Ouagadougou: As part of the 3rd edition of the National Days of Patriotic Commitment and Citizen Participation (JEPPC), the National Service for Development (SND) organized a culinary training in local dishes on Tuesday for 53 volunteers.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the Director General of the National Service for Development (SND), Colonel Hadara Moctar Tabor©, stated that this initiative, themed “Let’s produce Burkinab¨, let’s consume Burkinab¨: our plate, our pride”, aims to promote local consumption, strengthen food sovereignty, and foster the socio-professional integration of young people. He encouraged the beneficiaries to become entrepreneurs and ambassadors for local consumption, while reaffirming the SND’s commitment to supporting youth.

This one-day training, which mainly targeted volunteers from the city of Ouagadougou, was fully funded by the SND budget, management 2026, and provided by three trainers. Under the guidance of chef Marie Dorcas Lingani, participants learned to combine local ingredients to create innovative products such as biscuits made from red sorghum and moringa, sweet potato salad, health drinks (detox juice with cucumber, mint and carrot), zamnin, gonr©, and yellow corn t´.

For Dorcas Lingani, this training session in cooking, catering, and pastry-making goes beyond mere technical skills. For her, it represents a true patriotic commitment aimed at promoting local products. The atmosphere was great, with learning conditions deemed favorable by the participants, all motivated by the desire to learn how to cook “local dishes”.

Jean Marie Medah, one of the participants, shared that his enrollment in the training program stemmed from a “love for local cuisine.” His ambition is to contribute to the promotion of red sorghum. He said he had learned a lot and expressed his wish to see such initiatives continue. Olivia K´, another participant busy with detox juices, expressed her desire to go further in learning in order to perfectly master these recipes that combine health and local flavors. According to her, this initiative is more than just training; it is a movement towards food autonomy and a renewed sense of pride in what we eat.