海角大神

When I traveled recently to C么te d鈥橧voire, in Africa鈥檚 west, it was in my usual role: shooting photos for Monitor stories. This time, the work was in support of my colleague Colette Davidson. But the assignment, like most, also offered room for me to search for image-driven stories of my own.

I asked our translator, Albain, for ideas. At first, he didn鈥檛 understand what I was going for. Then, talk turned to food. He told me he knew a woman who runs a small collective that makes 补迟迟颈茅办茅, the national dish. Soon, we were in a hidden alley where women were peeling, drying, sifting, and cooking cassava, a starchy root. I鈥檇 found my quarry: a richly visual story that took us 鈥� and today takes you 鈥� behind the curtain to meet some of the 300,000 women in C么te d鈥橧voire who make 补迟迟颈茅办茅 by hand.

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An audio bonus: In late 2023, Melanie joined our 鈥淲hy We Wrote This鈥� podcast to talk about how she approaches her work and seeks to apply 鈥� literally and otherwise 鈥� 鈥渁 Monitor lens.鈥