I went to a supermarket in Georgia to buy a bottle of water and walking past the fruits and vegetable section I saw something that caught my attention.Next to the bananas and peaches were several bags of mud pies, not the dessert, DIRT COOKIES. I picked up a couple of bags.
I vividly recall that many years ago, I saw people snacking on bits of that same stuff in Haiti and enjoyed quite a few bites. So who is eating that stuff in the United States?
I asked a few people who were born and reared in Georgia and other southern states if they knew about that good ole Georgia Dirt. They've all told me that they've eaten their fair share and even sent shipments to their relatives living up north who cannot find it in local stores.
It appears that African-Americans, Euro-Americans and Indigenous Americans all partake in this good ole Southern tradition. So, with the power of narratives and a powerful media, that same dirt eating tradition in Haiti made the news only to be portrayed in a different light.
It is obvious that the women of the informal sector in Haiti could not package and sell their dirt cookies in stores and supermarkets for $1.99 plus tax. What is readily available in stores, gas stations shelves, supermarkets all over the Southern states was unknown to American reporters covering Haiti.I am sure that mud pie story was well used for fundraisers around the world. While harvests around Haiti are not making it to Port-au-Prince and going to waste for lack of roads and transportation, mud pies was the headline given to the world.
The rice barons in Arkansas and Texas were probably reading that story after 18 holes of golf. I praise the entrepreneurial spirit of the women who are trying to make ends meet out of dirt.
I hope that one day their goods can be among the list of exports. Obviously there is a market for that stuff and the Haitian dirt tastes much better.
Un pays qui perd son artisanat perd son âme.
A country that loses its craft loses his soul.
Background: A microbe found in Haitian dirt can be developed into a powerful antibiotic.
