What if a plant that you have been pulling out of your garden may actually be edible and highly nutritious? Ruliv has recently completed a project with Research Consultant Claire Kockott, and funded by the National Heritage Council, aimed at helping us to identify and...

In 2019 East London Museum opened a new permanent exhibition “Plants and People”. This exhibition presents some of the plants that grow and are used in the Eastern Cape and all are featured in the new Imifino: Guide to Edible Wild Plants in the Eastern Cape. An...

Drying imifino is a traditional African method of preservation using the sun, wind or warm air, inside or out. Collect a lot of imifino when they grow after rains in summer. Dry them and you will have nutritious food for the winter. Dried imifino can be stored whole...

We had a lot of fun testing out and sharing recipes. A clear favourite was the ‘traditional Xhosa recipe’, which features in the original Guide and the revised version as “Mama Esthers Imifino”. 1 bag fresh mixed imifino (e.g. utyuthu/amaranth, ihlaba/sow thistle or...

When foraging, you want to avoid places that may have been sprayed with herbicide or where the soil is otherwise likely to be polluted. Avoid busy road verges and industrial areas. The beliefs of some interviewed in the research were that ‘women and children gather...

About 30 000 edible plant species are found throughout the world. It is estimated that about 7 000 of these plants have been collected as food. With urbanisation and working away from home the practice of growing or foraging for our food is declining. Today about 15...

Imifino or wild leafy vegetables are often referred to as weeds by those who are not in the know. ‘Weeds’ is a misnomer. Many people are unaware that many of the so-called weed plants are actually edible and frequently highly nutritious. Ruliv has recently completed a...

This is why Ruliv is so passionate about community gardens. You can begin small but the benefits and impact over a period of time are huge!Where communities develop and maintain their own gardens, it provides them with a sustainable, safe and nutritious domestic food...

RULIV facilitated the development of the above plans using the participatory approach. The co-operative farms have 32 and 37 member households respectively and are situated on a 2029 ha farm 5km from Indwe in the Emalahleni local municipality area in the Chris Hani...