The "LOST" Vegetables of Africa. Why We Need Them Now!
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
- Food is health and every region of the world has its unique food tailored for their health and wellbeing. And Africa is not exempted from this reality.
As Africans, we need to embrace our indigenous crops and also protect them from those who want to destroy them.
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So, true, many Europeans and Americans rebrand what others do and make it seem like it's a new discovery.
You know right? They now call them "superfoods" and Africans are rushing to buy them like they are wonder discovery. But they have always been in our backyard for ages. Anyways, Africans just need to rise up to taking things seriously. thanks a lot for watching. Please like and share the video with others. That's how we get the information to our people.
I’m out of Kenya but nothing changed in me. I have all the indigenous vegetables seeds and grow my own food.
Beautiful. Its very fulfilling to see your own crops grow before your eyes and to eat from them. Let's keep it going. Please like and share this video so more people can see. Thanks.
Thank you for speaking the truth. Africa we have the very thing they come to enjoy. Great job 👏👏👏
Thank you. We can't keep running away from Africa while those whose land we are running to are running to Africa. We just have to stay and make Africa work for us. Thanks for watching and please subscribe, like and share the video. That's how we will reach more of our people.
Great job, and thanks for putting this together👏👏👏
Thank you for watching. Please subscribe to my channel, like and also share this video. That way we can reach more people. Thank you kindly.
@@MsingiAfrikaTV Absolutely!
Thank you so much. I thought I was the only one concern about this sad situation. I finally found an Advocate. How can I obtain all these seeds
It will depend on which of the seeds you want and where you are located.
I live in southafrica now but grew up in zambia.this is such a good podcast to remind us from africa that we have everything we need right here.we do not need the rest of the world with their continuous hatred .
Absolutely! There is no reason whatsoever for any African to be poor or go to bed hungry. It's an insult on the many blessings we have in the continent.
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very informative, we need to grow all these. Lets go back to our rich African diet
Agreed. We need to.
Amaranth is widely eaten in Caribbean countries. In Trinidad and Tobago it's called spinach or bhaji and in Jamaica it's called callaloo bush.
Celosia and amaranth are both related and part of the giant amaranth family. There seeds are also efible
Oh beautiful. In west Africa, I think amaranth is also called African Spinach. I found the name callaloo bush quite interesting. And yes, the seeds are made into flour and eaten as porridge or mixed with soghum or millet for meal. Thanks a lot for the info.
@@MsingiAfrikaTV also, in Trinidad callaloo bush refers to taro leaves NOT amaranth and the Trinidad callaloo dish is a thick soupy stew made with taro leaves, pumpkin, okra while the Jamaican callaloo dish is made with amaranth, tomato, onion etc and is more a sautee
@@curtisthomas2670 Wow...that sounds like a massive delicious soup.
@@curtisthomas2670Celosia is called "cockscomb" in Trinidad, it's grown mostly as an ornamental.
Yes we Caribbeans been know about this and cook, eat, and drink this stuff. We are our own doctors!
NOTHING beats our very own organic veggies and fruits. Part of the reason so many in the West take supplements is because of the way the foods here are grown resulting to minimal nutrition!
When you know better do better. Encourage (and/or) educate our people of the traditional ways to enrich the soil without resorting to "artificial" fertilizers that may be costly to our health in the long run.
I live in the West and growing many of my African veggies here the much I can during growing season.
Good job. It actually does not make sense that some humans under some dark corporations will strip food crops off their nutrients just so they can produce supplements to introduce a synthetic version of the same nutrients that they stripped. Its hard to wrap ones head around such level of evil. All for money and control. Anyways, we will keep doing the much we can in educating our people, but please also help us share the link to the video to as much people as you can. That's how we will reach out people. Thanks
Brilliant video. You did not mince your words. New subbie here. Africans desperately need to wake up before it's too late. Thanks for shedding light on our beloved African, indigenous crops. More blessings
Thank you very much. Please share the video so we reach more people with this information. Thank you kindly
In Zimbabwe our cowpeas or nyemba beans are mixed colours like nyimo or bambara beans.. We eat the young fresh cowpeas leaves fresh and we also dry them.. My favourite traditional veg.. It has such a unique taste of home..
Oh. Wondering how to get Bambara seeds
Taura zvako
@@MsingiAfrikaTV I am not sure about Kenya by in Zim just about every rural family have them, its one of our main staples..
@@thepipedreamer89 Vekumusha makadini? 😀
@@user-bm6jn9ls4n Ndiri bhoo. Ndiri mo muno ndichidzidza zvangu zvirimwwa izvi.
