Tulimara

Beans form an important part of the diet of rural communities in Zimbabwe. They are high in protein, fibre and carbohydrates and are grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

Traditionally the beans have been grown by small-scale rural farmers because harvesting is highly labour intensive and therefore not suitable for large-scale commercial farming. We purchase our beans directly from small-scale rural farmers.

Both nyimo and nyemba beans are high in protein. Nyimo beans have the highest concentration of soluble fibre of any bean, which research has shown to reduce the incidence of heart disease and certain types of cancer.

Our nyimo and nyemba beans are ready-to-serve and make an excellent base in vegetarian recipes, salads and stews.

Harvesting Seasons

Nyimo	April - June
Nyemba	March - May

Vignea subterranea, the nyimo, is indigenous to tropical Africa. Its centre of origin is thought to be Bambara, near Timbuktu in Central Mali, West Africa (hence the other common name, Bambara Bean).

Like the peanut, the nyimo bean forms pods and seeds on, or just beneath, the ground. The seeds are round (up to 1.5 cm diameter), smooth and when dried, very hard. Their colour varies from cream to brown, red, mottled or black eyed. The beans are harvested between February to May each year.

Nyimo beans are cultivated extensively by small-scale farmers and are an ideal peasant farmer crop because they grow relatively well in drought-prone regions, do not need chemical fertilizers, and are difficult to harvest mechanically.

Nyimo beans are traditionally boiled in their shells and are offered for sale, ready cooked, on roadsides and at markets. They are also pounded to flour to make porridge or are boiled and used in a relish with sadza (maize meal).



TTRADITIONAL USES Amenorrhoea : Dysmenorrhoea : Chest pains : Constipation in infants : Epilepsy : Bilharzia : Antidote for snake bite
Vignea unguiculata - also known as cowpeas, nyemba, or dinawa in Zimbabwe - was originally an inconspicuous little plant that crept among the rocks of the dusty southern Sahel in north central Africa. Today, two hundred million children, women and men consume cowpeas often, even daily when available. Cowpeas are drought tolerant and have the unique ability to fix nitrogen even in poor soils. They are also shade-tolerant and, therefore compatible as an intercrop with many cereals and root crops. Subsistence farmers in sub-Saharan Africa usually intercrop their cowpeas with maize, sorghum, millet and cassava. Traditionally, the beans are sundried and then threshed with sticks and winnowed to remove the chaff. They are used in stews, porridges or are eaten fresh like peas.