. We each have a propane tank next to our stove so we can cook with gas.

I was at my colleague Linnet’s home last Saturday. They cook with charcoal and/or propane. The have a area next to their house where the have the charcoal stove. It is a small item, maybe a foot or 18 inches high (they are made in various sizes), and somewhat round. The charcoal is put on the inside, and the pan put on top to cook.

Is it extremely common to see burlap bags full of charcoal piled on the back of bicycles. We often see young men with them on the back of bicycles riding down the road from up country. The trip is downhill, and I imagine the charcoal is quite heavy. I admire their strength and courage in making these trips. To go back up country, men often ride their bikes behind a truck, one hand on the back of the truck somewhere, the other on the handle bar. I’ve seen this numerous times. See the photo on the blog for an example.

The Burundians frequently have a meal of beans, with various vegetables such a tomato, onion, sweet potato, and peas. It is sort of like a thick soup. Often this is put over over rice. One the side the often have a combination of peas and carrots.

Dessert often consists of a banana, or pieces of mango, pineapple or papaya.

Tea and coffee are ubiquitous here since both are grown up country. They are also fond of Fanta and Coca Cola. Fruito, a drink made from passion fruit is also very common.