Story by Patience Nyagato
A book authored by Zimbabwean writers on the country’s delicacies has captured the attention of the world after bagging an international award.
In scientific terms, they are insects but based on research, bugs including silkworms (hondokotowa), mopane worms (madora/amacimbi), emperor moth larvae, and Soldier termites (majuru) are edible and healthy delicacies.
Zimbabweans have thus gone on a drive to promote the delicacies with a book titled “Edible Insects: Food for the Future” being taken to the international stage.
The publication in which Dulsie Mudekwa explores traditional foods has since captured the attention of culinary experts.
“These are high in protein and can actually alleviate meat shortages in anyone’s diet. So this project started at CUT where an entomologist did research on insects we find in the country to find out what is edible and what is not so that people do not end up eating poisonous insects.
“These edible insects can be processed into oil, flour, or hupfu. So no one can ever go hungry and they are quite available in abundance. So the project captured the attention of judges out of more than 1000 books submitted from 230 countries ours stood out,” said Mudekwa.
The book shows that there are more than 100 edible insects in the country based on entomologist data.
“There was a lot of research conducted. In the country, we have hundreds of edible insects which are there in abundance and our ancestors used to eat these and were very healthy,” said Mudekwa.
The publication received an award under the Future Foods Category meant to promote the incorporation of insects into the African diet as a sustainable solution to enhance food and nutritional security.
