Legalized poison

The expression "elephant in the room" comes to mind whenever I consider alcohol consumption in Zambia. Though it is readily apparent to anyone who has eyes and ears, it never seems to enter the discourse on development. There is a presence of it in HIV/AIDS literature, e.g., someone who takes alcohol may make poor decisions, but nothing much else. Hence the term "elephant in the room" ... Jumbo is so big that you sweep around him rather than taking the broom and driving him out.

Before continuing, I'd like to remind everyone of the motif; I'm all the way around the world from being a teetotaler. I have and will continue to enjoy a cold beer or two every few days, and on infrequent occasions (read: holidays like Thanksgiving), five or six. I have no excuse other than it cuts the thirst, is an effective social lubricant, and sometimes, well ... you get homesick.

That said, alcohol in Zambia comes in about four varieties:

1. Lager beer - Considered a symbol of status, lager beers made either from maize (Mosi, Mosi Gold, Castle, Black Label, Rhino) or sorghum (Eagle) are drank across the country. Supplementing these are beers out of Tanzania (Kilimanjaro, Safari, Bia Bingwa), Kenya (Tusker), Congo DR (Tembo, Simba), Botswana (Olsens), and, of course, Namibia, which along with Windhoek, supplies Senanga with large bottles (750 mL) of Castle and Black Label which are colloquially known as "Bombers" (pronounce both 'b's). You won't know the quantities consumed from the empties as they are all recycled, but their is a near constant shortage of lager in many parts of the country. The price of a bottle is roughly 6,000 ZMK, or about $1.25 USD.
2. Spirits - A wide variety of spirits are made in Zambia and sold in different sizes, from 1 liter bottles of vodka, scotch, gin, etc. all the way down to plastic sachets, of which I'll mention more later.
3. Opaque beer - This is more apparent in its consumption than the lager beer, as they are sold in 1L cardboard "packs" similar to milk cartons back in the USA and are simply thrown out once finished and left to be burned or for the termites to chew them up. There are a number of varieties: Lusaka Beer, Chipolopolo Special, Nkwazi, Timwenge, Chat, and of course the flagship, Chibuku Shake-Shake. The packs are usually shared between two to four men who sit in a circle with makeshift cups and pass the pack around whilst talking. If someone is taking the beer straight from the carton, that means he is on a mission. Opaque beer also comes in large tanks (for bars near breweries) on the backs of trucks; these trucks will back up to the bar and pour the brew into a drum, from which it is sold to customers.
   
4. Homebrew - This is a tougher bird to catch. Rural Zambians brew a number of alcoholic beverages from a variety of sources:
   

• Munkoyo: A catch-all phrase for local opaque (i.e., not clear) beers made from either maize, millet, or sorghum that are fermented with local roots. It can be fresh (no alcohol and therefore served to children) or left to ferment for a set number of days. Hence, it can be known by names such as "Three-days", "Five-days", or the ultimate, "Seven-days", which is judged as "very strong" and which is known to be an elixir of language learning by many foreigners. Though monkoyo is well-known, it can also cover such drinks as kataatakatuubi, which aren't exactly the same and are more popular in Northern Province.

• Kachasu (aka Lutuku): What happens to well-ripened monkoyo is that it is distilled to make a form of moonshine that is extremely potent. Though illegal, I'm not sure anyone enforces that law, though reports of people committing extremely foolish acts after "taking kachasu" are not uncommon. It is incredibly cheap; last I checked, a dollar would buy two 750 mL bottles. It is also wildly dangerous; the alcohol content can range from 100- to 200-proof. I've never actually tasted it, though I bought some when I lived in Kasempa to clean the grime off of my bike chain; it worked quite well.

• Imbote: Honey-wine. Not as strong and actually decent tasting, but it takes some knowledge to brew. This means that it is only brewed when the grains have run out, so if you see a lot of imbote being drank, that means hunger is on the march.

... I'm not nearly the sociologist to delve into the reasons behind drinking anywhere. Culture history, tradition, poverty, religion, etc., etc. all play roles in the use or abuse of alcohol. It would be relatively easy for me to say "Zambians drink a lot", but relative to whom? The U.S.? I've been to Miller Valley in Milwaukee, WI and have seen five football stadiums worth of beer in one place. Anyway, for every Zambian I know who drinks alcohol, I probably know three or four times that who don't drink it or if so, rarely and in minuscule quantities.

What does worry me these days, though, is the new player in the realm of alcohol consumption in Zambia: the sachets of spirits known as tujillyjilly. They essentially didn't exist in Zambia until 2006, and now they can be found virtually anywhere. Each sachet contains roughly a double-shot of 80-100 proof spirits and costs around 1,000 ZMK ($0.20 USD). Their small size allows them to be easily carried and concealed, and their low cost allows them to be purchased in large quantities. Essentially, it is now cheaper and easier to get drunk. Even more worrying is the increased prevalence of youth drinking, especially in the rural areas ... whereas in the past, there existed a parental- and communally-enforced age limit, tujillyjilly is being bought by young men and boys who couldn't otherwise afford alcohol.

Tujillyjilly is universally cursed by Zambians for those reasons, but efforts to reduce its sales and distribution have not gone well; Zambia is open for business, and most people admit the distillers are good money-makers and tax-payers, so the sachets keep rolling out.

Though I'm not a sociologist, I do know why people often turn to booze. To forget, to relax, to lower inhibitions, etc. In a poor society, when chances for advancement look bleak, alcohol might seem a bit of a release from the everyday grind. Tujillyjilly appears to offering that release to a larger portion of the social spectrum due to its price and portability.

So, the elephant gets bigger. Makes me wonder how JP's research is going; as far as I've heard, he's the only one looking at Jumbo right now.