It’s time to harvest our cassava and I’ve learned that the best way to preserve it is to make it into flour, because freshly harvested cassava spoils after only 2 days, but cassava flour can be stored for many months. After a few experiments, I have successfully made Cassava Flour by hand, without the use of any electronic machines!
Here is how to do it:

1. Grate the Cassava

You will need to scrape the cassava into tiny pieces. In this way, it will easily dry up. You can use a cheese grater for this.

2. Squeeze

Collect all the grated cassava and put it in a cheesecloth or strainer. Squeeze all the juice out of the cassava scrapes. The juice can be poisonous and may contain cyanide.

However, you can make cassava starch from the juice just by simply letting the particles of the juice go down on the bottom. Once all the white particles settle, remove the excess water. Dry the bottom with the sun, and you’ll have cassava starch after 2-3 days!

3. Sun Dry

After squeezing the cassava scrapes, dry it on a plastic tarpaulin or a natural mat for 2-3 days. It’s important not to place it on a piece of clothing, as the clothing tends to suck all the water out and cause mold to grow. The cassava can spoil with the water on the cloth.

4. Grind

Dry Cassava strips.

Your cassava will turn very dry after a few days of sun drying. This is now the perfect time to grind it in a mortar and pestle. While you keep grinding it, you will start seeing the pieces become smaller and smaller until it turns into flour.
The smaller the particles, the more dough-like the flour will become. On the other hand, the larger the particles, the more cookie-like or crumbly the texture will be once cooked.