海角大神

On a wide avenue off the main road in this suburb of Abidjan, women sit fanned out in small groups, crouching over buckets as they chop and soak a homely brown root vegetable. Piles of what looks like couscous are spread across sheets of black plastic tarp.

At first, the scene appears haphazard, but what I鈥檓 seeing are actually highly efficient, open-air production lines of 补迟迟颈茅办茅 鈥� C么te d鈥橧voire鈥檚 national dish.

In one corner, a woman in a flowery purple dress shaves off the rough skin of the cassava root. Another woman soaks the smooth, white stalks in tubs of water. After the root gets ground down and fermented, the water is squeezed out from the pulp with a steel press. The granules then dry in the sun.

A woman known as Madame Hortense, who operates one 补迟迟颈茅办茅 production line, leads me into a simple cement house, where a woman is shaking the granules in front of a fan to remove leftover fibers. Another stands sweating over a metal pot, turning the 补迟迟颈茅办茅 with a wooden spatula as it steam cooks.

础迟迟颈茅办茅 can be paired with almost anything 鈥� fish, chicken, shrimp, boiled eggs, avocado 鈥� and is 鈥渂est eaten with your hands,鈥� says Madame Hortense. 鈥淚t just tastes better that way.鈥�

础迟迟颈茅办茅 production employs upward of an estimated 300,000 women, according to the Ivorian Ministry of Agriculture, and has pulled many out of poverty.

In 2024, UNESCO recognized the skill in making the fermented cassava dish as C么te d鈥橧voire鈥檚 intangible cultural heritage. And though industrial production of 补迟迟颈茅办茅 exists on a small scale here, the artisanal way of transforming cassava does not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

鈥淲e do have machines that can do all this,鈥� says Madame Hortense, pointing toward a woman squatting on the ground, sifting 补迟迟颈茅办茅 through a rectangular pan. 鈥淏ut people prefer the flavor of 补迟迟颈茅办茅 when it鈥檚 made like this, by hand.鈥�

Albain Ade contributed reporting for this article.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

KNIFE SKILLS: One of the estimated 300,000-plus women employed in 补迟迟颈茅办茅 production in the country peels cassava.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

POWERED BY WOMEN: A woman named Sali sifts grated cassava to remove unwanted fibers with the aid of a fan. Women do most cassava processing in the country.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

HANDS-ON WORK: Sali鈥檚 fingers are coated in dust from sifting cassava.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

A COMPLETE MEAL: 础迟迟颈茅办茅, which can be paired with almost anything, is the cornerstone of Ivorian cuisine. Residents typically eat it with their hands.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

SHELF STAR: A grocery store displays 补迟迟颈茅办茅 wrapped in plastic for sale.