African Food and Art

Thank you to our latest donor, Tony. Thank you, Tony. We were able to purchase three new stainless steel pots to continue our cooking and teaching heritage.

Fine Line Between Tourism and Human Safaris

Cultural tourism becomes unethical when tour operators profit from the exploitation of indigenous tribes and poor living conditions.

Culture of Africa

Cultural tourism is an organized tour that takes visitors to a place where they can observe "locals" in their indigenous settings. You can also visit cultural villages to learn more about how indigenous and inhabitants lived, and how the various languages, customs, and traditions are celebrated.

Enjoy dust dancing and singing by the locals; enjoy long tables groaning with food dishes. There can be a fine line between cultural tourism and human safaris. True cultural tourism offers an opportunity for interaction, perhaps alongside shopping opportunities, food demonstrations or craft lessons.

Human safaris focus on the opportunity to see, photograph and video local people in an exploitative manner

A tour that takes vacationers to a tribal village, encourages vacationers to bribe locals with food or money to perform a dance and permits the vacationers to film the entire experience would definitely fall into the human safari category.

Concerns about human safaris are being raised in Africa, where tour operators are profiting from the exploitation of indigenous tribes and poor living conditions.

Many potential tourists are interested in an opportunity for interaction with indigenous people, therefore, there is a need for national policies to conserve each country's cultural heritage as more tourists visit Africa each year. 

The market in human safaris along the road and automobile tours are flourishing offering a glimpse of “primitive tribal” to tourists driving through the streets or slums of Africa. 

High-end human safari companies and resort developments should carefully consider the impact of tour activities on the communities as not to interfere or negatively influence day-to-day life and ancient ceremonies, yet still give a memorable experience.

An inside look into cultural weddings, traditional dances, rites of passage for warriors and other practices could be a cross-cultural triumph if managed correctly. 

True cultural tours work closely with a team of accommodation suppliers and their surrounding indigenous villages to sustain mutually beneficial relationships with native African cultures supporting ethical activities that enhance the quality of life through employment, community programs, education, health and selling of arts and crafts. 

Week’s Best African Culture Posts

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

Image
How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali and
Learn More About Africa

Top 20 Largest Countries in Africa

Image
African Country by Size List. Africa Which are the top twenty largest, smallest, and territorial country in Africa by land area? 1. The continent of Africa is the world’s second largest based on land area and population just after Asia. 2. Top five largest countries of Africa are Algeria, Congo Democratic Republic of the, Sudan, Libya and Chad. 3. Top five smallest African countries and territories are Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Saint Helena and Mayotte. African Country from largest to smallest Area sq mile Area sq km Algeria 919,595 2,381,740 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 905,568 2,345,410 Sudan 718,723 1,861,484 Libya 679,362 1,759,540 Chad 495,755 1,284,000 Niger 489,191 1,267,000 Angola 481,354 1,246,700 Mali 478,767 1,240,000 South Africa 471,011 1,219,912 Ethiopia 435,186 1,127,127 Mauritania 397,95
Learn More About Africa

Ethiopian Midwest American Hotdish

Image
Our Ethiopian hot dish combines Ethiopian cooking with classic Minnesota Midwest casserole meal. The hot dish’s origins are a product of settlers traditions in Midwest America dating back to the early 20th century. A hot-dish or casserole is a one-pan meal that traditionally includes a combination of starch like potatoes, pasta, or rice, ground meat, vegetables, and a creamy canned soup base, all topped with crunchy goodness like breadcrumbs or tater tots. The concept of hot dish became popular in the Upper Midwest, particularly in states like Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, in the 1930s and 1940s. This period was marked by economic challenges, including the Great Depression. The need for economical and filling meals led to the creation of dishes that could be stretched to feed many people using simple, affordable ingredients . Hot dishes became synonymous with potlucks, church suppers, and social gatherings. These events were central to rural and small-town communities, where
Learn More About Africa

Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off

Image
Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off. Idzila are Ndebele wives traditionally wear rings around the neck as a status symbol and wear rings around the arms, legs, and neck. Wearing Neck Rings. For centuries, married South African Ndebele tribes’ women saw wearing heavy rings around their neck as an honored status symbol. Neck rings are any form of stiff necklaces worn around the neck of an individual. The neck rings are usually made of copper or brass. During initiation, girls wear an array of colorfully beaded hoops called izigolwan around their legs, arms, waist, and neck. After marriage, the Ndebele wife would wear copper and brass rings around her arms, legs, and neck, symbolizing her bond and faithfulness to her husband, once her home was built. Idzila rings were believed to have strong ritual powers. Husbands used to provide their wives with rings; the richer the husband, the more rings the wife would wear. These outward symbols can be removed only in ca
Learn More About Africa