Malwa - the original Guiness

Out to capture a shot of the big caroli who stands atop the highest trees and eats from local garbage piles,


I was beckoned over to a spot under the shade of a tree where a group of men were doing something interesting. I was somewhat hesitant to go, but with the appearance of a woman on the scene, my fears were relieved.


Stella makes malwa, which is an alcohol drink made from millet. The millet grain is first dried in the sun,


and ground,


before it is fermented and leavened with yeast.


Here is what they were drinking.


This bucket is for drinking tomorrow,


and this one is for Monday.


Stella brews the liquor and sells it by the bucket to her regular, working-class customers, every day of the week. The straws are long sticks of hollow bamboo with a piece of gauze tied to the bottom end, filtering the gunk from coming into your mouth.


Water is on boil and the jerrycan gets cleaned of germs too, as water is added to the buckets of malwa as they become emptied.


I will admit to sampling a wee bit and suffering an immediate and painful headache that almost put me in bed.


Sharing technology was fun!


Just so you know, there were some magnificent beasts ploughing through the garbage heaps behind us.








It pays to get out of the hotel and just wander with an open mind and an adventurous sense of inquiry.

with love from Jen