So glad I found this channel! I feel it's no accident this happens just as I have started to study more African foods that were transferred to the Americas along with my ancestors. Looking forward to learning more. Thank you.
Yes it's not an accident. Thanks a lot for watching. Please like, share the video and if you will, also subscribe to the channel. Thank you
Wonderful commentary. Thank you. You said it.. People will be leaving paradise going to captivity...only to long to go back to paradise again. Asante. I'm one of those people 😅. I long for fresh air, the farm, foliage, eat healthy, live free and simple. And the sun.
Oh great. We need to reconnect back to the simplicity of nature and the blessings loaded in it. Thanks for watching
And me too.. The grass is not always greener on the other side.. Here in northern Europe the grass is under 20cm of snow at the moment and - 12 degrees..my motto is to start growing wherever one is.. On the balcony, whatever little garden even ask friends or neighbours with gardens to grow and share the food..I am still a rural farmer at heart and growing upto 75-80% of our own food naturally and simply using as little money as possble too.. Our garden is very Rocky the home of granite rock.. Mostly use the no dig method..the rocks stones are very useful for creating grow beds..everything in nature is useful and free .. Also have lots of shrubs that I weave raised beds with and fill them with organic matter .. I have grown bambara/nyimo, cowpeas/nyimo beans.. Sweet potatoes, even our traditional gourds or makavu/mapudzi in my mother tongue.. ..just ate a tasty Thialand pumpkin I got seeds from a friend at work.. On avarage every year we grow anything from 50 to a hundred pumpkins..they love the weaved raised beds.. We dont even need to water because the organic matter retains mositure.. The only problem is they don't keep for very long.. We Grow the multicoloured maize and save our own seeds, multicoloured potatoes.. There are at least 450-500 varities of potatoes in the world. .. This year and last year grew millet it didn’t do so well. We grow also more than 50 varities of tomatoes, 15 varieties of beans and still collecting more. We buy heritage organic seeds. seeds and thereafter save our own seeds...also practice rainwater harvesting... This year grew a bit of rice as a test in the pond.. It seemed to do well but again the growing season is short.. There was not enough time.. I really miss home where we can grow all round the year..we have amarath too that does well.. It seeds itself every year.. Need to collect more varities.. Have collected some grain from it too. Grow lots of kales and other leafy greens.. Also forage for mushroom, berries and natural plants that i am learning about in this part of the world that we make our own tea with as well as edible flowers, sunflowers, roses, so many edible plants like berry bushes.. If you can eat the berry usually the whole plant is edible Google is helpful.. Made a 15ltr bucket full of tea.. Pumpkin leaves flowers and baby pumpkins make a tasty veg too.. Because we grow so much its not possible to eat all the food fresh so we dry veg like pumpkin leaves and the pumpkin, carrots, potatoes, zucchini and then grind into flour and add to baking..to chapati.. Pumpkin chapati, pumpkin scones can also add cooked mashed pumpkin.. No need to add sugar... We are on one acre of land and using less then half the land.. Stated very small and increase year on year.. I really want to grow a lot of our natural African veg too.. If I can not be in Africa i will bring to me..
Thank you for your research and eloquent delivery very interesting may many including myself heed your call to remember our native food crops
That's our hope too. We need our indigenous food in their cleanest state right now. Good health depends on it. Please subscribe, like and share this video. That's how we will reach more of our people. Thanks for watching
What a wonderful channel
Thanks a lot
Indeed. 😊❤❤
Most people in the west those with a garden do grow some vegetables or fruits during the summer season.
Africa is well blessed with land and an abundance of sunshine.
Africa is blessed indeed and more people are beginning to wake up and use that blessing. Thanks for watching.
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Awesome video.thank you.
Thank you kindly. Please share the link with others.
Bravo!!!! ❤❤❤❤
Thank you kindly. Please don't forget to subscribe to this channel. Thank you
Beautiful.
Very enlightening.
Thanks for sharing.🙌🏽
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Thank you 💕.
Very welcome dear.
All FACTS!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
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1. Amaranth 1:58
2. Bambara Bean 3:20
3. Baobab 4:01
4. Celosia 4:42
5. Cow Pea 5:21
6. Dika 6:10
7. Garden Egg Eggplant 6:52
8. Egusi 7:30
9. Enset 8:10
10. Lablab 9:10
11. Locust Bean 9:40
12. Long Bean 10:25
13. Marama 11:04
14. Moringa 11:32
15. Native Potatoes 12:55
16. Okra 13:40
17. Shea 14:45
18. Yam Bean 15:20
I grew up in Congo but have lived in Aotearoa New Zealand most of my life. Excited to see which of these plants are available or legal to import. We have controls on imports to protect our ecosystem, but I'm sure some of them are already here. I had Amaranth pop up as a weed in my garden a few years ago! It's now my favourite edible plant. Long beans are very common here but only in Chinese grocery stores. Unfortunately, I don't think I can grow Baobab trees on my balcony.
