PHOTO ESSAY- Moonshine!

 

 

Communities in Uganda are resilient, and make a living through a myriad of ways. One way is through distilling alcohol. The “Starch Factory Savings Group”, one of my VSLAs, earns money through making “waraji”- otherwise known as “unity”.  (It is true that alcohol makes the people come together!) Backyard distilling can be an easy way to make money, but it is most definitely dangerous. People here are often injured or even killed when the oil drum, used to create the alcohol vapour, explodes due to the intense heat.

The “Starch Factory” Savings Group poses for a photo outside their village.

Here Nancy shows me how to make “waraji”. In the small read pail is a mixture of sugar, water, and yeast. The large bucket holds cold water to cool the alcohol vapour. The yellow jerry can holds the final, purified product. Legend says it is so strong it can make you blind.

The nearly pure alcohol vapours make their way from the oil drum, down the steel tube that runs through a bucket of cold water, where it liquefies. It is filtered and then put into the yellow jerry can. Too bad the can is often filthy inside, rendering the entire purification process useless.

Several members live in huts made of mud bricks with rooftops made of thatched spear grass.

Nancy- proud of her work! The market of this product is huge and is very lucrative. Nancy sells directly to distributers who package it in small baggies, much like kids’ juice bags. These baggies litter the ground pretty much everywhere.

A member’s house in Lira.

A member’s small business selling beans by the roadway.

Cows rule! I was told that cows are often left to their own devices and can almost always make it back to their “home” on their own. These cosmopolitan cows have a diet of grass, chapatti (flat bread), and corn.

The yeast-water-sugar mixture is left to ferment and then boiled in the large oil drum. The drum is heated to high temperatures using large logs for an entire day. This is risky work, as many people are burned whilst distilling as the drum sometimes explodes due to the temperatures and overuse of the drum.

The final step in the process sees tiny droplets of alcohol pass through cotton filter and then into the jerry can. The sales of the “waraji” help the savings group increase their collective savings, and in turn, purchases livestock, sewing machines, and tools. These purchases then lead to larger savings. A virtuous circle begins from an “unvirtuous” source.