Some indigenous plants in Kenya, which were once thought useless and flagged as mere weeds have now become very relevant food sources across the entire country.
- Indigenous plants in Kenya, once considered weeds, are now popular food sources offering health benefits.
- Known as kienyeji, these crops are sought after and have become profitable for restaurants.
- Greens like cabbage and sukumawiki are widely available, while regional vegetables gain recognition for their nutrient content.
Kienyeji, as the crops are known, which were once considered “poor man’s food” or weed, has now become a source of internally generated revenue due to its popularity on menus at eateries throughout Kenya.
“Many people ask for kienyeji when they come here,” Kimani Ng’ang’a, an employee in the Skinners Restaurant in Gachie, discloses to the BBC, regardless of the fact that the restaurant costs more for them, he claims they are more difficult to get.
Greens like cabbage, spinach, kale, and spring greens, which were introduced by settlers before the 1960s, are now readily accessible and cheap.
In contrast, Kienyeji, owing to its growing popularity have become somewhat of a rare delicacy, making it relatively more costly than its foreign cotemporaries.
As per the BBC’s report, 850 native plants and their regional names are currently part of an inventory of traditional cuisines that Kenya started in 2007 with the help of scientists and local groups.
While some of these greens are unique to certain regions or groups, others are consumed across the country.
Benefits of Kienyeji
Spring greens are known as “sukumawiki” in Swahili, which means “stretch the week,” indicating that they have become a daily habit.
However, Gachie eaters are one of a rising number of Kenyans who recognize the benefits of eating locally grown, organic greens that are high in nutrients.
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“It detoxifies the body and is good in weight loss,” says James Wathiru, who ordered “managu” – or African nightshade.
Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, one of the country’s horticulture experts underpinned the crop’s health beneifts, noting that such claims are backed by research.
She noted that in the last decade the production of Kenya’s indigenous vegetables have doubled, with estimates showing an annual production of 300,000 tonnes.
“We never learnt about African indigenous vegetables. They were calling amaranth ‘pigweed’ [and] spider plant, they were calling it ‘spider weed’,” she revealed.
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She also noted that in contrast to sukumawiki, managu and other regional vegetables like “mrenda” (jute mallow) and “terere” (amaranth) have more important nutrients and “higher levels of vitamin A and C [and] antioxidants” that strengthen immunity and lower the risk of illness.
Additionally, certain types are rich in protein, thus rendering them a great choice for vegetarians. She notes, for example, that 100g (3.5 ounces) of mrenda, which has a unique slimy feel when cooked, has more nutrients than an equivalent amount of regular cabbage.
