THRIVE ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2024 21 Through a partnership with organisations such as SA Chefs, it is also encouraging to see that our local chefs are joining in the movement. Chef Noni Godole, who is also a healer and teacher specialising in cooking with Indigenous food says what excites her most is the role of technology in creating more awareness. Whilst past research points out the fact that people in Africa do not value indigenous foods and their potential benefits, our recent study in the Gauteng region highlights a growing consensus amongst the participants for indigenous foods to be made more available and accessible, particularly in settings such as schools, hospitals, supermarkets and workplaces. With more efforts made to bring forth access and consumption of Indigenous food into the mainstream, it will surely make it easy for any indigenous food item to roll off the tips of our tongues! “The enhancements that come with extended reality, when it comes to the promotion of Indigenous foods is that young people can now look at our food. It looks appealing, and it looks like something they can eat. That is what we arelooking for, making sure that the young people are catching on and latching on to what really belongs to us.” ~Chef Noni Godole Click to Watch more about the FERL and SA Chefs Collaboration Click to Read more about FERL Click to Read about our Study Meet Mphati Motha Soweto-based, Mphati Motha, an organic farmer and the founder Soil Indigenous Life is amongst a growing number of entrepreneurs and Indigenous food advocates who aim to bring attention to the of power of indigenous foods. Observing that Indigenous food crops are hardly accessible in the mainstream supermarkets, his food garden, specialises on growing indigenous food crops, using permaculture principles which relies on natural processes to promote growth and sustainability. He cites figs as being amongst his favourite indigenous fruit, but he also grows medicinal herbs such as Umhlonyane (Zulu) or Lengana (Sotho and Tswana) and Spekboom amongst others.
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