La cuisine

In the Gabonese villages, like in a lot of other cultures, the kitchen (la cuisine),  plays a big part in family life.  It's where women spend a lot of their time in the late afternoon and on to the evening, cooking and catching up with the other villagers about the day's events.  The cuisine is usually occupied by women but I spent quite a bit of time hanging out there since I wanted to see how they prepared their food.  Plus, there really was not much to do once the sun sets in the small village of Ebe Messe.  I always wonder how much it has changed there especially with the coming of the internet and easy access to computer gadgets.  I am sure that during les vacances, when Ebe's children come home for a few months, internet gadgets are brought back along with all the baggage that comes with it.  I suppose it is kinda like how the television first arrived into the homes of Americans and changed its culture.  I hope the internet does not alter life in Ebe too much.  This painting is titled "Empty cauldron", the way cooking in the cuisine always begins.