Being in Africa, my quest for cakes has sometimes seemed awful extravagance. Food and eating in Africa takes on an entirely different perspective and makes you stop and think about all that we have and take for granted.
Soup kitchen
On a visit to Umlazi, the sprawling township outside Durban we visited a couple of schools who are fortunate enough to have been assisted by the kindness and hard work of pupils of James Gillespies back home in Edinburgh. Over the years partnerships between the schools has brought pupils together and made huge differences to the children of Umlazi. One of the things that has made a hge difference has been the introduction of a Soup Kitchen. Here, every day big pots of soup or curry & rice are made for those most needy children who may not get a meal at home.
The Xhosa people.
We spent a great few days staying at Bulungula a remote Xhosa community on the Wild Coast. 3 hours along a bumpy dirt track road, they are a long way from any shops or daily supplies, have no electricity and no running water. The lodge at Bulungula is 40% owned by the local community, who all helped build it and many are employed in one way or another, taking tours, cooking, driving the shuttle bus.
Women Power
I spent a morning visiting the house of one of the local women Bumlazi to experience what the local women do on a daily basis. All these things we take for granted, just pressing a switch to make lunch, takes a whole lot longer here!!
Getting the local look
Getting the water from the well -
My attempt!
Inside the rondavel
Grinding the corn
Getting the fire started
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| Cooking in the potjie (3 legged pot) |
Almost ready – a typical Xhosa meal – sliced cabbage and onion boiled up with the ground maize.
A hearty lunch!
It was a really interesting day and really made you appreciate the things we have, running water, heat and power at the click of a switch.
Sunrise Pancakes
Another of the local initiatives at Bulungula is the Wild fire restaurant. In a cosy little rondavel on top of a hill overlooking the beach it has the perfect location. After a hard morning’s canoeing we headed up the hill for a tasty treat!!
What’s on the menu?
Pancakes with a chicken and veg curry filling, or 3 nut curry? Mmm hard choice!
These women sure work hard!! Every Wednesday at around 5am they lead a group of bleary eyed travelers round the beach to the sand dunes for Sunrise Pancakes. What a fantastic start to the day!!
We had a really fantastic stay in Bulungula. The lodge and the projects it has generated has made a real difference to the community. It was heartening to see that your visit and the tours you went on were going straight to the local people. See their web site at www.bulungula.com
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