Lesplansie

Last week around this time I went to the interior of Suriname. As stated in a previous post the organization I work with, NAPS, has built a church in the village Lesplansie where we are committed to developing.  From Lesplansie we will branch out to other villages and lend a helping hand where needed. Everything is pretty much done with the church except the windows that need to be put in, a toilet needs to be dug out, and the church needs a good paint job. I think we will do some electrical work, but I don't know much about the details. I was there to cook. While the men were doing the digging I was in the kitchen preparing some good meals. The facilities weren't the best, but you use what you have. 

The Kitchen

The Stove

The kitchen got a little smoky at times, but I step out and get some fresh air so that I can breathe. The villagers work in this kitchen 24/7 and don't seem to be affected by the smoke that flares up from the firewood. The stove was obviously not conventional, but I learned the way to put the fire on high is to add a lot of firewood and fan really good. The way to turn down the fire is to pull out the firewood where just the embers are in the middle and the ends are not touching each other anymore. Life in the interior is simple, sometimes too simple. Over time hopefully through technology and education there will be advancements for the villages.

Enjoying the simple life...