Farinha d’água
Farinha d’água is a coarse cassava flour associated with Brazil's Amazon and Pará. This page documents one published experiment; it is not a household recipe or validated safety guide.
Built structures · Pits and cavities
Shea fruit fermentation pit (fosse), Burkina Faso
Fosse · shea fruit pit · shea nut fermentation pit
In Burkina Faso, processors bury whole shea fruits in fosse pits before extracting nuts. Field research records varied pit sizes, coverings, durations and handling; it does not establish one standard design.
An excavated pit in shea processing
In Burkina Faso, processors use a buried pit called a fosse for whole shea fruits before later nut processing. A 2025 field and chemistry study by Turreira-García and colleagues interviewed 130 women processors and describes the pit method as inherited local practice. It does not establish when the method began.
Field accounts describe fruits progressively loaded and compacted without added water, then covered with combinations of leaves, soil and newer materials. Practices differed between processors; most batches were not stirred. These details are observations, not universal operating instructions.
Variation in size and use
Measured pits averaged about 1.8 m³, but varied widely. The article separately cites literature reporting capacities around 300–500 kg; those figures are not dimensions or design targets for every pit. Reported burial periods ranged from under two weeks to several months, partly reflecting work and cash constraints during harvest.
After the pit stage, processors followed differing routes such as boiling, roasting or direct sun-drying before shelling. This entry describes the structure and reported practice rather than prescribing a method.
Field reference and limits
Figure 1 maps the Burkina Faso research sites and includes photographs of an empty pit and a processor working with one. The map and photographs document this research setting; they do not define a national or regional standard.
The article does not supply one universal pit shape, lining, dimension or validated food-safety schedule. Experimental comparisons should not be mistaken for a construction specification.
History
Field interviews were conducted in 2021 and 2022 and the study was published in 2025; it describes the method as traditional but gives no origin date.
Site
SettingExcavated pits used in shea-fruit processing in Burkina Faso.
GroundSubterranean; the source describes excavated pits.
ClimateNo climate-linked design is specified.
FootprintMeasured pits averaged about 1.8 m³ with wide variation; the cited 300–500 kg figures are separate literature capacities.
NotesThe sources do not establish a single shape, dimension or construction plan.
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Risks and precautions
This entry documents field observations; it is not a validated food-safety or construction protocol.
Materials
- Earth
- Leaves
- The French term fosse refers here to an excavated pit used in shea-fruit processing in Burkina Faso. It holds whole fruits before processors recover the nuts for subsequent processing; it is not a store for finished shea butter.
- Turreira-García and colleagues interviewed 130 women processors. Whole fruits were progressively loaded and compacted without added water, then covered with combinations of leaves, soil or newer materials. Practices varied; most batches were not stirred.
- Measured pits averaged about 1.8 cubic metres, with wide variation. The article separately cites literature capacities of roughly 300–500 kilograms; this is not a universal target or a measure of every pit. Burial times ranged from under two weeks to several months, partly reflecting harvest work and cash needs.
- After the pit stage, processors used different routes, including boiling, roasting or direct sun-drying before shelling. These observations describe local practice and research comparisons, not a standardized construction specification or food-safety schedule.
Places
Burkina Faso
Documented use · Country evidenceThe cited study focuses on Burkina Faso; its findings do not establish a uniform practice across all shea-producing regions.
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Sources
Scientific ReportsForm · Use · Geography · History · Visual reference
Fermenting shea nuts using the traditional pit method yields better physicochemical properties with potential environmental benefitsThe 2025 study focuses on Burkina Faso and reports interviews with 130 shea processors.
It describes whole shea fruits placed in excavated pits, with varied compaction, covering and burial duration.
Measured pits averaged 1.8 m³ with wide variation; the article cites literature capacities of 300–500 kg.
Figure 1 maps the Burkina Faso research sites and includes field photographs of a pit and a processor working with one.
Cited in: An excavated pit in shea processing; Variation in size and use; Field reference and limits