The eating of corn stalks by children is fast disappearing .

Before globalisation and digitalisation came and changed alot of things, there used to be some practices that were already like a culture to us. Every rainy season in the Western Highlands of Cameroon, was a memorable period for children who resided in the countryside or villages. This is because, from the month of March, most of the inhabitants in the country side would grow different kinds of crops amongst which was maize. Children who were at school in the villages had different kinds of experiences during this time; one of which was eating corn stalks.

_{Myself selecting sweet corn stalk to eat from an unfertilised farm}

Most parents grew food especially corn, often using organic manure, like fowl droppings goat dung, cow dung wood ash and leaves. Those were the common types of manure that most families used to use to grow their corn. Many families did not use synthetic fertilizers before. Fertilizers were not first of all available and it was cheaper and most affordable to have a huge quantity of organic manure than to afford to buy synthetic fertilizers. Parents used to rear different kinds of domestic animals some separately or all together. They used to tend animals in the field for a period of one year or for a given period of time, after which they would plant crops must especially Corn.

At the end of it all they would harvest very healthy corn cobs and the children would eat what they normally called" corn sugarcane" which is the corn stalks. In some cases, some families did not use to have fertile farms or organic manure to put in their crops. Most often, their corn was planted in highly arid areas and due to lock of soil nutrients the corn would turn yellow. When most children went to the farms, they would harvest the yellow corn stalks and eat because they were really sweet. That was a cultural practice that used to occupy children before during and after the harvesting of corn. Even parents used to harvest ,clean and tie in papers or wrap them in cocoyam leaves and bring home to their little babies.

_{With my friend Anna. We had a wonderful moment harvesting and eating corn stalks. It reminded us of our childhood days and experiences.}

Most children in the present day generation do not know about eating corn stalks. They find it to be bizarre and unhealthy. This is because there has been the continuous use of several kinds of synthetic chemicals in crop production and for maize cultivation in particular. With the use of urea and phosphate, corn stalks no longer have the same sweet taste as they were in the past . The corn stalk is not sweet but fluffy and watery or tasteless. Because of a degradation in soil fertility or the overuse of synthetic fertilizers. The streets used to be littered from corn stalks and children will come home with wounds on their mouths from eating corn stalks. Some even used to harvest so much of it and carry home like firewood then would later share it with their friends.It was fun and a culture that will one day go extinct if parents don't teach their present day children to preserve it and adopt a more natural life style.

_{It was real fun on our way back from the farm}

Some of our cultural practices are fast disappearing. It is important to make individual efforts to preserve what we can.Thank you for reading. See you in my next post.