26 July 2007
The first ever recipe book on traditional food will be officially launched
by KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs Mtholephi
Mthimkhulu (MPL) at a function to take place tomorrow (Friday, 27 July) at
Empangeni on the North Coast.
The book is the culmination of a traditional food promotion project
co-funded between the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs and
the Flemish Government. The project has been running since October 2003. The
main aim of the recipe book is to encourage the whole spectrum of the community
to start preparing dishes using traditional crops, since it is often cheaper
than conventional crops and very nutritious. This is in line with the concept
of African Renaissance through which self-reliance and indigenous knowledge
system are encouraged.
The concept of the project was based on the premise that rural households in
poverty and those affected by HIV/AIDS suffer high levels of income and
capability poverty whereas people who have access to land and natural resources
are, first of all, reaping the optimum benefits of this resource and, secondly,
are consuming natural resource products at an unsustainable rate.
A traditional food competition was held during 2005 with several goals in
mind, namely to create awareness amongst the departmental staff and the
community. The competition was also aimed at encouraging the youth to go back
to the elderly to find out about their traditional dishes, and to gather a wide
range of recipes that could be tested and if necessary adapted by the Value
Adding Section of the Department's Agricultural Development Support Services
(ADSS) to be compiled into a KwaZulu-Natal traditional food recipe book.
This competition sparked the interest in traditional foods throughout
KwaZulu-Natal, resulting in many catering companies adding traditional dishes
to their menus, and the Department of Correctional Services requesting the
Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs to assist them in running a
similar competition within their correctional facilities, which happened during
2006.
Details of the book launch are as follows:
Date: Friday, 27 July 2007
Time: 10h00
Venue: Imbizo Conference Centre, Empangeni
Members of the media are invited to cover the book launch event.
For enquiries please contact:
Mbulelo Baloyi
Cell: 082 415 7277
Issued by: Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs,
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
26 July 2007
