Whether through farming or working, it all comes back to food. What Batwa eat has clearly changed since their life in the forest. Now Batwa subsist on an array of staples traditionally eaten by Bakiga, with some exceptions introduced from international aid groups or preserved from their forest home.
Given the abundance of fruit that grows in south-western Uganda, foraging has always been a staple. Different fruits ripen at different times across the year, making them an important source of fiber and minerals that can be relied on at different times. However, droughts and floods make these cycles less predictable, which in turn reduces community food security. In food scarce situations, the ability to reliably plan around food sources is key to health.
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Despite having adopted new food traditions, Batwa now cherish the staples they have become accustomed to. Roasted corn over hot coals, crisp and chewy. Beans cooked down with plantains. Yuca flower porridge served with peanut sauce. These often starch heavy meals are broken up by sweet fruits picked right from the tree. Most noticeably missing from the average Batwa diet is meat. This hole is felt heavily by a community that used to proudly hunt the forest's game.
Most commonly, women cook, spending their day alternating between working a field and working the fire. Fire is shared among close households, with embers often carried in a glove of plantain leaves between pits. Without this, fire would have to be started from scratch, which costs matches and time. Kids will eat meals at neighbors' houses, often in return for help in the field that day. This loose social network helps to catch those unexpectedly in need.
Surviving is one thing, but thriving is another. Displacement from the forest and their traditions of hunting and gathering has meant a displacement from a healthy, reliable meat source. While hunting isn't guaranteed, the Batwa's knowledge and practice made it an integral part of their nutrition and culture. Without it, nutrition is severely lacking among many, who now eat primarily starches they grow themselves. To make matters worse, these new farming lifestyles are placed precariously under a changing climate, further destabilizing an already vulnerable population.
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Adapting to hard circumstances has defined the Batwa's existence in recent years. Stuck at the intersection between political and natural pressures, Batwa life is in flux. Traditions manage to barely persevere in foreign contexts, while new generations learn how to better cope with modernity.