THE COOKS

About the team

Our team consists of two architecture students focused on community-centered, sustainable design strategies to tackle environmental challenges, alongside a food scientist specializing in value-added food processing and technology. We are backed by a researcher who provides data-driven insights to refine solutions, making a wholesome team. Together, we share a vision of driving transformative, sustainable change.

Our vision

Kampala faces a growing waste management crisis, with urban slums suffering as dumping grounds for refuse, worsening living conditions and degrading the environment. Simultaneously, Uganda’s heavy reliance on nutrient-deficient staples like bananas and cassava (60% of the diet) contributes to a 29% malnutrition rate among children under five. Our vision is to turn these challenges into opportunities by repurposing agricultural waste to cultivate mushrooms and produce alternative proteins. We aim to upgrade kabalagala, a popular local snack, by enriching it with silverfish, cricket, and mushroom powders to improve its nutritional value. This initiative will be paired with biodegradable dual-layer packaging made from agro-waste, promoting both waste reduction and sustainable food production. Additionally, edible landscaping will be integrated to restore urban ecosystems. Our solution creates a circular system addressing waste, malnutrition, and environmental restoration—offering a scalable model with potential global applications, including in space exploration for sustainable food and packaging.

Our solution

Our idea combines sustainability and nutrition where we are cultivating mushroom as alternative protein from agricultural waste to produce nutritious food targeting poor nutrition while managing waste and the same time, reimagining kabalagala, a nutrient deficient but highly consumed traditional Ugandan snack made from ripe bananas and cassava flour, which is primarily carbohydrate-rich. We enhance its value with a blend of nutrient-dense powders made from alternative protein sources that's crickets and mushroom, plus other ingredients including mukene (silverfish), cassava, and bananas. This upgraded kabalagala provides essential proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, making it a healthier, more balanced snack than the locally consumed one. The innovation extends to biodegradable and food grade packaging. Designed with a double-layer structure, the inner layer is food grade in contact with the snack, while the outer layer enhances protective purposes. The packaging is made from waste that is; peelings of cassava and bananas, reusing by-products and closing the cycle of food waste by repurposing the rest of the waste and waste generated along the region to cultivate alternative protein; mushroom for more nutritious food sources. The packaging also when decomposes forms a growth medium for the alternative protein; mushroom. This dual-purpose design reduces waste, supports reforestation, and provides additional value to local farmers. By directly aligning consumer habits with ecological restoration, it integrates circular economy principles into everyday life. Unique in its ability to serve multiple purposes—offering nutrition, reducing waste, fostering reforestation, and supporting space exploration—creates a transformative and scalable solution.

Our Artist impression

Social media pitch