By Fezile Mkhatshwa
The MTN Bushfire Festival is reinforcing its commitment to local business development by hosting capacity-building workshops for shortlisted food vendors for its 2025 event.
The first of these workshops was held at House On Fire on 11 February, 2025, and focused on enhancing food quality and presentation, stall aesthetics, and operational best practices, while also emphasizing the festival’s core sustainability initiatives.
According to a press release by Simon Dawson, Bushfire’s Communications Officer, these workshops will prioritize alignment with the festival theme, eco-friendly practices, and the use of locally grown vegetables and animal products such as meat, and dairy.
Participants also received guidance on menu design, sourcing, culinary logistics, health and safety, and the benefits of the festival’s cashless environment.
Nozipho Thorne, MTN Bushfire’s Culinary Curator, says, “Our culinary call to action, Fuel Your Fire, focuses on developing local and regional food vendors to meet international taste standards and grow their small businesses.”
The curator continues to share, “With each festival year, we see a big growth in food and beverage vendor turnover, massively reduced landfill waste, and increased efforts toward composting and recycling waste.”
The workshop proved valuable for both new and experienced vendors.
Msutfu Nkambule, founder of Bliss Burgers Eswatini, a first-time applicant, noted, “This is our first time, and I think it’s an amazing experience. It gives you confidence in your brand and your product, and it’s also a chance to network and learn from other festival vendors.” Nkambule also says, “Outside of the festival, the lessons are valuable on how to run your business on a regular day-to-day basis.”
David Pierce, founder of Explorers Smash Burgers, a returning MTN Bushfire vendor, highlighted the long-term benefits of the workshops, stating, “These workshops have empowered our business, in terms of us going greener. It has made us think about what we can do about the waste afterwards, and how to re-use it, maybe not in our own business but in other businesses.”