Museveni approves Uganda's wooden plates crockery

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President Yoweri Museveni has declared support for locally made wooden food containers, describing them as safe and durable.

His approval on Saturday, March 11, was shared on social media via X.

To support his endorsement, Museveni also shared scientific research findings on wooden crockery.

Museveni's posts via X read:

"Fellow Ugandans, especially the Bazzukulu, following a scientific assessment by our CBRN team, I have written to Matongo Wood Works Company confirming that traditional wooden food containers made from omunyama (mahogany) and omusisa (albizia) are safe and durable.

I have directed support for this initiative so that we free ourselves from the colonial habit of relying on fragile and unsafe ebyatika (the breakables).

Our indigenous knowledge systems served our people well for generations. It is time to consciously revive and promote them as part of building a self-reliant and modern Ugandan economy."

Wooden Plates. (Courtesy)

Currently, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is implementing the Chemical Safety and Security Project (CHESASE) to manage Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) risks in the industrial and health sectors.

Last year, President Museveni hosted a delegation from Matongo Wood Works led by Ms Stella Teromu and her partner, Ms Elizabeth Karunga.

During the meeting at Mbale State Lodge, the ladies showed Museveni and his daughter, Mrs Natasha Karugire, an assortment of wooden crockery from their outlet. 

A post on various social sites stated that President Museveni praised their creativity and commitment to reviving authentic wooden and clay utensils that once defined African homes.

“I want to congratulate you, people. You have resurrected the African heritage of our people, which I have been trying to preserve since the 1940s,” he said.

“We used plates (Esiwani, clay bowls (Ebakuli), traditional pots (Enstimbo) and other traditional items. They were strong, durable and part of our identity,” he added while appreciating Matongo Wood Works for ‘modernising traditional craftsmanship without losing authenticity.’

Matongo Wood Works Company Limited's website states that the firm in Naalya, Kampala city suburbs, produces wooden and clay household items inspired by ancestral African designs adapted for modern living.