By Bridget Simukai (25)
My name is Bridget Simukai and I am a 25-year-old farmer from Ngondyore village in Bikita district. When I was a teenager, I enjoyed eating fast foods. I thought fast foods were healthy. My eyes were opened in 2020 when I visited my grandmother, Bridgeder Simukai (89) at her rural home in Lupane district, Matabeleland North Province. I was awestruck by her level of fitness. She was still able to do household chores and could easily do some work that I struggled to do. I soon discovered the reason why.
My grandmother prepared various traditional dishes. At first I was skeptical and I struggled to reconnect with my taste buds because I was used to the taste of fast foods – oily, salty and sugary foods. After trying out several dishes, I found myself enjoying traditional cuisines. I learned that all the food prepared by my grandmother was not just food but also excellent source of nutrition and medicine.
I took an interest and learned how to prepare sadza (a thick porridge eaten as a staple in Zimbabwe) made from finger millet, pearl millet and sorghum. Grandmother also taught me to cook pumpkin leaves, okra, and cowpea leaves. We cooked some of the wild vegetables and mixed them with a peanut sauce. I also learned to prepare mutakura/lnkobe, a mixture of dried maize, cowpeas, ground nuts and round nuts (bambara nuts) boiled together until they are cooked. This is my favorite dish. Mutakura is easy to prepare. First you boil water in a clay pot and you add dried maize. When the maize is half cooked, you add cowpeas, groundnuts and round nuts and cook them until they are well cooked. Add salt to season the dish and allow to simmer for a few minutes.
While staying with my grandmother, I also learned that traditional farming practices have many advantages. These include pest and disease reduction. Grandmother said traditional farming entails planting diverse crops on the same piece of land.
When I returned to Bikita I started working with Schools and Colleges Permaculture Programme (SCOPE) Zimbabwe, an organization that promotes agroecology while working with young people. The learning I received from SCOPE Zimbabwe resonated with what I had experienced in Lupane when I visited my grandmother.
With SCOPE Zimbabwe I learned about the advantages of growing diverse crops and how to prepare organic fertilizers. I now understand the importance of growing and saving traditional seeds. I know that I must have my own seed because this gives me the right to determine the crops that I want to grow without interference from seed companies. I want to encourage other youths to learn more about agroecology so that they learn how to grow healthy crops and eat healthy food.
Comments