Page 153 - Through the eyes of an African chef

Female African farmers and their rich heritage
VERY LITTLE IS DOCUMENTED about women’s farming techniques, such as ukuhlwanya (foraging), and recipe construction.
Amadumbe, ubhatata, imifino yezintanga, uqadolo and imbuya grew naturally in various parts of KZN. Women found amadumbe nobhatata (sweet potato) growing in swamps while foraging for food. Various rules of thumb were used to differentiate things that were edible and inedible. Later, a more organised planting system was used as a means of survival.
The cross-pollination of people is evident in common dishes, cultural practices and wares, as well as languages – evidence that Africans in southern Africa mixed and shared with one another.
Today, I find my way back in history through African farmers who are fortunate enough to have inherited such knowledge. A lot of knowledge and practices were lost when people were displaced from their land and placed on largely infertile land.
The main things these farming people need is support from locals to grow their trade; respect in how their knowledge is accessed and shared; and to have their stories told.
Here are the details of just a few women’s farming initiatives.
BRAAMFISCHERVILLE FARMERS
Braamfischerville Farmers is a co-operative comprising members Selebaleng Mthembu, Joyce Mogodi, Kgaratlhe Moabi, Simon Maselwane, and Rogatus Mthembu. They have been operating since July 2010 on 11 hectares in Braamfischerville, Soweto.
They plant various vegetables and herbs, including spinach, cabbage, onion, parsley, thyme, kale, beetroot, maize, morogo and pumpkin. They also have an orchard of peach trees with about 169 trees of different peach varieties. In 2016, they built a kitchen structure so they could start adding value to produce according to training received from me.
This training allowed them to enhance their offerings with goods such as health bread, rye bread, pickles, chilli, strawberry and marmalade jams, and pesto with different herbs. They now employ six part-time workers and are targeting local schools, hotels and restaurants to supply with products. They dream of establishing their own business and training hub so that they can train other women to run similar businesses and gain financial independence.
THROUGH THE EYES OF AN AFRICAN CHEF
FARMERS AND FESTIVAlS 151