Who needs sugar?

I used to think of sugar as a staple to be purchased alongside flour, milk and eggs. My cupboard was never bare. Sugar was always available.

In a country where sweets are rare, sugar is still seen as a staple and highly valued. Tea/coffee shops are prolific in cities, towns and even small villages. Sugar is added liberally to hot drinks.

But over the past 6 months, it has become more and more difficult to find sugar. It left the supermarkets and small shops had to ration their 50kg sack of sugar for hundreds of people. At first, one could buy a kg at a time, then a kg a month and then it was reduced to the equivalent of a handful. 

Sugar took on a distinctly dirty look. Tea shops received 10kg a month. Then for a time, it was completely unavailable.

It was then that I became aware of how much I valued sugar. We have learned to ration sugar. We have learned to live without sugar. Replacement ingredients are expensive or unavailable and so homemade crackers replaced cookies, popcorn replaced cake, coffee was served black or with salt (an acceptable replacement), and honey used on occasion.

 It is still not easy to find sugar but we are finding it in shops again. This past week, my husband visited shops in Addis, daily purchasing a kg at a time from different shops. 

We are bringing 15kg back to Gesses (where it is even more difficult to find) to be used over the next several months. This will be used sparingly and shared with those who come to our home. I have a feeling I will never see sugar as a staple again. By the way, salty coffee is something I now enjoy.