Bikita youth adopt Jaka, small grains

BY STEVE EPHRAEM

In a bid to embrace healthier traditions and strengthen community ties, youth in Bikita, Zimbabwe are showing growing interest in cultivating and consuming small grains, alongside the revival of Jaka ceremony; a traditional practice of socially threshing and winnowing grain.

This interest was evident during a Jaka celebration held on August 23, 2025, at the Turugare homestead in Mamutse village, Bikita. More than 60 people took part in the event.

In an interview, 22 year-old Medline Turugare who is studying civil engineering at university, acknowledged that the growing, consumption, and processing of millets had nearly disappeared.

“The growing of small grain, especially millet, had become extinct thanks to its revival by Earthlore Foundation. When our parents revived the growing of millet, we used to mock them. My mother was very clever that she started to refer to millet porridge as ‘chocolate’. This created a strong bond between us and the porridge,” she said.

Medline is now encouraging other young people to return to traditional foods and adopt small grains.

“We are learning a lot from Jaka ceremonies. I urge youth to embark on the growing and consumption of small grain. They are healthy in their own right. Young people should not wait for big events like Jaka in order to consume small grains but it should be a daily culture,” she added.

The Jaka ceremony in Mamutse village was attended by members of Mabheka Garden, local villagers, partner organisations, and event funders the OAK Foundation, as well as staff and beneficiaries from Earthlore Foundation, who had traveled from both Zimbabwe and South Africa.