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Peace Corps Cooking: What Can I Cook In a Mud Hut?
Good Question

2009_07_09-PeaceCorps.jpgHere's a fascinating question from John, who is about to leave on his Peace Corps assignment! He writes:

I'm going to be serving as a Peace Corps volunteer beginning in July, and my living quarters for the two years I serve will be essentially what you might expect for an extended camping trip. I'll have a mud hut with no power/running water, a fuel efficient cookstove, but that's mostly all I know right now. I do know that where I'm serving meat is fairly scarce (fine by me) but there's a good mix of fruits and veggies and maize is the primary staple (but a good amount of other grains/beans, from my initial research).

I'm wondering if there are any cookbooks you recommend for this sort of situation. The ones I already have seem pretty impractical, as they're pretty reliant on appliances and ovens (can't imagine I'll be able to accurately preheat one).

 
 

John, we are so impressed by your commitment to this trip and to serving in a place that would be very difficult for most of us! We haven't had much experience cooking in a mud hut, without electricity, so we turned to a friend who does have this kind of experience. She also served with the Peace Corps, in Haiti, for two years, and she had very similar cooking conditions.

SJ, our friend, recommends The Jungle Camp Cookbook as a good resource. It's out of print, but you may be able to get a used copy or download it here:

Jungle Camp Cookbook at Ethnologue

You can also find an adapted and updated version of that cookbook from Wycliffe, a Bible translation organization whose members often live in similar situations to yours:

Wycliffe International Cookbook at Amazon.com

Our friend's main advice, though? Experimentation is key! A camp stove can actually cook a lot of things you'd be familiar with; ingredients are usually the issue. Good luck, John, and we'll turn it over to the readers to see if they have more advice.

Related: Campfire Cooking: Best Easy, Frugal Foods for Camping

(Images: Peace Corps)

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Good Questions, Travel, camping, primitive cooking

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Comments (15)

When I was in the Peace Corps a bunch of fellow volunteers collected recipes from other volunteers in the country; this was helpful and perhaps other volunteers before you have created such a legacy.
For baking, we created a dutch oven from a big aluminum pot.
I had joined the Peace Corps just out of college and had never cooked for myself; I had a lot of cooking disasters, but learned a lot. Mostly, I learned to rely on my landlady's cooking skills.

posted by Jts on July 9th 2009 at 10:59am
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Consider a solar oven: zero fuel costs and minimal fussing while cooking, plus very cheap to construct.

There are small models for backpacking:
http://www.mollybakersolaroven.com/home.html
http://fast-solar.com/SolarProducts.htm
Make your own full size:
http://solarcooking.org/plans/newpanel.htm
Non-profit:
http://65.108.108.197/catalog/

posted by m_j_s on July 9th 2009 at 11:35am
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My two friends who were in Peace Corp actually had propane tanks that you could screw a burner on the top of--there were a few harrowing tales of biking the propane tank through the mountains from the city into their small villages, but other than that, they had no problems getting access to propane (guess it depends on where you are--the were in South America). With as much heat as a setup like that puts off, I don't think you'll have problem cooking whatever you'd like and as noted above, your limiting factor would only be the ingredients on hand. Sounds like hoecakes and polenta should be in your repertoire!
My friends also appreciated the few American condiments they brought along (herbs that wouldn't be common at your site, or peanut butter, for example--unless you're in a peanut-heavy part of Africa), and peppermint Dr. Bronner's soap also seems like it was always a much-appreciated gift.
Good luck!

posted by lotusmoss on July 9th 2009 at 11:48am
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I second the solar option. I made one out of a large pizza box lined with foil and cooked stuffed tomatoes in it, ratatouille, baked tiny potatoes, and - ta da - beef stroganoff (made with hamburger). It was a great experiment. I would caution you about critters getting into a cook box that is not pretty closely sealed, though. Maybe a sort of pie-safe concept with feet on the oven put in cups of water might work?

posted by dksbook on July 9th 2009 at 11:49am
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Leaf through a copy of Extending the Table before you leave. This book has a ton of adapted international recipes, very few of which depend on an oven. It has numerous no-meat or low-meat sauces, curries and stews that can be served with rice or nshima. Also, lots of recipes for desserts and breads that don't use an oven: hard to come by sometimes.

