Reading the land by Stephen WesselsDepartment of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Museum Service
Reading the land
The dietary footprints of the indigenous peoples of the Western Cape persist in stories and knowledge about edible plants, recipes, and preservation methods. Knowledge of indigenous foodways can transform a fynbos or coastal view like this one into an abundant edible landscape.
A fragmented history
Indigenous Khoekhoen and San people of the Western Cape foraged for plants and seafood. People ate what could be gathered or hunted seasonally, and kept domesticated livestock. 17th-century colonial incursions and intensive agriculture disrupted these traditional foodways.
Veldkos by Stephen WesselsDepartment of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Museum Service
Do you recognize any of these plants?
There has been growing recent interest in the nutritional and cultural value of indigenous wild foods of the Cape. Edible plants like “soutslaai”, “veldkool”, “spekboom”, dune spinach, and more are being reclaimed as both sources of food, and as links to ancestral food practices.
"Waterblommetjies": Using indigenous ingredients
"Waterblommetjies" (Aponogeton Distachyos) are small edible aquatic flowers, native to the Western Cape. The buds are harvested in winter and stewed with lamb to make "waterblommetjiebredie", "water flower stew", flavoured with surings (oxalis flowers) for a sharp lemony tang.
Entangled histories
"Waterblommetjiebredie" is a good example of how indigenous foodways have persisted into the present. It is likely that early European settlers first learnt about these ingredients and flavour combinations (including the Khoekhoe fat-tailed sheep) from indigenous people.
Abalimi Bezekhaya by Stephen WesselsDepartment of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Museum Service
Indigenous plants in contemporary gardens
Many indigenous edible plants can be grown in home and community gardens. Species such as spekboom, dune spinach and sour fig are well suited to the Western Cape's climate. Growing them preserves biodiversity and keeps traditional knowledge alive.
Seaweed by Stephen WesselsDepartment of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Museum Service
Seeing the landscape anew
Interest in indigenous food plants is growing among communities, gardeners and researchers. By learning about and using these plants responsibly, we reconnect with overlooked histories. The fynbos landscape remains a living archive of knowledge, care and survival.
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