Gobelo at the Chief Shana Cultural Festival

Jun 25, 2026

For quite some time, we have spoken about wanting to take Gobelo beyond the farm and into more community spaces, events and conversations. We have always believed that Gobelo is about so much more than growing food. We have built it to be not only a place for learning, but also a space for sharing ideas, experimenting, and preserving knowledge. The Chief Shana Cultural Festival gave us an opportunity to share that with a wider audience.

The festival is one of the most important cultural events in the region. It brings together people of different ages to celebrate heritage, language, traditional foods, music, dance and history. It is also a space where younger generations can learn more about where they come from and why these traditions still matter today.

This year, Gobelo was fortunate to be part of those celebrations. We set up a gazebo and exhibition space where visitors could stop by, learn more about the farm and its activities, the restaurants and some of the projects we have been working on over the years, and ask questions about everything we do. Throughout the day, we had many conversations with people who were curious about Gobelo and how it all started.

One of the things we enjoyed most was sharing the broader Gobelo story. Many people know us through the restaurant or through visits to the farm, but fewer people know about the experimentation that happens behind the scenes. We spoke about some of the crops we grow, the different ways we try to make use of them, our community projects, our interest in indigenous knowledge and some of the lessons we continue to learn through farming in the Kalahari.

The festival was also a reminder of how closely connected culture and food really are. Many of the traditional foods exhibited and discussed throughout the event reflected generations of knowledge about local plants, farming methods and ways of preparing meals. These are conversations that align closely with many of the questions we ask ourselves at Gobelo every day.

Most importantly, it was encouraging to see so many people interested in learning, sharing ideas and supporting local initiatives. Events like these create opportunities for conversations that might not otherwise happen and help build connections between people working towards similar goals.

For us, participating in the Chief Shana Cultural Festival felt like an important step forward. It was a great opportunity to exhibit Gobelo in this way and hopefully there will be many more to come. We would love to continue participating in more events, meeting more people and sharing what we are learning along the way.

As always, we are grateful to everyone who stopped by our gazebo, asked questions, shared stories and spent time with us. We look forward to doing it again.

Until next time,
    the Gobelo Team