The cacao tree is
planted in the shade of the jungle and the pods (on the right) are harvested
for the seeds that are within it. These seeds are a cash crop in the
Woleu-N'Tem and used to make cocoa. The villagers I worked
with usually had themselves a cacao plantation and this was their primary
and sole source of income. How much they they earned was dependent on
the world markets and for the amount of labor that was involved they didn't
make very much. If the price was bottoming, they couldn't hold
it until a better day or eat it. That was the beauty of fish culture
, if you didn't like the price that was offered you could keep the fish
and feed your family but that wasn't a problem, everyone wanted fresh
fish and everything sold quickly at a decent price.
Gabon's answer to the baby back pack. No daycare for these
babies. Infants followed their moms throughout the day, from working
in the kitchen, to the marketplace, to their plantations in the jungle
from this unique view. And when they weren't on their mom's back, they
were on the other side of her body nursing. What more could a kid ask for--nutrition,
transportation, and warmth--mom. How these babes could sleep with
their heads hanging like that I will never know. No problem with
separation anxiety for the Gabonese, there just wasn't the opportunity.
Infants also slept with the mother.
Sidewalk 
Development is slow one step at a time.