Lol. Baobab trees are huge and majestic. So definitely you cants grow them on your balcony, except maybe you just have the young tree. And wow, you actually did a time.breakdown of the video. That's so beautiful of you. Thank you for that.
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I have amaranth growing in my garden right now. I love it. Learned that it is super nutritious.
Watching from South Africa.
Your voice and delivery style is so pleasant to listen to.
Thank you very much for your kind words. And yes, Amaranth is super nutritious. But for me, Okra is the golden girl among them all...😀.
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Great one.
Thank you
Love ur narratives! Love you, sis, for this info ❤️ thanks 😊
Thank you very much sister. I appreciate. Please like and also share the video with others. That way we reach more of our people across. Thank you kindly for watching
Nice
Thank you kindly.
Framing build them to feed the world Africa you get the power
I love this episode. I remembered eating bambara bean when child but it disappeared from my village long time ago.
That's the thing that marvels us. How these grains either just disappeared or Africans just somehow dissociate themselves from them. Never made sense till we started to read the global trend where big corporations are creating massive propagandas against anything indigenous in favor of GM food crops.
Anyway, we will keep sharing. Thanks for watching. Please remember to subscribe to this channel, like and share the video. Out target is to reach more people with this information. Thanks a lot
Just came across this channel, thanks alot mum
Thank you kindly dear. Glad you found the content useful. Please subscribe, like and share the video. You will help reach more people. Thanks a lot
Thanks for this educational information in regards to our food security. I was hoping that you included more information of edible consumption with Shea Butter .❤
Thank you for watching. I really don't know if Shea butter us edible for consumption. Except maybe you mean more information in consumption of Shea leaves itself. Please clarify. In the interim, please like and share the video link with others so we can reach more people. Thank you
@@MsingiAfrikaTVI recently learnt from a few Ghanaians that the oil is edible and can be substituted with sunflower oil and other cooking oils. I've recently introduced it to my pantry. Just ensure to use the organic food grade oils - ideally directly from the source.
@@everythingispolitics6526 oh wow i didn't know that. Thanks for the information. I will do further research on this. Thanks
I live in the so called west and I can unequivocally confirm that Africa is by far more superior than the west when it comes to its food potential. First of all, the climate is a huge detriment to agriculture in Europe and they have the disadvantage of limited land resource and not to mention the heavy use of chemicals in their farming. If they did not import most of their food requirements from the so called developing countries they would have a lot of health problems. So sad to see what could be the food basket of the world (Africa) so poor and mismanaged. Kudos for very valuable information. God Bless
Thank you and God bless you too. It's obvious that the world, especially Europe and America have messed up their food systems with all manner of chemicals and monster foods. But that is a massive opportunity for Africa that still has about sixty percent of world's arable land. But is our governments and people doing much to grab the opportunity? Not as it should be. We cannot be talking about hunger in Africa when we have the most arable land in the world. Things just have to change for good
I'm european and when i visited Africa some years ago, I was excited to see new vegetables...only to find out there were only European and American ones. I tried to buy seeds from African squash and vegetables and the shop owners didn't even knew what I meant. They kept saying " but these are seeds from Africa" and all I could see were French and American squash, European lettuce, European musk melon, French spinach etc.. Glad you are keeping the traditional African vegetables ❤
Here in Portugal, we love cowpeas. It's one of the legumes we most consume 😊
Thank you very much. We definitely are passionate about this and we want more people to do same. A lot has been compromised in Africa and it's very painful. But there is hope. Thanks for watching
@@Atimatimukti Nice. Love it. Please subscribe, like and share this video. It's how we get to more people. Thank you very much.
I’m coming to Africa. Moving my family I mean. How can I get these seeds?👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾.
It's a good thing you are moving to the continent. It's easier getting it here than trying to ship to wherever you are outside the continent. And besides, these plants are not concentrated in one location in Africa, they are scattered across.
@@MsingiAfrikaTVgood to know. I wonder if they have these in the Gambia? Great videos…
@@Mansahx thanks. I think so. We are premiering a new video in 30 minutes times. Its about the wild fruits of Africa. You can subscribe to the channel to get notified when the premiere begins. Just remember to click on the notification bell. Thanks
Bu Msingi Afrika, I see and understand your concern. But as soon as we incease domestication of these species, they will be hit by pests and diseases, then boom chemical controls...
