Field Food

One of the many joys of field research in Madagascar is the culinary experience. From the crowded streets of the capital city Antananarivo to the fresh fruit for purchase in coastal cities and fireside meals at camp, Malagasy food is a treat. 

Our team works hard day and night to collect data, so we certainly need quality nourishment to fuel the research. Thankfully, we work with two amazing camp caretakers/ cooks, Gabby and Seraphin, who work tirelessly to ensure that we are well-fed. Cooking at our camp presents quite the challenge. Our camp is about a five hour hike from the nearest village, and further still from a market. We employ the help of countless porters to carry our food and other necessary supplies up the steep mountain paths. From there, Gabby and Seraphin manage the kitchen and plan our meals so that there is enough to go around for the ~15 of us until the porters deliver the next round of supplies a few weeks later. After waking up at around 4am to stoke the campfire where they cook all meals, the duo fetches water from the nearby river for boiling the rice. They are often also the last to retire to their tents at night. I am endlessly grateful for their hard work and dedication to provided clean, nutritious meals for everyone. 

Lychee fruit purchased on the side of the road in Sambava made for the perfect car snack while running errands.

Nothing is better than fresh vegetables in camp.

A feast prepared by our phenomenal camp cooks for June 26th, Madagascar's Independence Day.

Madagascar has the highest per capita rice consumption in the world so, naturally, we eat rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is shocking how quickly the we can work our way through a 60kg bag of rice. The rice is usually accompanied by beans, and sometimes by vegetables or meat, and we often add sakay (Malagasy hot sauce) for variety. Meals are always finished off with ranon'apango (tea made with burnt rice from the bottom of the pot). Admittedly, I squirrel away a supply of snacks in my tent for when my sweet tooth gets the better of me, but I truly love the camp food. 

My favorite part of food at camp is that it is always a communal experience. We all eat together in a "family style" for meals, which is an excellent opportunity for talking about research ideas and problems, sharing stories, and bonding. I also have many fond memories of roasting plantains over the campfire for a post-work snack. 
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The team ready to dig-in for another delicious lunch.

Zico prepared a delicious snack of mashed rice, peanut, and plantains cooked in banana leaves.

Roasting plantains over the campfire.

Seraphin tending to the campfire.

I am thankful for the nutritious food that we are lucky to eat while conducting fieldwork. It is critical to note that not everyone has access to enough high-quality food. Over 1.3 million people in Madagascar face acute food insecurity and ~40% of Malagasy children face chronic malnutrition (source: World Food Programme). Members of our interdisciplinary Bass Connections team and partners at the Duke Lemur Center are working to better understand food insecurity and malnutrition in the SAVA region of Madagascar, where we conduct research. Beyond researching these topics, our partners are providing trainings in gardening, chicken husbandry, and other important measures for reducing food insecurity. See here for suggested further reading.