Country Living in Southern Africa

 (You might also find this shopping in Inhassoro, Mozambique article interesting. >>Shopping – Inhassoro.)

Finding food is a sensitive subject here in Mozambique. What you will find and at what price, greatly depends on where you are. There is a lot to say about food, prices and shopping in Mozambique, but that would make this article way too long. Let’s just say, there are some food challenges and we are hoping to become more self-sustaining and working on solutions to make our cupboards full and our menus more exciting. A homesteading lifestyle has always attracted me and what a better opportunity than this to explore the road to being self-sufficient.

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So what are the things we did so far?

One of the very first things I did was to start planting vegetables. I wasn’t sure what would grow and what not, but I took my chances and I am continually planting more. I am now already harvesting beans, spinach, grass onions and tomatoes. I have already had some butternut and gems squash from the garden and we are continually expanding the garden, simply to have enough for ourselves and also for the staff to supplement their diet. So far I have managed to have a mostly organic (no pesticides, artificial fertilizers or chemicals) vegetable garden and I hope to keep it that way.  

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Another very important thing we did was to buy chickens from our staff members. We asked for adult hens only for egg laying, but an arrangement of sizes pitched up here including a rooster. They arrived on the farm in true Mozambican fashion. Tied by their upside-down hanging from the bicycle handles. One thing is for sure, if anything, you do not want to be a chicken in Mozambique… My husband and I thought that this would be a shock on their system and it would take a while for them to start laying eggs here, but the first eggs arrived just a day or two later. We still don’t have enough eggs for our family, so every now and again we buy some eggs from Inhassoro. (We are almost a 90-minute drive from our closest village, Inhassoro. Read about our move here >> Move to Govuro District, Mozambique)

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If you live close to a town or city, bread is no problem. Mozambican bread or “Pao” is delicious and memorable once you had it, you will remember for sure. We don’t eat loads of bread (my husband is a banter), but if we feel like it, we aren’t going to drive that far for bread. Shortly after our arrival, I made a sourdough starter and I now keep it in the fridge and bake a bread with it more-or-less once a week. It is also handy for pancakes and I have made some crackers and even rusks with it. The only thing I need to keep it alive is flour and water.

Meat supply is at a very interesting time at the moment. Why do I say this? Because of the current ban on meat imports of South Africa. You can read a news article on it here >> https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/sas-neighbours-slap-import-bans-over-foot-and-mouth-disease-20190114 

 I can only hope that this will have positive spin-offs for farmers in Mozambique and also for the prices of meat in Mozambique. Without cold room facilities, we are not currently in a position to supply our own meat.

To make things very interesting we are hoping to start milking a cow soon and we have been gifted a cheese making kit by a friend. A family member showed us how to do Haloumi and Ricotta cheese and hopefully, we will soon be able to have some cheeses and yoghurt on a weekly basis.

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We have also been gifted a mushroom kit. This one makes me nervous. It sounds complicated, but I am going to give it a try, even it is just a once-off it should be interesting.

To round off, I think that people have been living off the land in Mozambique for decades. I would love to explore the local and indigenous fruits and plants that are available in the area and include those in our diets as well.