On-Farm Storage

The traditional Sustainche Farm™ granary consists of a number of large spherical woven baskets or bins made of  Mopane (Colophospermun mopane) branches and interlaced with strips of Mopane bark. The interior of the bin is sealed with a light coat of mud, which is made of termite hill soil mixed with water. The basket has a circular opening on top, through which the grain is loaded and removed, and is closed with a lid. In the picture to the right you see this lid being closed with the light coat of mud mixture as described above. The bin is raised on a wooden-legged circular cradle. A thatched roof, under which the bin is placed, is the last part of the granary. Can you identify the granary on the Sustainche Farm™ sketch map ? 😉

Traditional Preparation of Mahangu Flour

Mahangu grain is processed into flour in two major stages: first dehulling, which separates the bran from the starch, and then pounding into flour (pulverising or size reduction).

1. After screening of the grain is done in a flat winnowing basket by hand, dehulled grains are produced by pounding the wetted grain in a mortar, which are then dried and winnowed again. Thereafter and in order to receive a whiter  and tastier result, a fermenting process might be introduced with the grains being soaked in water for a few hours to 1 day and already fermented pounded grain being added as starter. This process with finally trickled and sun-dried grains leads to fermented dehulled grains.

2. Most commonly, pounding into flour and sieving the product is done twice. After the second pounding the flour is dried in the sun by using a flat basket. This dried fermented flour is then ready to be utilized in the kitchen or stored for a few days.

Traditionally mahangu is pounded with heavy pieces of wood in a ‘pounding area’. Sustainche Farm™ has a special pounding room. Alike the threshing floor, the floor of the pounding room is covered with a concrete-like coating made from the material of termite mounds. Take a look on the Sustainche Farm™ pounding room in the pictures to the left and right. What a highly sophisticated construction with mortars (Oshiwambo singular Oshini) inserted in the hard floor and the heavy pounding pole (pestle, Oshiwambo Omushi) exactly fitting in the mortars ! However, pounding (to pound, Oshiwambo tsa or okutsa) is very hard female’s work and in the evening your hands will tell how much efforts you’ve done !

After having learnt all this, you for sure will even more enjoy your tasty “Oshifima” mahangu porridge and refreshing “Oshikundu” during your visit to Sustainche Farm™ in Northern Namibia 🙂