A group of women from Matobo in Matabeleland South is spearheading an innovative project to preserve African cuisines through videography and visual art.
The project seeks to ensure that disappearing food traditions are documented and passed down to future generations while creating sustainable economic opportunities.
The initiative, taking place Saturday at the Amagugu International Heritage Centre in Matobo District, will bring together community elders, researchers, culinary practitioners, and cultural institutions to safeguard indigenous food systems.
Programmes manager at the centre, Allington Ndlovu, said the project aims to protect culinary heritage and strengthen food security through climate-resilient traditional crops.
Ndlovu said they also seek to promote intergenerational knowledge transfer, and position traditional cuisine within Zimbabwe’s creative economy.
“We are deliberate in documenting these disappearing dishes because food, beyond nutrition, is art and a form of cultural expression,” he said.
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“There are many taboos, rituals, proverbs, and cultural norms deeply embedded in our African cuisines.”
Ndlovu emphasised that traditional food serves as a cultural repository worthy of epistemic examination.
“We are deliberate about documentation methods including videography, exhibitions, and research papers because audiences need to reconnect with their indigenous food,” he noted.
“These dishes play a pivotal role in decolonial approaches and historical reconstruction.”
The programme will open with a curated photographic exhibition featuring high-definition images of disappearing indigenous dishes from Matobo and surrounding communities.
A documentary screening produced by Magriza Made Me Cook will follow, capturing research journeys, community engagements, and oral testimonies from women preserving recipes across generations.
A panel discussion will explore collaboration in documenting African cuisines.