Transmitting African food traditions in Europe

18 July 2025.  Brussels. Vyakulani II event by Foodbridge 

Foodbridge officially celebrated the launch of Vyakulani Africa II, the second phase of their grassroots “Vyakulani” initiative. The highlight was the announcement that the project had secured IM­PE­TUS funding for its “citizen science” component. This crucial support enables local communities—especially African diaspora groups—to engage in food heritage documentation and cultural mapping through participatory research and shared storytelling.

During the event, Foodbridge brought together chefs, community leaders, researchers, and volunteers who’ve been actively collecting traditional recipes, oral histories, and culinary practices from diverse African backgrounds. The goal? To continue building an open-access, interactive platform that celebrates the flavors, techniques, and cultural narratives brought to Belgium by African migrants. 

Vyakulani II expands on the first phase by introducing more digital tools, workshops, and hands-on activities to deepen community-driven knowledge gathering. It marked a significant milestone in empowering the African diaspora in Brussels and beyond: by equipping participants with the means to serve as “citizen scientists,” it strengthens cultural preservation, fosters intergenerational dialogue, and takes African food heritage from private kitchens into public memory—anchored by research, storytelling, and collaboration.

Background Vyakulani Africa II - mapping the African food legacy in Belgium

The IM­PE­TUS Accelerator is a planned and structured programme that includes training activities, mentoring and financial support for the Citizen Science Initiatives (CSIs) that are selected in the IMPETUS annual Open Calls. IMPETUS is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

Vyakulani is one of the 26 projects selected under the IM­PE­TUS Accelerator Challenge #2: Citizen Science for a Fair and Just Society. 

Vyakulani – "in the Food" or "which food" – is a Swahili term with a dual meaning that captures the essence of our project. The Vyakulani Africa II project addresses the challenges of transmitting African food traditions in Europe by identifying practical ways to bridge the knowledge gap. The research will focus on two key groups: 

• 
  Transmitters – African women facing difficulties in passing down their food traditions. 
• Receivers – Second-generation women of African descent and non-Africans who are interested in learning African culinary traditions. 

It will gather data from women aged 18 and above to assess their knowledge of African cuisine, how they acquired it, and the factors that facilitate or hinder intergenerational knowledge transfer. To address any gaps in culinary knowledge transfer, this initiative will provide training for older women to help them adapt their traditional recipes into easy-to-follow formats. These women will then lead cooking sessions to educate young people and non-Africans on African culinary practices.

Related:

21/07/25 BBC News, Nairobi Forgotten 'weeds' prove a culinary hit in Kenya

Once dismissed as wild weeds and a "poor man's food", indigenous leafy vegetables in Kenya are now becoming much more common - grown on farms, sold in markets and gracing the menus of restaurants. Vegetables like cabbage, spinach, kale and spring greens, introduced by colonial authorities before the 1960s, are more readily available and cheaper. Spring greens are known as "sukumawiki", meaning "stretch the week" in Swahili, reflecting how they have become a daily staple. It's part of the growing wave of Kenyans who see the benefits of eating local, organically produced nutrient-rich varieties of greens.

"This trend is reflected in government data and some of the health benefits are backed by research. Over the last 10 years, production of local greens has doubled - with 300,000 tonnes produced by local farmers last year. It is a remarkable change in attitudes, given people used to look down on traditional crops as inferior - not realising they were often more resistant to diseases and pests, meaning they can be grown organically". Abukutsa-Onyango She is a professor of horticulture at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology whose work focuses on African indigenous food crops.

Francis Ngiri, used to farm in Kirinyaga in central Kenya where cabbages are a mainstay crop. Determined to do something so they would not be lost forever, Mr Ngiri moved his operation to Kenya's Rift Valley - an area he considers relatively untouched by chemical contamination - so he could practise organic farming of indigenous crops. On a four-acre (1.6 hectare) farm in Elementaita, he began with 14 native varieties in 2016. 

Today that has grown to 124 native varieties, many of which he has sourced through seed exchanges with fellow farmers. His farm now draws visitors from across Kenya and neighbouring countries. They come to see how he collaborates with 800 other regional farmers, who also grow organic food for local markets, to preserve and regenerate "forgotten plants", ensuring their genetic diversity is safeguarded for future generations. Nonetheless by swapping seeds, Mr Ngiri and his colleagues are actually breaking the law as the government only allows the planting of certified seeds.

"Today only the introduced varieties thrive as the soil has become too acidic to support many native species. This is because, especially during the 1970s, those growing imported leafy vegetables used fertilisers and pesticides that damaged the local biodiversity." Francis Ngiri.