Eating in Chad

Chad Overview

Animals and Plants

Nature in Chad

Three landscapes divide Chad from north to south: the Sahara, the Sahel zone and the Sudan savanna. Almost nothing grows in the dry Sahara, and animals are sparse. There is a special flora and fauna in the Tibesti Mountains. It rains more there and it is cooler.

There is a little more life to the south in the Sahel zone, but here too it is still quite dry. Mainly grasses and thorn bushes grow here, in between there are isolated standing trees, especially acacias.

It is more humid in the tropical savannah. Here nature is richest in species. A special area is the wetland on Lake Chad in the south-west of the country. There are forests in the south of the country. They cover around 11 percent of the total land area, but are shrinking more and more due to deforestation.

Which animals live in Chad?

In the so different landscapes of Chad there are also very different animal species. Only a few animals are adapted to life in the desert, such as the desert fox, the fennec. The Mendes antelope and the Dama gazelle, both of which still inhabit a small area in Chad, are critically endangered. The Dorcas gazelle is more common. Mane jumpers live in the Tibesti Mountains.

In the Sahel zone, as well as cape hares and spurred turtles, steppe monitors also feel at home. The Nile monitor prefers the areas on the rivers of the southwest. It will be more species-rich towards the south anyway. The inhabitants of the southern savannah are elephants, lions, giraffes and cheetahs. Giant eland live in the border area with the Central African Republic.

Wildlife in and around Lake Chad

Countless algae form the food for many fish species in Lake Chad. 136 were counted. They include the up to two meters long Nile perch, the three-foot long bone-winged fish and the poisonous puffer fish. But not only in the lake, but also on its banks and the extensive wetlands, a lot of life can be observed. Above all birds romp here in large numbers. Migratory birds like to rest and spend the winter here.

Animals in the Guelta d’Archei

In the northeast of Chad are the mountains of the Ennedi massif. There is a guelta in it, which is a water point in the Sahara. This guelta is called the Guelta d’Archei. It is known to have Nile crocodiles living in it. The guelta also serves as a camel trough, as you can see in the photo. The gorge cannot be reached by road, only by off-road vehicle – and that takes four days!

Economy

One of the poorest countries

Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world. 38 percent of the population are considered very poor. You don’t even have $ 1.90 to live on a day. There are many reasons for that. In addition to a politically unstable situation for decades, mismanagement and high levels of corruption, the country’s situation is responsible.

Not only that large parts of Chad are located in the Sahara and the Sahel zone, where no agriculture can be practiced and droughts occur again and again. In addition, the country has no access to the sea and thus to a port. Anything to be sold abroad must be flown out or taken to a distant port. But there are only a few paved roads.

Petroleum and other mineral resources

Since 2003, oil has becomeChad’smost important export. It thus replaced the cotton. The economy grew with oil production and its sale, but the poverty of the population did not change. Few rich have profits from oil. Revenue was also put into the military rather than, for example, education.

There are also mineral resources such as uranium, bauxite and gold in the Tibesti Mountains. However, they have not yet been dismantled. In contrast, soda is produced on Lake Chad.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the largest part of Chad’s economy. 80 percent of the population work in it and it provides half of the total economic output. The most important product is cotton, which after petroleum is still the second most important product for export. Peanuts and sugar cane are also sold abroad.

Millet, sesame, corn, rice, potatoes, onions and cassava are also grown. Cattle, sheep, goats and camels are kept. Livestock is also raised in the more northerly parts of the country, while fields can only be cultivated in the south. Only the oases in the Sahara produce dates. Most farmers practice agriculture for self-sufficiency (subsistence farming). Only what is left is sold in markets.

Children and School

School in Chad

Of course there are schools in Chad too. But not all children go to school by any means. In fact, only 75 percent of all children go to school. The proportion of boys with 83 percent is significantly higher than that of girls with only 66 percent. Even fewer children then go to school, a total of only 40 percent of a year. Why is that?

Civil war raged in Chad for years. The school system also suffered as a result. Many schools were closed. In addition, Chad is a very poor country. Many children prefer to be sent to work by their parents. This affects more than every third child (39 percent). But then they will not learn to read and write. 31 percent of all 15- to 24-year-old Chadians are illiterate.

The schools that exist are sometimes only housed in simple thatched huts in the countryside. The children sit on the floor or on wooden beams. Because there are too few schools and too few teachers, the classes are often very overcrowded. The children do not wear school uniforms.

While the schools in the south of the country are often Christian schools, there are many Koran schools in the Islamic north.

Childhood in Chad

What happens to a child born in Chad? In all likelihood they will be poor, often hungry and sick. They may not have safe drinking water and may develop diarrhea. Or they don’t sleep under a mosquito net and get malaria, a mosquito-borne disease. Or maybe it won’t even be a year old. Eight out of 100 children feel this way.

A child from Chad usually has many siblings. On average there are six children in each family. The selection of playmates is therefore large outside of the family. But not all children get to play at all. More than every third child between the ages of 5 and 14 works (39 percent). Boys and girls who do child labor toil in fields, mines and on fishing boats. Others beg or live on the street.

Girls in Chad are particularly disadvantaged. More often than boys, they are not sent to school and forced to work in households. Many girls also have to endure circumcision. To get more information on Chad and Africa, check relationshipsplus.

Eating in Chad

What do you eat in Chad?

The most important food in Chad is millet. One likes to roll millet porridge into balls, which are then dipped in sauce. In the north this dish is called alysh, in the south biya. You can find a recipe for this in the participation tip ! You can also bake millet flatbreads. Other foods that are often eaten include rice, yams, plantains, peanuts, and cassava. Okra is often used as a vegetable, as well as beans, corn, carrots and zucchini. Only in the south are tropical fruits such as pineapple, melons, papaya and mango consumed.

Fish

The Chadians also like and often eat fish. It is sold prepared as salanga or banda. Salanga means that the fish has been sun dried and lightly smoked. Large smoked fish, on the other hand, are called banda.

Flesh

Most people are very poor and therefore cannot afford any meat to eat. If it is eaten, it is usually goat or lamb meat. For example, it is dried and specially seasoned.

Tea

The most common drink in Chad is tea, which can be red, black, or green. The most common red tea is brewed from hibiscus leaves. This tea called Karkanji is flavored with ginger, cloves, cinnamon and sweetened with sugar.

Eating in Chad

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