Lotoko, also known by the slang term "pétrole", is a home-distilled alcoholic drink or "

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

" in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Lotoko is usually made from

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

, but sometimes from

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

. Heads of corn are cut up and boiled into a mash which is then fermented and distilled using improvised

still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...

s made from cut down

oil drums A drum (also called a barrel) is a cylindrical shipping container used for shipping bulk cargo. Drums can be made of steel, dense paperboard (commonly called a fiber drum), or plastic, and are generally used for the transportation and storage of ...

. Although it is officially banned, because of its high alcohol content (over 50%), its production is widespread in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lotoko production, being a cottage industry, is very low-tech. It provides its mainly female producers with a degree of financial independence.

Health concerns

Because of the woody core of the cobs of corn, the alcohol produced contains high levels of

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...

which is toxic. Lotoko made from cassava or plantains doesn't carry the same methanol risk. Local NGOs have expressed concernLa boisson indigène Lotoko, un danger pour la santé
n indigenous drink, Lotoko, is a health hazard/ref> as to its health effects in the communities of

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, where it costs 200 to 300 FC, compared to 600 FC for commercially brewed beers.

Etymology

Lotoko is a

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

word and is known country-wide.

References

Distilled drinks Democratic Republic of the Congo culture Adulteration Crimes Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Alcohol in the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{DRCongo-geo-stub