Glenda Simms, Contributor

THERE HAS been a noticeable change in the behaviours of the good folk who usually spend their afternoons at the One-Stop-Shop in the village. Many of them have not recovered from the effects of the hurricane, two elections, the steady rise in food prices and the 'ganja' fire which wiped out many of their legal and illegal crops on the mountainsides.

These events have demotivated them and Hottie Hottie, the blonde wigged, strong-willed female farmer, has observed that the ganja planters have started to smoke their produce on a regular basis. Miss Mattie, the elder who understands all things, has been slowing down. She no longer makes her daily trek down the hillside to the shop. She comes down only when there is an event of national concern worthy of discussion at the local level.

Recently, the progressive ideas about cassava put forward by the minister of agriculture who represents a sector of St Elizabeth, resonated with the lifestyle of the rural folk in the Santa Cruz mountain region. This is the triggering issue that resulted in the meeting of the ganja-planting young men, the toothless older men who continue to eke out a livelihood by planting yams, sweet potato and cassava, and the young women who continue to produce tomatoes and sweet peppers that regularly rot in the fields because of the lack of markets.

On the occasion of this critical community gathering, Hottie-Hottie took over the role of facilitator of the 'groundings', rolled her heavily made-up brown eyes and respectfully asked grumpy Maas George to open the meeting with a word of prayer. After the amen, one young man nicknamed 'Ganja Baby' remarked, "We need more than prayers."

Miss Mattie listened intently to the insights brought to the discussion by everyone. She was particularly impressed by the young ganja farmers who welcomed the return of bammy for breakfast and lunch so that they would have the energy to spend more time in the ganja fields. They could see no alternative to their activities because they have minimal literacy and numeracy skills and see no decent job prospects in their lifetime.

Legal actions

However, their spokesperson assured the good folks that if their social and economic plight were addressed in a realistic and sustainable manner, they would be quite willing to pursue legal actions in order to provide a decent standard of living for them and their youths. They might even join Maas George and the old-timers who have never stopped planting a few hills of cassava around their yam gardens.

Of great interest to Miss Mattie was the point of view put forward by Hottie-Hottie and the false finger nailed and wigged 'baby mother brigade', and the young grandmothers who seem to be in a perpetual state of 'arrested adolescence'.

These women stated in no uncertain terms that bammy had not been present in their diets for two generations. Their children had never eaten any cassava product in their lifetime. They are hooked on-hard dough white bread, white rice, frozen chemicals that they suck from plastic bags, cheese bits, sweet biscuits, fried chicken Sunday dinners and the occasional slice of yam and flour dumplings.

Rarely eaten foods

In fact, they pointed out that this new crop of mountain-top children do not even consider eating the lovely hairy mangoes that are scattered on the ground under the mango trees during the summer months. These children have also been socialised to ignore the dozens of avocados which drop from the trees yearly. These nutritious products are rarely eaten by this new generation.

In a real sense, Hottie-Hottie argues that these children are the victims of their mothers' laziness, short-term outlook and male control. This view jolted Maas George out of his usual slumber and he insisted that Hottie-Hottie clarify her point of view and link it back to the 'cassava debate'.

As was expected, Hottie-Hottie pulled her elegant farm-woman frame to its five-foot-six dimensions and pointed out to everyone that it would be unrealistic to get the young mothers to change from their chosen self-destructive path without serious intervention and the support of the babyfathers.

She reminded her listeners that when the old women wanted to encourage the young people to join them in continuing the age-old tradition of producing and retaining bammies as a staple in the family's diet, the babyfathers objected to their babymothers grating the cassava in the established method. According to them, the practice of using a grater nailed to a board that required the woman to rest the board against her leg as she grates the peeled cassava, violates their rights as men. In their view, the only board or wood that should press beside their women's legs is their "manly appendage". In other words, no self-respecting man wants to compete with a cassava board.

As Hottie-Hottie waxed eloquently on the link between gender relationships, food security and the alienation of the citizens from the value of cassava as a traditional staple, Miss Mattie sighed from a deep place and held up her hands to make her contribution to the 'cassava debate'. She informed her friends that she knew that she was now over one hundred years old even though she did not know the date or year in which she was born. She could feel her age in her bones and she knew that before long, she would have to meet St Paul and Brother Peter at the Pearly Gates.

Cassava insights

At this juncture, Maas George audibly remarked, "I hope dem let you in!" After a brief laughing break, Miss Mattie continued and reflected on the fact that she had produced and eaten bammies for as long as she could remember and she was honoured to be given the opportunity to share her 'cassava' insights with the three generations gathered at the One-Stop-Shop.

She argued that bitter cassava, in particular, was a unique and exciting product. At the heyday of cassava eating in the district, the men would plant fields of cassava and the women would grate them and produce the flour for the bammies and the starch to enhance the ironing of the school and church clothes and table cloths. The older women would save all the small left-over bits of cassava that could not be grated and the residue left over from the sifting of the cassava flour.

These bits of cassava were the 'cassava head', which was sun dried and pounded in the mortar-and-pestle device that was a feature of every household in her time. She still has one of these!

Mouldy bammy

The flour of the cassava head was used to make dumplings and puddings and to supplement the arrowroot that was used to make porridge for the babies and old folks.

Another unique product of the cassava era was the production of 'mouldy bammy'. This was a prerogative of the older, menopausal women who preserved a small amount of cassava flour and kept it in such a condition to create a mould that gave a darkish tinge to the cassava flour.

When the desired state of mouldiness was achieved, the special bammies were produced and this product was consumed exclusively by the older women in the village. It was shared in a secretive and controlled environment and was consumed while the men were in the fields and the children were either in school or playing among the coffee trees.

Miss Mattie argued that mouldy bammy was a form of aphrodisiac, and the older women of the district understood their womanly potential while they continued to pretend that men had the answer to human sexuality.

At this juncture, Hottie Hottie wondered aloud if 'mouldy bammy' could become a cheaper alternative to Viagra. Maas George quipped, "All things are possible", and the young ganja farmers said "Amen!"

In conclusion, the citizens on the veranda of the One-Stop-Shop were very supportive of Minister Tufton's call for a return to their 'Cassava days'.

Glenda Simms is a gender expert and consultant