Chaitezvi's indigenous ingredients drive rural enterprise

Because of no readily available data on them, they end up not being used in dishes and as a result go rancid. However, one young Motswana has found use for some indigenous fruits in order to make good use of them. In 2022, from a rural part of Botswana, Nanzelela Chaitezvi launched her food business that processes these abundant nature’s treats to make finished products that can be incorporated into making assortment of dishes in many household kitchens. The business is based entirely in a village setting, using locally available indigenous fruits and grains. What started as a single jam product has since developed into a broader line that includes sorghum and millet flakes, baobab coffee, and two types of baobab candy, including a caramel-coated option. Chaitezvi explains the motivation to start her business came from observing how common fruits were undervalued.

“We have easy access to indigenous foods in the villages, but most of the time, these fruits waste away without anyone showing much interest,” she says.