A Barbecue in Mdantsane Endaweni Style

The Mdantsanians like the good things in life. But they also like it simple and not complicated.

All Mdantsanians are first of all South Africans and there is nothing a South African likes as much as a good braai (barbecue, the Afrikaans word for grilling meat on a fire) in decent company with a couple of ice cold beers. 

If you give a South African the option to to choose between a braai and a gala evening at the Bolschoi theater or the Dresden Semper opera, he would choose his braai - not because he is not interested in culture and the arts but because a braai is the core essence of South African entertainment.  In simpler words : outdoors, fire, friends, drinks, music, meat!

With a fire going like this....

and an experienced grill master like him nothing can go wrong

Thandile was playing the braai master just for us on this day

Braaing at the Endaweni open air restaurant works like this. You got to the butchery right next door buy your meat and you prepare it yourself on one of the many fire places. Easy? Isn't it ?

The meat comes from the Mdantsane abattoir and the owners of Endaweni sell it at a very reasonable price.

"People are always surprised how cheap well sell the meat" says Thandile.

The meat was not only cheap but it had flavor.

The grilling process...

and even the tools are kept simple

which shows you that the good things in life do not necessarily need a lot of money but rather the right attitude.

And if you feel like having more meat you can just go back to the butchery!

There is more than one friendly lady willing to help you.

Somebody asked us the other day: How did this all start? How did you come to write about all the important small things in life?

The sum of all the small and so important things, and the way you do them make really up your life.

So it is important to discover how to enjoy life.

E N D A W E N I - Music Lounge And Butchery - The It Place In Mdantsane

The Endaweni Music Lounge and Butchery is a place that overlooks town.

It is the In-Place in Mdantsane at the moment. If you want to go out and have fun this is the place you should be heading for.

It is one of the few private double story buildings in Mdantsane

From the balcony on the upper level where you can have your drinks you can overlook the town and observe the street life below.

The two friends, African brothers and business partners Nceba and Thandile had a brilliant business idea approximately one and a half year ago. And their idea has paid out already!

Close Friends and Business Partners Thandile(left) and Nceba Kwakweni (right)

Nceba Kwakweni said to us that he is shy and that this is the first interview ever he is doing. But between you and me, I can tell you, that we could not find the shyness in him that he was talking about. In fact we had a lot of fun with him and his friend Thandile!

"Most of the people from the township drive to town if they want to be entertained and go out. There was no place here in Mdantsane, where people could meet, socialize and be entertained", says Nceba Kwakweni.

"So we decided let us build something here, so that the people stay in the township and find their entertainment here, instead of driving 25 minutes to town to go to a club".

Nceba Kwakweni Owner of Endaweni

As it was said so it was done. Endaweni is today an establishement that entertains people who come as far as from Jo'burg. The word has spread that Endaweni is a place where you can really chill out and have fun in township style.

Thandile

"We have become what you could call an International Lounge", says Nceba, laughing. 

Building a successful business together

The business has become so successful that the two are building now a VIP lounge in the back.

Inside The Lounge

"The lounge has style and a certain class but we have not forgotten that we are in a township" says Thandile," we have a dress code but we are flexible with it. We allow shorts if they are stylish but we do not allow cut-off jeans and we do not like caps too much".

Lounging At Endaweni

 

"From eight to ten we are a lounge, from ten to twelve we have become a club and the rest of the night we are really a club", explains Nceba Kwakweni

DJ'ing equipment

We make music here, we get DJ's in to entertain our guests and this is a very great attraction" Thandile adds to the conversation, we get DJ's from Mdantsane. There is a lot of talent here"

We are getting the feeling. Endaweni is a place where you can chill out in a very friendly and warm atmosphere, watch people from the balcony without been watched.....

The street below is busy at all times

Well, sometimes not been seen does not work......

It a place with a great future and enormous potential. Thandile and Nceba have created an African success story, a Mdantsane success story!  

Check in on The Mdantsane Way tomorrow when Nceba Kwakweni shares with us his personal view on doing business,building a VIP lounge and having success in Mdantsane.

You should not miss a close up on his open air restaurant in the back!

Getting Your Soul Clapped in Mdantsane

We have the pleasure to present to you today an article written by second year journalism student Tukute Philasande. The Department of Media Studies of the Walter Sisulu Univesity in East London sends us from time to time articles, that are written by second year journalism students. 

"Soul Clap" fits perfectly the profile of our online maganzine and in our endeavour to promote and expose young talent in the Mdantsane we are publishing it today. 

 SOUL CLAP

Soul Clap sessions are a free entry fortnightly event on Wednesdays at Endaweni Lounge in Mdantsane NU6, which provide local artists with the much needed exposure.

The sessions were started by poet Thandeka Vabaza also known as Nkqo in 2010 to provide local poets, hip-hop and soul artists with a platform to show their talents while familiarising them with performing in front of an audience.

“The sessions are a platform where we encourage local artist to perform for their respective communities,” said Vabaza.
Sessions start at 8 pm and there are always headlining national acts such as My Man, Moonchild, and Ohayv, which inspire the local artists to believe that their dreams can also come true.

“I started the movement because of lack of understanding from our community as to what art is,” said Vabaza.

Among the artists who perform is Slulami Slujah Bunu, a member of Capital Effect, a soulful hip hop group from Mdantsane, and a solo act.
Slujah said: “The sessions have helped me grow musically and bond with my listeners.” They help artists to express themselves. “It’s live more than anything because you get criticised constructively.”
Xabiso Gqirana owner of Endaweni Lounge said that the venue has a capacity for about 80 people.

Slujah believes that there is room for improvement as “there is little space”. He suggested that a bigger venue is needed to accommodate more people as he believes still more people would like to come.
Akhona Mshiywa, a regular spectator, said: “The chemistry between people and the feel of performances are what drive me to attend the sessions.

Soul Clap sessions are proving to be a success unlike the sessions that were there before them which have ceased to exist.

According to Mshiywa discovering more poets is what brings more popularity to the sessions.Vabaza started the sessions with a clear vision in mind of what he wants to achieve. “I want to see sustainability in Eastern Cape artists,” he concluded. 

Article and Images by a 2^nd year Walter Sisulu University journalism student Tukute Philasande /WSU