Organic farming.
Bananas are a staple food for the people of Tooro and almost each house hold has a plantation of bananas in their yards. The people of Tooro majorly cultivate Bananas both for commercial and Home consumption purposes. Bananas are among the most important food crops on the planet. They come from a family of plants called Musa that are native to Southeast Asia and grown in many of the warmer areas of the world.
Bananas have a myriad of importance and some of these include:
- Banana Juice; This is a very sweet and healthy Juice usually made from particular varieties that we call musa, ndizi and embiira as we commonly refer to them in our local language
- Banana Wine and Liquor. These two are locally processed from mainly the above mentioned types.
- The Banana fiber can be used to make cloth and its dry part can be used to make so many crafts.
- The Banana fruit is good for food for both people and animals.
- Bananas also have quite a number of health benefits; they are a source of fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and various antioxidants and phytonutrients. A diet high in potassium can lower blood pressure in people with elevated levels and benefits heart health
- There is a red type that we call siira in the local language that is very good at controlling diabetes
- The entire banana plant can act as food for cows and goats.
So our guests get to learn the process from when the banana tree is planted up to the time its served on the plate. Our guests get to participate in thinning, pruning, weeding and mulching the banana tree after which they harvest, peel and cook the banana the local way which is later served to them as part of their Menu.
Our guests at end of the study will be able to differentiate the different varieties of bananas.
As our guests study the banana, they also get to interact with other foods and vegetables on the Farm and where applicable, they harvest some and prepare them as part of their Menu as well.
The other plant that our guests learn about is coffee. How it is taken care of and Harvested. We try to give our guests a 360 experience of the garden and gardening but also we also create a session where we learn from our guests too of their unique gardening experience from their places of origin.
Millet Processing at Heavenly Royalz
The other very important typical staple food for the Batooro is Millet, kalo as referred to in our local language. Millet is a good source of protein, fiber, key vitamins and minerals. The potential health benefits of millet include protecting cardiovascular health, preventing the onset of diabetes, helping people achieve and maintain a healthy weight and managing inflammation in the gut.
Our guests are taught how to locally process millet using our local milling stone and mortar from seed form to millet flour and after which learn how it is prepared which too forms part of their Menu for dinner and its porridge can be integrated for breakfast the next day.