SMOKE started to fill the small, 3 x 5-meter kitchen. Two cans of baalo binde were boiling in a cauldron, heated by orange flames from below. Mewa Lasena, 55, carefully examined the cauldron’s contents. This widow with five children had her eyes fixed on the stove. She was deeply immersed in her cooking process indeed. “I always keep an eye on it so it’s cooked quickly,” said Mewa as she stirred the baalo binde with a wooden spoon.

Fifte