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The tiny health food takeaway window Khula Box, which has been tucked into a cubby hole in the wall on Epsom Road since its inception in early 2021, has not vanished — it has moved to bigger premises.
Owner Fred Kuda said the shop rapidly grew a faithful fan base out of passing trade in the busy spot near Stirling Primary, and hopefully the new spot in the Ashmel Spar complex in Berea will accelerate the trend with interested shoppers popping in.
“I’m sure there are several reasons for our popularity but to my mind it is the dedication of our team as they prepare our daily offerings.
"Everything has to be perfect.
"Healthy food creates healthy bodies and healthy minds, and we are well aware of this.”
Soon after launching in the cramped Stirling premises, the shop's growing customer base created a dilemma for Kuda.
“We realised soon after opening that our small premises were not doing justice to our loyal patrons, who had to queue in a crowded area, and sometimes even in the rain.
"Fortunately a space came up in the Ashmel precinct, and we grabbed the ball and ran with it.
"It has changed how we run our business.
“While most of our marketing is word of mouth, our wraps are very popular, especially the Spicy Black Bean wrap."
With the minced black beans come carrots, spinach and spices served on a wholewheat roti with cucumber and tomato.
"The hummus quinoa wrap is also a winner.
"Other favourites are the high-protein grilled spicy chickpea wrap with a tropical salad, as well as the scrambled tofu and avo wrap with peppers, microgreens and our homemade cheese sauce."
A real Khula treat is their freshly concocted latte.
Mixing them only starts once the person is in the shop. One of the most popular is the Dreamy Beetroot latte, with black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, dates and coconut milk.
The shop is a useful source of buckwheat, bulgur, lentils, chia seeds, teff, cacao nibs, maca powder, mesquite and the like.
Some of the Khula Box’s organic range is supplied by Khula Dharma, a farming ecovillage out HagaHaga way. The 180ha farm is about 8km from the coast.
Farm owner Damien de Wet said there are usually about 15 people living there, and most of them work on the land.
“We supply Khula Box from our excess produce. It’s a bit erratic at the moment but we have to first cater for our residents and guests.
"However, it is still a massive win-win. Whatever excess we have gets onto the Khula Box menu, we have no wastage and Fred gets an interesting — if not steady — supply.”
Kuda said having access to Khula Dharma products allows his shop to experiment with new and unusual dishes.
“As long as the ingredients are fresh and organic we never stop trying out recipes.
"Good examples are the cacao smoothie bowl with bananas, cacao, maca, cinnamon, oats, fruit slices and granola, or the the berry smoothie bowl (mixed berries, bananas, oats, baobab powder, chia seeds and granola)."
Closer to the health subject, De Wet said: “One success story is the moringa tree, which is a spindly tree with delicate leaves, which we harvest and sell.
"It does well in the forests in the company of large trees. Hugely unappreciated, it is a superfood introduced from India. The leaves can be eaten fresh or dried and crushed to a powder, which is not appetising, but really healthy.”
De Wet has an honours degree from Rhodes University that focuses on human geography.
“We practice indigenous farming techniques, or permaculture, which keeps the soil healthy.
"We don’t have machines. I allocate small plots to people who want to farm with us. Our community is off the grid.
"Most of the accommodation is in cob huts, which are built from soil, fibrous organic material, straw bales, and sometimes lime.
“It’s a little piece of heaven nestled in the rolling coastal hills. It is a natural farming eco-community and also a retreat centre for those who need to rejuvenate themselves.
"We welcome visitors.”
It seems strange that someone so hooked on health had to go through his own health challenges, but Kuda was not always in peak condition.
“I worked at Nina Deli before it closed and had some ailments that were slowing me down.
"The then owner, concerned for my wellbeing, prepared a few health food menus for me.
"A lot of those foods were immunity-boosting and it didn’t take long to get my health back.
"Now I've set my sights on running the Comrades, but I have been advised to wait a few years.”
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