Ramadaan is about caring and sharing and that is exactly what Nakhlistan stands for. In 1984, Shukoor Mowzer and 2 friends realized that in the Athlone area where they were living, some of their community member did not have food for Eid elebrations and this is how Nakhlistan was born. 2 pots of food were cooked with donations from family and friends.
Today, 37 years later, Nakhlistan will cook 179 x 130lt pots of Aknie to feed over 90 000 of the less fortunate in the Western Cape, on the day of Eidul Fitr. That is why the name Nakhlistan was chosen. It is a Persian word which means ‘oasis and sustenance’.
Nakhlistan pioneered the cooking of these huge pots of food on a wood fire and is so pleased to see how other organizations are following suit. Nakhlistan is Muslim based and caters for all the needy in the Western Cape, no matter which religious or cultural background. Muslims are obliged to pay alms to the needy and during the month of Ramadaan, when Muslim’s Fast from before sunrise to after sunset,
Nakhlistan is that vehicle to distribute these alms via Food Parcels and cooking big pots of Aknie, an aromatic meat, potatoes and rice dish. Hundreds of people come to witness this cooking phenomenon, the night before Eidul Fitr, however Covid-19 has changed all this. This year the moon will be sighted either on Wednesday 12th May or Thursday 13th May 2021. As soon as the moon is sighted, all activities at the Callies Rugby Field in Noll Avenue, Rylands Estate, shifts into gear.
