A GROUP of rural women is leading an innovative initiative to preserve African cuisines, ensuring they are not lost to time but instead passed down through generations.
The project uses videography and visual art to document, celebrate, and safeguard disappearing food traditions.
Beyond preservation, the initiative also seeks to create sustainable economic opportunities for rural women, restoring pride and visibility to African culinary heritage while ensuring it remains relevant and supported for generations to come.
The project aims to bring together community elders, researchers, culinary practitioners, photographers, and cultural institutions in a collaborative effort to safeguard indigenous food systems. It will take place on Saturday at the Amagugu International Heritage Centre in Matobo district.
Programmes manager at Amagugu International Heritage Centre, Allington Ndlovu, said the initiative's motive was to safeguard indigenous culinary heritage; strengthen food security through climate-resilient traditional crops; promote intergenerational knowledge transfer and position traditional cuisine as a dynamic contributor to Zimbabwe’s creative economy.
“Another reason why we are deliberate in documenting these disappearing dishes is our understanding that food, beyond nutrition, is art and a form of cultural expression,” he said.
“There are many taboos, rituals, ceremonies, proverbs, sayings, idioms and cultural norms that are deeply embedded in our African cuisines.”
Ndlovu said the mini-expo would also address ongoing conversations around resources and knowledge systems that support Zimbabwe’s heritage-based curriculum.
- My Beautiful Home contest over subscribed
- Amagugu enhances Ndebele heritage
- Violent storm destroys Matobo homes
- Matobo villagers restore wetlands to counter climate change induced water shortages
Keep Reading
He said, as cultural practitioners, they viewed traditional or indigenous food as a repository of culture, which could be examined from an epistemic perspective.
“We are deliberate about various documentation methods such as videography, exhibitions and research papers because audiences need to reconnect with their indigenous food,” Ndlovu said.
“These dishes play a pivotal role in our de-colonial approaches and in the historical reconstruction of our motherland.
“We have noted the unwavering connection between these foods, language, performances and spirituality. Therefore, the disappearing dishes require urgent documentation if we are to be truthful about reviving the long-lost African culture.”
The day will begin with the official opening of a curated photographic exhibition featuring high-definition images of disappearing indigenous dishes in Matobo and surrounding communities.
“These images are part of the artistic documentation process and visually archived meals that are gradually fading due to urbanisation, migration and shifting food systems,” Ndlovu said.
This will be followed by a documentary screening produced by Magriza Made Me Cook, capturing the research journey, community engagements, cooking demonstrations and oral testimonies from women who have preserved these recipes across generations.
The programme will also include a panel discussion exploring the importance of collaboration in documenting long-lost African cuisines
“The event will conclude with a guided tour of food stalls, where members of the public are encouraged to taste and purchase the revived dishes,” he said.
“This directly supports the women and culinary practitioners leading the revival of Matobo’s indigenous cuisine and demonstrates how heritage can actively participate in the creative economy.”
The initiative is implemented in partnership with African Food Revolution and Magriza Made Me Cook, and is supported by the British Council in Zimbabwe under the Catalyst Grant programme.
It forms part of the British Council’s Creative Economy Week, whose 2026 theme is Inclusive Creativity and Collaboration.