Well for me, I think domestication has a whole lot of capitalism and the quest for control in it's foundation. We don't need domestication of these plants. We just need to allow them grow within the seasons that they grow naturally. Our world is in a serious mess because we want to capitalize and also control everything. The so called climate change is an unintended consequence of our quest to monetize and control nature. But nature cannot be controlled, we can only work with nature to bring out the best for the planet.
Please subscribe to our channel, share and like this video. That's how we reach more people. Thanks for watching
I think there is a happy medium in the form of "permaculture". This method uses the natural ecosystems of the space in a way that can support both humanity and the environment. For example, it is possible to plant multiple species next to each other that require different nutrients and even return certain nutrients to the soil. This impacts the microbial balance as well as the carbon content of the soil. It is possible to plant insect repelling weeds and shrubs as well as some that attract certain kinds of insects. This kind of semi- wild environment, if done right can be a significant improvement to mono-cropping
I agree. I am 70 yrs old I can remember how Amaranth grew wild and Gooseberries and many other wild Stamp vrugte. Maroela Bobao trees Monkey apples Custard apples Little round pink guavas And little round white guavas. Aloes by the masses in the mountains. And the little blue flower that my father showed me., it was wild tea. There are so many. At that time there was no internet. And our country was boycort by America. And the Yard long bean is definitely from the Africa continent. It's so opvious. Cow peas are the only peas that grow twin peas from one stem. And so does Yard long beans So now I watch utube and it dies not make sense that almost all vegadables are claimed to be American. My grandmother also had a little red dry mealie in her draw and a Bont mealie And she had never in her live been out of South Africa. Many of these vegatables that I remember as our own. The little red popcorn that they now call Strawberry popcorn. Bont mealie that are called Glasgem
Then there are the Gemsbok Ean. The wild cucumber. Wild melons The Makataan white watermelon. With that they made sugar sweets and watermelon jam. We had Green and Purple Elepantz ear in our yard. The edible type. And that was in our family for many generations Today I wish I had all of these plants
We had a pawpaw (papaya) tree with paw paws hanging on a meter long thin stem. I ask my grandmother why they are different from the big round orange paw pas that are close to the stem. She said because they are male paw paws. The list goes on. And the ting little Black orchid. And that I discovered as a small child running in the mountains looking for pretty flowers and insects for my father to take photos. A tiny micro little orchid that he could only identify for sure through his Camara lens. And it has never been recorded. I check on the internet nothing. An we had two other wild small orchids growing in our Maroela tree. One yellow with black spots like a Tiger. And another red one the same. I don't see that so it's unrecorded or extinct or maybe rare or extinct.
oh wow! I am reading your comment and am jazzed by the number of plants you have mentioned but which I do not think are available with us right now. And this further proved that if we don't do something now about the few remaining indigenous crops, they will be lost in a few years down the line.
Thank you so much for this comment, you have given us something to talk about in another video.
I have a question, how did we lose so much of our African indigenous crops?
Yes and don't forget Loofah and Shu Shu. The Americans call Shu Shu Cayote
People come and go. Some take seeds with them. Then it get discovered in a different country. Then the names change. I live and lived in South Africa and Namibia. We have many wild fruits. My father was a nature lover. Weekends we where in the mountains. I loved it. But now I'm old and can't climb no more. But I have memory's.
@@user-lp1fp7gd5p So beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
It looks like calaloo which is widely used in Jamaica Amaranth.
It's possible they are the same plant.
Thank you so much for this!!! I would love to meet you and create more community and conversation around our indigenous foods and herbal medicines. 🙏🏿
That would be great. Do you live in Kenya?
Same! I'm based in the UK and it's incredibly rare to encounter ppl who have understanding of (or interest in) these's types of issues/topics. It'll be great to be in dialogue with other fellow African enthusiasts, who show reverence for African indigenous knowledge systems, culinary traditions etc. Manifesting. Ase! 🌻 🙏🏾
@@everythingispolitics6526 Yes it will be great to have such community and dialogues.
How I love okra 😊❤❤❤❤❤ absolutely love your vlog my dear ….educational and informative ❤❤❤❤❤. Keep up with this great much needed content
Thank you kindly. Okra is the golden girl of vegetables...lol. Please like and share the video with others. That's how we reach more people.
We eat a lot of amaranth in Jamaica. We call it calaloo.
That's so cool. It's a good vegetable.
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That's beautiful. The ancestors took to the knowledge with them during the mahafa. Connecting to their roots through culinary traditions.
