LIVING: Sashi Water

We can't drink the tap water in Ghana; we would get sick. The people here also don't drink the tap water. They use tap water for things like washing and cooking, but not for drinking. In the west we often drink water from plastic bottles, but in Ghana they have a cheaper solution. Instead of using bottles they use 500mL plastic bags. They package these small bags in a large bag. 1 large bag, which costs 1 euro, lasts us about 1 week. All the plastic used compresses too a size equal to one compressed plastic water bottle. These Sashi waters can be found everywhere in Ghana, children and adults sell cold Sashi water on the street for 20p. They carry about 6 liters of it in bowls on there head as they thread in and out of the frequently stopped traffic. In Rural towns you can buy it along the main road.

This type of commerence is common in Ghana. People sell all of sorts of things from the bowls they carry on their heads: Sashi water, smoked fish, various fruits, plantain chips etc.

To drink a Sashi water you simply bite off the corner with your teeth and squeeze the bag. It is very convenient. Interestingly, in her previous travels to Madagascar, Sonja didn't notice the people drinking Sashi water, they used plastic water bottles like we do.



V Gani voda iz pipe ni primerna za pitje, v ta namen je ne uporabljajo niti domačini. Uporabljajo jo sicer za umivanje in huhanje, nikakor pa ne za pitje. Medtem ko na zahodu pogosto pijemo vodo iz plastenk, so se Ganci spomnili cenejše rešitve - namesto plastenk uporabljajo 500ml plastične vrečke! :) Te majhne vrečke so zapakirane v veliki vreči, ki stane okrog enega eura, v njej pa je dovolj vode za približno en teden. "Sashi" vode lako najdeš povsod, ohlajene jih lahko za 20p kupiš celo na cesti. Otroci in odrasli trgovci jih namreč nosijo kar na glavi v posebnih velikih posodah (tudi po šest kilogramov). V mestih se sprehajajo kar med ustavljnimi avtomobili, v ruralnih območjih pa stojijo ob glavni cesti. Tak način trgovanja je v Gani zelo pogost. Ljudje nosijo na glavah posode polne najrazličnejših stvari, kot so Sashi vode, dimljene ribe, sadje, čips (iz bolj slane vrste banan imenovane "plantain") itd. 

Pitje iz Sashi vrečke je zelo preprosto - odgrizneš enega od kotičkov in vrečko stisneš. Je zelo priročno! :) Zanimivo, Sashi vod Sonja na Madagaskarju ni opazila, kot mi so ljudje pili iz plastenk.

Tomaz