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.

8 Interesting Facts About Tanzania

Eight fun and interesting fast facts for kids about Tanzania's wildlife, geography, and history.

Tanzania is a country with amazing diversity, both culturally and geographically. The nation is home to over 120 different ethnic groups, each with its own unique traditions and languages. Swahili and English are the official languages. Tanzania's unique culture is also reflected in its music and dance, with traditional styles like Taarab and Ngoma holding significant cultural importance.

Over 37% of Tanzania’s land area is forest and approximately 38% of Tanzania's land area is set aside in protected areas for conservation.

The country's economy is driven mainly by agriculture, which employs around 65% of the workforce. Major crops include coffee, tea, cotton, and cashew nuts. Tanzania is also renowned for its mineral wealth, particularly in gold and tanzanite, a gemstone found only in the Mererani Hills near Mount Kilimanjaro. The mining sector significantly contributes to the nation's economy.

Tanzania's natural beauty is preserved in its many national parks and game reserves, which cover about one-third of the country's land area. The Serengeti National Park is famous for the annual migration of over 1.5 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles. 

Another major attraction is the Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its dense population of wildlife, including the Big Five: lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, and rhinoceroses. Additionally, Tanzania's coastline along the Indian Ocean features stunning beaches and coral reefs, particularly around the Zanzibar Archipelago.

8 More Interesting Facts About Tanzania

After achieving independence from Britain in 1961, Tanganyika and Zanzibar joined forces in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. This new nation chose Dodoma as its capital city. By 2013, Tanzania's population had grown to over 49 million, showcasing its significant growth since independence. 

Tanzania is the 13th largest country in Africa, covering an area more than six times the size of Georgia and slightly larger than twice the size of California. This vast land is home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, located in the country's northeastern part. 

Kilimanjaro is Africa's highest point and one of the only two mountains on the continent with glaciers, the other being Mount Kenya. Tanzania boasts rich natural resources, with over 37% of its land area covered in forests and about 38% dedicated to protected conservation areas. 

The country also features notable bodies of water, including Lake Victoria, the world's second-largest freshwater lake, and Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-deepest lake. Travel and tourism play a vital role in Tanzania's economy, contributing 13% to the gross domestic product and providing employment for 11% of the population.

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What is the difference between ugali and fufu

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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
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Top 20 Largest Countries in Africa

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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
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Ethiopian Midwest American Hotdish

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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
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Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off

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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
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