AFRICA COOL

Paul Harman and Nina Hajiyianni attended the ASSITEJ Executive Committee in Rwanda Rwanda is the land of a thousand hills, and Kigali the capital is spread out on the flanks of several ridges which catch the breeze and make for cool mornings and evenings despite being very near the Equator. We hit the dusty dry season but regular rains and the surprisingly temperate climate make the valley bottoms able to pro-duce a vast range of fresh produce. Breakfast consisted of fresh pineapple, avocado, carrots and cucumber, washed down with lo-cally packed mango and orange juice. Rwanda produces coffee and tea too. Blue Band margarine and sliced white bread are less appe-tising modern amenities. While great poverty is evident everywhere – the average cash income is 25p per day – careful land manage-ment means everyone can have an allotment sized patch to feed the family on rice, potatoes and vegetables. Milk is traditionally a sacred blessing given ritual respect but today it is available as UHT in car-tons. Wealth is still measured in cows.

Rwanda-EC-2010

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