Grasshoppers off the menu as power cuts hit Uganda

Standing in the glare of a 250 watt light bulb in the yard of his uncle's house, Hilary Turyamugumya peers hopefully into the night sky in search of grasshoppers. "Every evening I first pray for there to be power - and then I pray that the grasshoppers will come," Turyamugumya said. Stripped of their wings and fried with onions, grasshoppers are a delicacy in Uganda's central region - gobbled up by the handful and washed down with beer in bars around Kampala.



This time of year should be peak season for the insect catchers but Turyamugumya - who uses bright lights to attract the flying insects before disorientating them with smoke and trapping them in disused oil drums - says that business is tough. "The problem has been power, it is on and off. Like last night, the whole night it was off," Turyamugumya, 33, says. From bakeries to beauticians to building firms, small businesses across Uganda have been struggling to cope with worsening power cuts in recent months.

For Turyamugumya, and many others who work catching grasshoppers, no power means no light - and no light means no grasshoppers. Turyamugumya estimates his income this season will be half what it was in the previous grasshopper season. "There is a shortage of grasshoppers, and it is creating a problem for those who are catching and selling them," Turyamugumya says.


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Power problems mean that the price he pays for grasshoppers at the market has gone up - and that means insect-loving bar-goers are having to pay more for the snacks. The price for the smallest bag has doubled to around $0.45 (34 euro cents). But despite the price rises, the lure of a freshly fried grasshopper is too strong to resist for many Ugandans. "They have a lot of proteins and a special taste like shrimps, they are like seafood - look at this head, it is what I like most," says bar owner Asha Cartier, after washing down a crunchy mouthful of insects with a glass of vodka.