By Mohalenyane Phakela
MASERU — Lesotho’s first-ever beer festival to be hosted by Tangerine Incorporated at the Kome Caves in Berea from November 30 to December 1 2013, has another unique offering. The festival will offer a unique component of “glamorous camping” or glamping where guests can enjoy the beer festival and camp overnight at the Caves. Tangerine Inc. has been appointed by the Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation to manage and administer the Kome Caves Arts and Crafts Centre, the Kome Development Trust and promote the Caves as a tourist attraction.
The Kome Caves are a National Heritage Site with a rich history dating back to 1800’s. The Kome Cave Village, as is otherwise known, is literally built under a rock. It served as a fortress for its first settlers who fled the Lifaqane wars that devastated much of the southern Africa region in the early 19th Century. It also functioned as a hiding place for its inhabitants from cannibals. The descendants of the original settlers of the caves can be found there today. “The Beer and Glamping Festival is one of four components of the Kome Development Trust initiatives which Tangerine Inc. is managing. “Other initiatives will be rolled-out in the coming year and we hope the festival will attract many tourists from Lesotho and outside its borders,” said ’Matebello Phomane, Chief Executive Officer of Tangerine Inc., in an interview with the Weekender on Tuesday. “Ten percent of all revenues will be donated directly to Kome Development Trust which services the caves and the nine villages surrounding them.
Furthermore, we will ensured that the legacy of the event expands beyond revenue only but also offer training to the villagers and involvement in all aspects of the organisation of the event which also has an arts and crafts market, spearheaded by Bedco.” The Festival will see Southern African craft brewers showcase their brews alongside our very own Craft Brewer, Kangfong, with a variety of lagers, ales and stouts. Craft beer is made from traditional ingredients like malted-barley, but sometimes non-traditional ingredients are added to make it smooth and distinct. Maluti Mountain Brewery will be there with their different local favourites. Tangerine Inc. has collaborated with Chef Ska Moteane, a celebrated cuisine expert, to put together a Beer and Food Pairing component to the Festival. Ska has developed a cook-book with a variety of simple, healthy and delicious beer-based recipes which promise to satisfy the taste-buds of any food connoisseur, beer drinker or not.
The event also, will definitely cater for non-beer drinkers and will provide exciting outdoor activities which include horse-riding, quad-biking, extreme paintball plus more. The experience promises to be very different and exciting — nature served on a silver platter — as the glamping credo goes. Mozambique-South African band 340ml members Rui Soeiro and Tiago Correia-Paulo will excite guests with their 340ml sound system alongside Kolu Jazz Band. D2amajoe and Kommanda Obbs are billed to perform at the festival, which will feature many other local and international artistes.
