A few days ago I completed a cooking class in the colourful neighborhood of Bo-Kaap. This was the original settlement of the Duch people in the cape. We were immersed into Muslim culture as we got to explore some of the mosques, cook traditional foods and eat the traditional way. We made chicken curry, chili bites, naan, and samoosas. It was all so delicious and we gathered the recipes to take it home and make it again! We were taken on a walking tour through the neighborhood and given the full story on why the houses are so colourful in the neighborhood. For the longest time in history the people that lived in these properties were not allowed to own the homes and they rented them from the government (or who was in control of them). When they finally gained the rights to buy these homes they were painted in these bright colours as a way to express their freedoms in the homes they now owned. The houses ever since then have been passed down from generation to generation keeping the story alive. They are not historically protected so that nothing can happen to them although they are hard to maintain.
I was so beyond thankful to be invited into one of the homes to be able to create and enjoy the wonderful meals that you see here connecting me in a way to the culture that has been passed down from family to family and I got to join the story and I now get to share the stories and remind people of the freedoms we have and the amazing things that we can create when we all come together!
