In this episode of the Vastlife Podcast, we sit down with Tapiwa — a man genuinely difficult to place in any single category, and who would prefer it that way. Originally from Zimbabwe and rooted in Cape Town for over two decades, he moves fluidly between food, visual art and sex education — not as separate careers, but as one unified mission: to make the lived experience of Afro-descendant people richer, more joyful and more honest.
We met him during a deliberate sabbatical — a conscious step back from the noise.
We explore:
Why Tapiwa refuses every title on offer — not an artist, not a chef, not an educator — just someone doing the work.
Growing up in a vast extended family compound in Zimbabwe, weeding fields before school and learning to live communally — and why that foundation still shapes everything.
The concept of Sankofa: moving forward while carrying the past, without dragging the rot along with you.
Why anger and hatred are simply too much work — and why joy turns out to be the more radical choice.
This is one of the most thought-provoking conversations we've had on Vastlife. Tapiwa doesn't shy away from complexity — he lives in it. And he makes it look like the most natural thing in the world.
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