How SA Beer Brand Tolokazi Seeks To Educate Its Community About The Traditional Beer Making Industry
How SA Beer Brand Tolokazi Seeks To Educate Its Community About The Traditional Beer Making Industry. Tolokazi is a beer that honours the African brewing heritage as beer brewing has always been the province of women in Southern Africa. Tolokazi is not a new brand, but a revamp of the Brewsters Craft range and just as the name suggests (brewster is the name for a female brewer), the company is made up almost entirely of women.
Tolokazi uses indigenous African ingredients including sorghum, African Queen and Simcoe hops, rooibos, and hibiscus. In 2019, Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela launched her own beer and cider brand, Tolokazi, which includes an alcohol-free beer. Tolokazi, Nxusani-Mawela’s clan name, of which she says “are like family names with more significance to the Xhosa people than a surname. Tolo is the clan name and women from that clan name are called Tolokazi.”
Beyond Tolokazi, Nxusani-Mawela has a more general involvement in the larger brewing profession. She is the Chairperson for the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, Africa Section and Distilling and the Beer Association of South Africa. She is on the Board of Directors for both the Craft Brewers Association of South Africa and the African Manufacturers Association and was Chairperson of the Board for the Beer Association of South Africa.
Additionally, to educate her community about traditional beer making and raise awareness about the industry, Nxusani-Mawela gives talks at high schools. Through these key roles, she has been able to advance brewing qualifications, especially for black women, across the African continent.
