Danyi-Dzogbegan, Togo

2019-07-18: Ascension Abbey. How to make avocado oil?

To reach Danyi Dzogbegan and the abbey, you have to take the small road on the left at the large roundabout in the center of the small town of Adeta. It is 5:10 p.m. and we are only 12 km from the monastery as the crow flies. But this little road is so hilly and stuffed with potholes that it will take us over an hour to get there.

The road begins by climbing to the Danyi plateau with a series of switchbacks and a fairly steep slope. We will then drive about fifteen kilometers on the plateau at an altitude of 750 m to arrive at 6.15 p.m. at the monastery. The road was rather tiring because it is in a really catastrophic state.

Danyi Dzogbegan Abbey

We stop in the main alley in front of the entrance to the monastery. The site looks deserted at this late afternoon time and I am about to spend the night here in the alley when a monk appears. He warmly welcomes us and opens a gate so that we can go and settle near the round stone chapel. The monastery also offers guest rooms, the monk gives us the keys to one of them so that we can use the shower and the toilet.

Gandalf at the camp.

I ask him how much it costs to stay overnight and he says that we can give what we want. The rooms cost between 5000 and 7000 CFA, I offer to pay 5000 CFA per night. "It's more than enough," he said, very satisfied! I think it's well worth it, given the enchanting setting, the cleanliness of the site and the hot showers! ! I believe that are the first in Africa since the Zébrabar (in Saint-Louis in Senegal).


Next day:

The night was very calm and very mild. For the first time in a long time we pulled out a small blanket to sleep on. Upon awakening we are still immersed in the mist, but it will soon dissipate.

We leave at around 11 am to inspect the site, starting by visiting our neighbors, a small building about twenty meters slightly below us. In fact, it’s a small avocado oil production unit. Father Christian and his big sister Dorothée are in charge of it, assisted by a woman from the village. We are free to watch the avocado puree boiling in two large aluminum pots. Christian explains that it needs about 10 kg of avocado puree to get 1 liter of oil. You must first mix the avocados into a puree, then gently heat the mass while adding water regularly and at the right time. The oil is thus extracted from the puree and comes to accumulate on the surface. It can occasionally be used in cooking but its main use is mainly cosmetic. The residues from manufacturing are used as fertilizer when dried in a pit.

Brother Christian explains the avocado oil production.

The avocado stock

Dorthée checks the cooking

The pit with the avocado residue that will end up as fertilizer.

The monks make a cream from this oil by adding petroleum jelly and shea butter, as well as other elements of which they have the secret. They market it under the name of Pomavo.

Anne from Nantes, Thierry, Christine, Dorothée and Christian.

Christine, Gandalf and the oil production unit.

It’s almost time for prayer, everyone goes to church, we too! ... Me too!
The prayers are sung by the monks and part of the audience. It doesn't last too long, only about fifteen minutes.

In the church

We are then welcome to the refectory to share lunch with the other hosts and guests. The monks have lunch in a separate room. Father Michel Benoît (the prior of the abbey) explains to us that normally he should notify the kitchen well in advance to prepare the guests' dishes, but since we do not need a special meal and we eat "the dough" like everyone else, that's okay.
After the compulsory hand washing at the entrance to the refectory, we will patiently wait behind our chairs until everyone is ready and the prayer is said. We don't speak in the refectory. This does not mean that we will eat in silence because during the whole meal one of the monks read aloud a theological and philosophical text on the theme of the resurrection.
The meal consists of a coleslaw and onion salad as a starter followed by chicken rice and yogurt for dessert. The portions are huge, obviously there is no risk of starving here!

After the meal, the guests clear the tables, do the dishes and put them away in the cupboards. It is the rule ! It goes fast when everyone gets started.

The canteen. After the meal is before the meal. Everything is ready for tonight!

We are quietly waiting for the store to open at 3 p.m. It is preceded by a new prayer in which Christine will participate. For my part I have already had my dose I prefer to stay calm in the motorhome. I meet Christine again after the prayer to go together to the shop.

On the way to the shop.

 The monks sell their products there as well as those of the Benedictine sisters of the nearby convent. We are going to buy three small packets of cookies made by the sisters there: “Merveille Des Merveilles” without further description, “Jaquibis” with jackfruit and “Bis Choco” with chocolate, at 250 CFA (0.39 €) per package.

We also buy two 250g packages of "Arabusta" coffee, a creation of the monks obtained by grafting arabica onto robusta plants. Robusta is a fairly strong coffee, while Arabica is a much more flavored variety. If it is indeed possible to grow arabica here, it will be unproductive, because arabica needs altitude and only really gives from 2000 m. This is why it is much more present in East Africa, in Ethiopia or in Kenya for example. We pay 1500 CFA (2.36 €) the package.

In the shop.

We will try star fruit jam (1000 CFA) as well as a mosquito repellent spray made from five essential oils at 1800 CFA (2.83 €). It smells very good, but I wouldn't give it my protection against the risk of malaria.

We finish our shopping with a bottle of mint syrup at 1000 CFA (€ 1.57) and a bottle of therapeutic drink at 3000 CFA (€ 4.71) made from pineapple, star fruit, cinnamon, moringa , lemon balm, sorrel, honey and other plant substances. According to the label, this drink would be effective against general fatigue, it would purify the blood and facilitate digestion, relieve cramps and decrease the curves and cholesterol.

Father Christian brings us six big avocados. They have just brought back the harvest of the day, a full tricycle trailer. The avocado season ends soon, another one to two weeks maximum.

We will end the afternoon with a half-hour stroll around. Our steps lead us a bit randomly to the coffee and pepper plantations. Raphael's explanations during our Kloto's botanical walk are confirmed. The monks actually use the thorny trunks of the sandbox trees as stakes for the pepper plant. What he did not tell us is that the branches of the hourglass are regularly pruned to avoid shading the pepper trees.

Walk in the dependencies of the abbey.

Christine in front of a coffee plantation

Pepper trees plantation. With sandbox trees as stakes

Third day:

In the early hours of the third day, we greet the team who are starting to empty the avocados into mash. We observe how Christian raps the avocados' stones. Once dried one can make herbal teas or grind them to make a powder that will accompany all kinds of meals. It seems to be very good for the heart.

The avocados are emptied to boil the mash and get oil.

grated avocado stones.

The stones are of course also used for the reproduction of avocado trees. Christian shows us his little nursery. Some of these plants are already well developed and will soon be able to be planted in the plantation. An avocado tree will give its first fruits after five years.

He also shows us his little garden where he grows turmeric plants, the "yellow ginger" in popular parlance, as well as ginger. A new discovery for us because although knowing the roots of ginger and turmeric powder we still had no idea what plants could look like. The roots are quite similar, they differ mainly in color, that of turmeric being more yellow / orange.

Christian shows us his turmeric… .. and ginger plants

 

Ginger on the left and turmeric on the right.

Christian opens the circular chapel near which we are parked. It is a stone chapel like all the other buildings in the complex. It was sponsored by the Archbishopric of Cologne, like the main church elsewhere.

The door of the chapel.

 

One of the stained glass windows in the chapel