@@everythingispolitics6526
It's possible that it could have come to us in ancient times. However, we always thought it was brought here during the Trans-Atlantic 5lavery times.
Talking about genetics, i see a lot of people who do not mind what they eat but they are very healthy. Soon genetic tests will be the best way to tell us what and how we should be eating
Well I really don't think the proof that someone is healthy is that they say they are. It may be. Also, I think genetics has it owns role in health.
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In Jamaica we have some of these vegetables, but we would definitely benefit from having all of them. How can I source the seeds?
That's a question we too are trying to answer. Getting the seeds for all the vegetables may be challenging because the vegetables are quite scattered across the continent. You really don't find them in one country or region of Africa. But will ask around for the ones that are available here in Kenya and see what's possible.
@@MsingiAfrikaTVwhy not try to persuade the African seed bank for grains to expand to include vegetable and legume seeds too? Seems like it would be easier for everyone to have one seed bank for everything than to have bunch of them, one for every different thing, yeah?
@@notashroom it's a good thought. And we have making this announcement for years that Africans shout be saving organic seeds individually. It's easy for the globalist system that wants all indigenous knowledge gone, to destroy a public seed bank but if seeds are in the hands of individuals, it's safer. And like you have insinuated, individuals don't have to have all the seeds, a couple of seed variety is ok. As long as they are well kept.
Thanks for your comment. Please subscribe, like and share this video. That's how your suggestions and the information in this video will get to more people. Thanks for watching
@@MsingiAfrikaTVbrilliant comment. Our enemies are watching our moves very closely. They want all memories and knowledge totally erased and forgotten as that makes us far more easier to control. So I definitely agree that we need to be strategic with how we store/save/preserve/archive these seeds and the accompanying agricultural knowledge.
@@everythingispolitics6526 Exactly. It's a covert war against everything indigenous and we need to be very wise
That's because many people in Africa are mentally colonized. They will shy away from indigenous traditional food such as okra, African spider flower leaves, millet, pumpkin porridge, rapeseed leaves and chomolia, and be boasting of KFC, hotdogs, Swiss rolls and pizza not knowing that these are junk unhealthy foods which are widely disapproved by health experts in western countries. It's the same thing with polygamy which is believed to be a primitive practice. Some states in the USA have legalized polymarous marriages. Asians and Arabs stick to their traditions. Africans are easily swayed, we don't read nor research. We just wait to be told.
Exactly. And he who teaches you controls your mind. Africa's Indigenous knowledge systems are the only solutions to whatever is going on in the continent.
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I don't understand some Black mens (and small minority of Womens) obsession with polygamy. Have you never met an African Man and Woman who are the offspring of polygamy or who practiced it themselves? It's clear that folks are romanticising this idea, because of you've met anyone who was born into one, you'll understand how dysfunctional they can easily be. Nigeria use to have this sitcom called Fuji House of Commotion (it's available on CZcams) that sheds light on the typical yoruba polygamous marriage. Give it a watch sometime.
Why not grow sweet leave katuk and Mexican Spanish?
Never heard about them before.
Correction. The father of European medicine.
Ok
Where can seed(ling)s be found/obtained
I do not think there is a specific place where all these seeds can be gotten. The vegetables are scattered across the continent, so getting their seeds may be challenging. But we're still asking around for how to get them.
Can these lost vegetables be found in the coast of Kenya ?
Yes. I think you can get okra, amaranth, baobab, moringa, shea, eggplant,
@@MsingiAfrikaTV okay thanks dada
@@Malkiyahamanimwangaza most welcome.
Wow an African channel calling Hippocrates the father of Medicine please honor your ancestors
And how does quoting a quote dishonors the African ancestors?
@@MsingiAfrikaTV It was not the quote it was the title you gave to Hipprocates he was NOT the father of medecine that is a lie constantly repeated by the West Imhotep was Hippocrates learned/stole from him
@@mukumtagara7100 Ok. Thanks a lot for the clarity. I know of the Egyptian high priest Imhotep, but not aware Hippocrates learnt or stole from him.
@@MsingiAfrikaTV Imhotep was a genius in a lot of areas but definitely medicine if you want to just research him but with Black authors though because others won't tell the truth...actually even on CZcams you could find something
@@mukumtagara7100 ok thank you
Awesome series. Pls don't promote the lie about Hypocrates being father of medicine the food quote.(even in jest)
We have our reservation about that. But it's a book/script that was being narrated. However, some say it's Imhotep the Egyptian priest that's the father of medicine. But in any case, the video really is about Africans embracing their native food.
Imhotep is not maybe, he is the father of many things including being a genius physician and as Africans we should promote him since he is African too🙌🏿