Snack attack: Wendy makes magic with mopani worms

Have you ever heard of mopani worm chocolates? Yes, you heard that right! Wendy Vesela-Ntimbani has taken a traditional African food staple and turned it into a culinary sensation.

Mopani worms may not sound appetising, but this entrepreneur’s unique recipes are creating quite a buzz as she pioneers the way forward in creating everyday snacks made from worms.

From mopani biscuits to mopani flour, there’s no limit to what she can do with this unusual ingredient. That’s how her business Matomani was born in November 2021, with traditional Tsonga mopani worms at its core.

Early impact

Raised in a small Limpopo village, mopani worms have always been an integral part of her childhood. She aims to establish a beautiful relationship between the worms and cultivate communities in environmentally and health-conscious societies around the world.

“I grew up eating masonja and watching my mom and dad cook them, so that’s where the learning actually began,” she says. 

“I then decided to start Matomani which is a proudly South African company using mopani worms to provide you with a sustainable, low-impact, organic, healthy, and protein-rich addition to your diet. Not only are our products great for your diet, but they also support rural communities and preserve our environment.”

Nutritional value and health benefits

The qualified chemical engineer turned entrepreneur tells Food for Mzansi that she came up with the idea while experimenting with mopani worms. She says she looks at it as a raw ingredient we could experiment with.

“I experimented with different things I could make from mopani worms for a year before we launched Matomani,” says Ntimbani.

“I realised that we have this amazing superfood, and we always look at it as worms, but what else can we do with it? What happens if we meal it or use it as raw ingredients to create other things? You can even blend it into your shake and do lots of things with it to ensure you have all the necessary nutrition. So that’s where the Mopani protein bar, the protein powder, and other products that we aspire to look at in the future came from.”

Targeting the health-conscious

According to Ntimbani, Mopani worms contain many health benefits because they’re a superfood. She explains that it’s got all the essential amino acids your body needs to function optimally, and all this is natural and organic because they eat organic leaves.

“Mopani worms have 60% protein and are very high in iron and fibre. Hence, our clients and target audience are people who care about what they eat, people who are health conscious, people looking for a product that’s sustainable, working out, and also needing to supplement in terms of everyday vitamins and minerals,” she explains.

Employment opportunities

Ntimbani highlights that the main challenge comes from the fact that some people’s past experiences with mopani worms have not been good, and there can be a number of reasons for that, including not being clean or not being cooked well.

Nevertheless, she confirms that her journey for the past two years has been quite rewarding due to the impact it has had.

“We mainly work with and buy from locals, so they are also able to make income through our actions. It encourages me to find more sustainable and long-term ways to bring economic inclusion to people in rural areas. We have also just secured a farm in Limpopo, and this farm will be a space where we create a farm, home, and staple for mopani worms.”

For years, mopani worms have been available in informal markets, but they have not been easily accessible to middle- and upper-class consumers. Thus, Ntimbani envisions a future where she will grow and scale up her business to be accessible to everyone.

“Our products are available at a couple of stores in Limpopo and Gauteng, on our online shop at www.matomani.co.za, and also on Takealot. However, I envision growth and mopani worms being available in big retail shops so they can become part of people’s daily shopping items to make them more accessible.”

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