In the Fouta-Djalon region, in central Guinea, the tapade is a piece of land where, traditionally, a few vegetables are grown, a banana tree, a coffee tree. With a lot of natural fertilizers, it is an intensive agriculture that obeys an ideal of food self-sufficiency. But that’s not all, in the tapade, you can also find something to dress up. The cotton plant once provided the raw material to the famous weavers of Fouta-Djalon.
From our correspondent in Conakry,
Behind the pretty Fouta-Djalon museum hides a green setting in the heart of the city. “We are in the botanical garden, I would say, of the museum”, underlines Zeïnab Koumanthio Diallo. She is the general manager of this high place of Foutanian culture. She is also a poet and sociologist.
« The tapades are small family gardens that are developed around the huts in the concessions, because the Fulani want to have everything at home, by themselves, for themselves. And so in there, we find a lot of things, that is to say everything that the family needs immediately to feed, clothe and participate in ceremonies. There are cotton plants being sown all over the place. The cotton plant grows very quickly and is hardly maintained. Once the plant has taken off, there is nothing more to do. ” she says.
A tradition that is slowly being lost
Zeïnab shows us her cotton plant. From the top of his six years, his trunk dominates the tapade. ” Unfortunately, there are very few tapades in city centers today. When we move away a little, only ten kilometers in the countryside, we find them once more and it’s magnificent “, s’exclaim Zeïnab Koumanthio Diallo.
The tradition is gradually being lost. The inhabitants of Fouta-Djalon, when they have the means, prefer modern houses to traditional huts and concrete courtyards. ” You can see the harvest if you want. I will show you and you will see for yourself that it is a good cotton. »
Zeïnab Koumanthio Diallo fetches a well-filled plastic bag from her home. ” There you go, that’s one harvest. Touch, it is extremely fluffy, it is beautiful. There’s at least a kilo, maybe two, thinks Zeinab. When asked if you can make a shirt with it, Zeïnab Koumanthio Diallo answers: “ Well, the evaluation is going to be difficult [rires]but I think it’s a bit small to think of a shirt. »
