Caterpillar Season

It’s caterpillar season here in Zambia. Everyone is heading out into the bush to fill their buckets with these fat, green slugs. People here are crazy about caterpillars…..life in the village pretty much comes to a standstill for the three-week caterpillar harvest. I have been trying to set up a youth-adult mentorship program at the Mango Tree but I’ve been informed that attendance will be very poor until the caterpillar season is over. Apparently, caterpillars are a delicacy only available here in the Northern Province of Zambia. So, it is a financial boost for many because people come from all the other provinces of Zambia to buy these coveted slugs. I knew it was just a matter of time before I had to try one. Everyone is incredulous when I tell them that yes, we do have caterpillars in the States, but no, we do not eat them. A few mornings ago, Foster knocked on my door and chirped her cheery greeting, as she does every day at the crack of dawn. But on this day, her usual “Good morning Eleezabet!” was replaced with “Eleezabet, you like Ifishimu??” Here we go, I thought. Yet another gastronomic adventure. I entered the kitchen to see Foster hovering over a frying pan filled with caterpillars ("Ifishimu" in Bemba).In the crackling heat of the pan, their normal lime-green hue had faded to a yellow-brown shade. I explained to Foster that I only wanted to try one caterpillar, and because these little slugs are as precious to her as dark chocolate is to me, she didn’t protest. She was so delighted to be witnessing my first partaking of Ifishimu that she insisted on documenting the occasion. As such, I have a close-up picture of the poor little caterpillar as I crunched into its shriveled body.