Our home

We really enjoyed our little place. Our house was formerly the cook's quarters at an old palm oil factory. No water or electricity, but it had everything we really needed. We miss the sound of rain on the tin roof. During rainstorms it was so loud we had to shout to hear each other.

We had a nice parcel at the foot of the trail, on which, people from the village above traveled to the Kwenge river to collect water, wash clothes or bathe. It was surrounded by a bamboo fence which afforded us a little privacy in which to decompress at the end of the day (sometimes very necessary).

In our modest kitchen we made feeble attempts to improvise recipes from home with varying success. Although we ate most meals at our farmers' houses we tried to eat at least one "western" meal a day at our place out of a sense of nostalgia.

Malaria is prevalent in the area. Our bed was covered with a mosquito net and in the evenings, at the first sound of mosquitos, we'd retreat to here to read by the light of a kerosene lamp.

On days off we would sit on our porch with a cup of coffee, a good book and watch the peaceful Kwenge River slowly passing by. In the morning we often woke to the sounds of fishermen as they sang or called to one another paddling by in their pirogues (dugout canoes).

During the rainy season, an early morning rumble of thunder in the direction we intended to head for work would signal an instant day off. Incredible downpours, gale force winds and roads which would literally wash out before your eyes made travel on rainy days unthinkable! Our front yard would become a veritable stream.

Usually we would bathe down at the river, but after a girl got eaten by a crocodile around the bend we became a little more cautious and often resorted to a bucket bath in our "shower stall".

We raised four Rhode Island Red x Leghorn chickens which provided a regular source of protein in the form of eggs as well as a little visual entertainment.

After watching insects devour several plantings of "improved" hybrid vegetables whose seed we brought with us from the U.S., we instead turned to local varieties which were quite resistant and grew well. Vegetable seed available locally included tomatos, peppers, sweet potatos, cow peas, broad beans, and assorted greens.

Within our parcel we also raised some of the best pineapples, bananas and papayas you could ever hope to taste. Tropical fruit picked at the peak of ripeness is indescribeably delicious!

All images contained within this site are copywrited, and the property of BobWalker. Copying, displaying and redistributing any image on this site without written permission is prohibited.


We really enjoyed our little place. Our house was formerly the cook's quarters at an old palm oil factory. No water or electricity, but it had everything we really needed. We miss the sound of rain on the tin roof. During rainstorms it was so loud we had to shout to hear each other.
We had a nice parcel at the foot of the trail, on which, people from the village above traveled to the Kwenge river to collect water, wash clothes or bathe. It was surrounded by a bamboo fence which afforded us a little privacy in which to decompress at the end of the day (sometimes very necessary).
In our modest kitchen we made feeble attempts to improvise recipes from home with varying success. Although we ate most meals at our farmers' houses we tried to eat at least one "western" meal a day at our place out of a sense of nostalgia.
Malaria is prevalent in the area. Our bed was covered with a mosquito net and in the evenings, at the first sound of mosquitos, we'd retreat to here to read by the light of a kerosene lamp.
On days off we would sit on our porch with a cup of coffee, a good book and watch the peaceful Kwenge River slowly passing by. In the morning we often woke to the sounds of fishermen as they sang or called to one another paddling by in their pirogues (dugout canoes).
During the rainy season, an early morning rumble of thunder in the direction we intended to head for work would signal an instant day off. Incredible downpours, gale force winds and roads which would literally wash out before your eyes made travel on rainy days unthinkable! Our front yard would become a veritable stream.
Usually we would bathe down at the river, but after a girl got eaten by a crocodile around the bend we became a little more cautious and often resorted to a bucket bath in our "shower stall".
We raised four Rhode Island Red x Leghorn chickens which provided a regular source of protein in the form of eggs as well as a little visual entertainment.
After watching insects devour several plantings of "improved" hybrid vegetables whose seed we brought with us from the U.S., we instead turned to local varieties which were quite resistant and grew well. Vegetable seed available locally included tomatos, peppers, sweet potatos, cow peas, broad beans, and assorted greens.
Within our parcel we also raised some of the best pineapples, bananas and papayas you could ever hope to taste. Tropical fruit picked at the peak of ripeness is indescribeably delicious!
All images contained within this site are copywrited, and the property of BobWalker. Copying, displaying and redistributing any image on this site without written permission is prohibited.

We really enjoyed our little place. Our house was formerly the cook's quarters at an old palm oil factory. No water or electricity, but it had everything we really needed. We miss the sound of rain on the tin roof. During rainstorms it was so loud we had to shout to hear each other.

In our modest kitchen we made feeble attempts to improvise recipes from home with varying success. Although we ate most meals at our farmers' houses we tried to eat at least one "western" meal a day at our place out of a sense of nostalgia.

Malaria is prevalent in the area. Our bed was covered with a mosquito net and in the evenings, at the first sound of mosquitos, we'd retreat to here to read by the light of a kerosene lamp.

On days off we would sit on our porch with a cup of coffee, a good book and watch the peaceful Kwenge River slowly passing by. In the morning we often woke to the sounds of fishermen as they sang or called to one another paddling by in their pirogues (dugout canoes).

Usually we would bathe down at the river, but after a girl got eaten by a crocodile around the bend we became a little more cautious and often resorted to a bucket bath in our "shower stall".

We raised four Rhode Island Red x Leghorn chickens which provided a regular source of protein in the form of eggs as well as a little visual entertainment.

Within our parcel we also raised some of the best pineapples, bananas and papayas you could ever hope to taste. Tropical fruit picked at the peak of ripeness is indescribeably delicious!

All images contained within this site are copywrited, and the property of BobWalker. Copying, displaying and redistributing any image on this site without written permission is prohibited.