Posted on by Luigi Guarino

Harvesting the bounty of weedy greens

That’s Violet, my sister-in-law. She’s harvesting weedy indigenous leafy greens from her (and my) mother-in-law’s farm at Gataka, near Limuru in Kenya. And talking to me about these interesting species at the same time. She’s mainly picking “terere” (Amaranthus hybridus), though she mentions “togotia” (Erucastrum arabicum) towards the end. Also “kahorora,” or pumpkin leaves, though of course that’s not a weedy species. Thanks, Violet.

3 Replies to “Harvesting the bounty of weedy greens”

  1. Good video, and the place looks wonderfully lush.

    I’m guessing the togotia leaves are too strong-tasting for many. Do people eat related versions like E. gallica?

    Never tried eating bean leaves – what kind are they here?

    Reply

  2. Thank-you for response.

    Looking at the map, Central Uplands is not far from the Yala wetlands where Dominion (nice name) has taken over land since 2006. But I’m guessing also that you wouldn’t go along with Mr Calvin Burgess:

    “I disagree when people say, ‘Oh, you have to preserve the local culture,'” he says. “If you preserve it, people will starve, and you won’t have a culture to preserve.” He plays down the idea that land formerly used for subsistence agriculture has now been monopolized by Dominion. Farms that surround his company’s property are little more than “unproductive gardens,” he says.

    Dominion now appear to be expanding their operation with a little help from friends in high places in Kenya to Nigeria courtesy of Mr Babangida and co.

    What hope have we “little people”?

    How will we grow food and care for biodiversity without the land which is being sold off to foreign corporations and speculators?

    Reply

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