Maungo Crafts’ healthy, award-winning marmalades/ jams

Child of the Moon and Kalahari Sands marmalade made top 7 and awarded gold at the Marmalade Awards

GOSEGO MOTSUMI

After participating at the World Marmalade Awards (Commonwealth Category) recently in Cumbria, UK, locally grown concept Maungo Crafts was shortlisted in the top 7 and awarded gold for their participating marmalades.
Bonolo Monthe, CEO of Maungo Crafts says the two flavours  submitted for the awards named Child of the Moon and Kalahari Sands made the top 7 and were highly recommended by the judges who remarked that the, “rare and exceptional ingredients, with baobab fruit, sandpaper raisins, marula fruit and liquorice root used provided an exciting burst of extra flavour, and with another Botswana specialty there are flecks of real gold through the marmalade made with locally grown citrus fruit. Truly remarkable.”
“This was such a big deal for us because this was our first time ever participating in The World Marmalade Awards! Think the Oscars of Marmalades! This was the first time we entered an International Food specific competition as well. So, the fact that we made the top 7 and were also awarded a gold was absolutely mind blowing! We are all about putting Botswana on the map for its culinary food,” Monthe told Time Out.
Monthe further revealed that their products ended up at the awards after they were contacted by one of the patrons of The World Marmalade Awards, Dan Lepard, who also happens to be a celebrity chef. He informed them about the competition and asked if they would be keen to participate in it and to represent the country. “He mentioned that he had seen our products online – of course at this point we are completely geeking out! We are an adventurous bunch who love pushing the envelope. In our minds we thought to ourselves – Challenge accepted! So we set down on a path to create two unique marmalades for the competition,” she said adding that this was the first year of the WOMA’s Commonwealth Category, inspired because most of the 3000 entries received from countries within the Commonwealth.
She says as Maungo Craft nestled at the Culture Art Café in Molapo Crossing they see themselves as food rebels, artisans who like creating beautiful and memorable things. What set them apart from many other jams is that they make award winning, healthy, sugar deprived jams and marmalade by using indigenous fruits and pair them with contemporary flavours, creating flavour profiles like no other. They also use superfoods in some of their products making them extra healthy.
Kalahari Sands, which looks like golden sand was inspired by the golden sands found in Botswana because of its earthy shimmer while Child of the Moon with ingredients that include Liquorice, Oranges, Ginger, Basil, Sparkling wine and Motsotsojane was named after a friend called Nyakwezi from Uganda whose name Child of the Moon is a direct translation of. They wanted to honour her and celebrate her because she has played a very pivotal role in their lives.
Furthermore, within 14 months of operation Maungo Crafts have bagged  achievements and awards including National Winners of the Creative Business Cup Botswana, Position number one, Agri-Products Manufacturer of the year 2017: Botswana Farming Awards among others.