"Culture Heritage And Its Benefits To Life"

Good day distinguish ladies and gentlemen, amiable Steemit enthusiasts. I'm glad to be here again to share my day's expedition with us

Today I was opportune to visit Abak market located in Abak local government area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This is one of the most famous and biggest markets within the state and due to the hype, it falls among the top ranking in the state's market hierarchy.

I explored Abak market far and wide of which some goodies from the market got me and I thought it wise to share my explorations with us.
On entering the market, I noticed that women were very much seen compared to men. But then I was like, "are males not allowed here", after a little while I saw a man so I had to conclude that I was welcomed.

Then I started my explorations. The most interesting part is that most of the food item sold there, were our locally manufactured foods and products

1.Yam
2.Sweet potato
3.Pumpkin leafs
4.Water leafs
5.Periwinkle
6.Fish
7.Stock fish
8.Onion
9.Pepper
10.Crayfish
11.Cow skin
12.coconut
13.Garri
Amongst others

1.AQUATIC PRODUCTS: These are naturally existing products given to us by nature.The water bodies are basically their habitat and they see water as their main ecosystem where they all live and adapts to nature freely with ease. Among the listed products, we have some products that extracted from the water bodies which are; periwinkle, fish, stock fish, and crayfish. We have lots of them but for the purpose of this content, let's encompass our focus to these seen above.

Periwinkle: This is extracted from river banks. In essence, they are gotten from the mouldy parts of the river bank. They are farmed and washed before taken to the market for sale. What the consumer will do is to buy the good, washed it, cut off the needle like part, then wash thoroughly before applying to cookings. It is used to prepare several kinds of Nigerian dishes like soups, porrished foods, meat (dog meat), etcetera. It is highly proteinous

Fish, stock fish and crayfish: These are also gotten from the waters using fishing nets as aids in hunting. They are used extensively and widely for cooking. Fish, stock fish and crayfish fits in to almost all the daily prepared dishes, as such, they are used most often in cooking. Fish, stock fish and crayfish are very good sources of protein too

2.TERRESTRIAL PRODUCTS: These are those consumables extracted from man's immediate environment. That is the land which is the solid part of the earth. They are derived by tilling the ground for planting which will later bear fruits for human consumption. Some of the plants derived products from the above list include; yam, sweet potato, pumpkin, water leafs, onion, pepper, coconut and garri

Yam sweet potato: these plants bear fruits under the ground by staking the germinating leaves for exposure to sunlight for photosynthesis which aids the fruit manufacture. The ground is later dugged in due season to remove the bearded fruit. This is where we have the yam and potato tubers. They are cooked or fried for feeding purpose. They are very good sources of carbohydrates which gives strength through metabolism to the body.

Pumpkin and water leafs: The pumpkin is a staked plant while water leafs are not. They are both used in soup preparations. They are good sources of vitamins and minerals

Onion and pepper: These are classified under spices. They add flavor to cooked foods. They are good sources of vitamins too

Coconut: this is extracted from its tree. Coconut is a perennial plant which can stand the rest of time. Its fruit can be eaten raw and can also be process into oil for cooking and as lotions for the skin. It can also be processed into liquid and used for rice preparation. The raw combo equalizes with bread to give you nature's best taste. It gives protein, minerals, fats and vitamins.

Garri: This is brought about by the procession of cassava. By going through the right process, you'll get your garri as the product. Garri is with soup as swallow, can be eaten raw or on a mixture with water. It is the fasted remedy for hunger strike. Garri is rich in carbohydrate

1.Culture heritage
2.For feeding
3.Means of livelihood
4.Cost effective
5.Reliability
6.Sustainability

To this end, our locally manufactured products are very essential for our survival because they aid feeding, sales and also serves as a means of livelihood. I hope we continue to stand strong in promoting what we have because they are part of who we are, our symbol and our hope. We should always be proud of who and what we have

Thank you all for the time 👋