posted by ayme on July 9th 2009 at 12:39pm
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I think your best resource will be other Peace Corps workers in the area, as well as previous workers. And the people who live there, assuming that language is not an overwhelming barrier!

posted by Bobolink on July 9th 2009 at 12:44pm
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Would you be able to get a Cobb? They were developed for use in Africa I believe. Can do just about anything that needs an oven with one. I like mine.

http://www.cobbamerica.com/

posted by Gallivant on July 9th 2009 at 12:44pm
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This would be a really great way to get to know the locals or other volunteers. Who else can you go to for expertise on what is plentiful, or tasty in an area? Spend some time cooking food with a local family and you will be up to speed in no time.

posted by Robynthegeek on July 9th 2009 at 1:52pm
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I was in the Peace Corps and lived under similar circumstances and I found I could cook quite a lot on my little gas stove. I made a dutch oven out of an old clay pot for baking. They might give you a cookbook during your training and that will give you an idea of what you can make with local ingredients. Try to collect recipes for rice and beans (great with caramelized onions on top), stews, curries, oatmeal, and omletes. Try new ingredients that you can buy in your market town and see how they taste with what you already know. If you have a host family, watch the mother and daughters to see what they cook and ask questions. Find the people in your village that sell street food and talk to them about how they make it. There might also be cookbooks left in the PC hostel by previous volunteers.
I would hesitate to set up anything outdoors like a solar oven that will attract a lot of attention unless you are prepared to feed a hundred neighbors and small children!

posted by cisse on July 9th 2009 at 6:13pm
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ask the locals?!

posted by Joan in SB on July 9th 2009 at 9:59pm
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Definitely More with Less and Extending the Table (already recommended). These are books written by Mennonites, who seem to go on many mission trips to various countries with little access to appliances, etc. They also have recipes for condiments and other "basic foods," like crackers, that people in the States usually just buy. Many of the recipes also have the traditional instructions for how the food was originally cooked (like cooking rice by wrapping the pot in a blanket after the initial heating on the fire and leaving it for several hours). Have an amazing time!

posted by shanbrite2 on July 10th 2009 at 1:25pm
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Don't forget to bring a Mortar and pestle!

Good luck! and Thanks for your effort.

posted by tomorrow on July 11th 2009 at 12:52am
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As an aid worker, I would recommend eating as the locals do. I think the most important thing to bring with you is something to purify your water (i.e. tablets or a purification system) if you can't boil it in your house.

I think the biggest issue when living in developing countries is not the fact that you might run out of options for making food, but the stomach issues, although this gets better over time. Just try to avoid things that can't be cooked or peeled and you should avoid the majority of problems. Good luck and have fun!

posted by jente on July 11th 2009 at 6:31am
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I'd second Extending the Table and More with Less. However, you won't really know what is available until you arrive, so don't be afraid to experiment and improvise! Having lived and worked in Africa, the best advice is to spend time learning how to cook local foods from neighbors and friends. It's a great way to get to know people and build relationships.
A few tips - in the rural setting where I worked, women could lift pots of boiling water off a cookfire with their bare hands, after years of doing so. Bring your own pot holders or old towels.
In many settings, food preparation is considered the work of women. As a male and a guest you may have to do some insisting/explaining that you really do want to spend time in the kitchen learning and practicing.
Keep in mind that food preparation and cooking takes much longer in the developing world than it does here - ie, boiling beans for hours rather than opening a can.
Have fun and enjoy the experience!

posted by elizabethg on July 12th 2009 at 11:55am
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I was in the Peace Corps in Central Asia. We had little or no fresh fruit or veggies over the winter, and things got a little boring -- rice, potatoes, and gloppy noodles all winter wasn't fun. Meat was scarce and not to my liking anyway.

I'd definitely recommend bringing dried herbs and spices with you to dress things up, especially if you'll not be able to get them locally. You may even be able to grow some herbs where you are. My family sent veggie seeds in one care package.

My other advice is to eat like a local, and when that gets boring, ask current or or former volunteers for recipes. My PC group circulated photocopied recipe books -- a goldmine!

Oh yeah -- you can mix up some cookie dough and fry in a frying pan. Yum!

posted by sissy on January 27th 2010 at 7:13pm
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