| Who are we? |
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Our motivation for returning to The Gambia... We are Jan and Lonneke and reside in the Netherlands, in the north of the province of Limburg (in Gennep to be exact). During the last 10 years, we ventured to warmer parts of the world during our winter seasons and in 2007, we landed in The Gambia for the first time where we stayed in Badalapark in Kotu for 3 weeks. In this neighbourhood we got to know a lady called Fatoumata, a single mother with kids, who owns a fruit stand to make a living. We cycled past this fruit stand on a daily basis and stopped to have some delicious pineapple and papayas. In no time, we became friendly with the entire family. After spending many fun hours at the stand, Fatoumata invited us to her house in Bakau ( 5 minute ride from Kotu) to cook and enjoy a meal with the family. We were keen to accept her invitation and that afternoon we helped the family to prepare a simple but lovely meal. It was prepared and enjoyed entirely in Gambian style (were it not that we 'western' people ate from our own plate while the family members ate together from one plate). This all took place in a very relaxed and extremely hospitable setting. We felt right at home. We realised that other tourists might also have an interest to dine with a typical Gambian family and have the opportunity to help out with the cooking (not in work shop style but in a more spontaneous form of cooking together with the family). The benefit is for both parties: besides having a great time together, you will learn something about Gambian cooking and life style and the family will be able to earn a little extra. Fatoumata doesn't have a fixed price list for the meal, you can determine yourself what you want to give her (e.g. this may also by means of purchasing the ingredients, like buying a bag of rice - in any case it is suggested that the costs of the meal are covered). Fatoumata and her kids are very enthousiastic about cooking with persons interested to get to know their culture and a visit by other tourists to enjoy a meal with the family will be very much appreciated. Our experience is that this is a fun way to experience the Gambian lifestyle. We stayed in touch with the Jallow family and in January this year, we visited them once more. Again, we were extremely welcome and enjoyed the hospitality of this warm, fun and loving family and ... yes, the meal was simply fantastic again. Arra ndarong defudu Jallow family |
