The only tapalapa-type bakery, which was made of mud blocks and with iron sheets on the roof, collapsed after the heavy rains that fell in 2019. Since then, the Ndemban Tenda community receives an irregular supply of bread from nearby villages.

Sometimes, due to the great demand, the bread runs out before it reaches the population as a whole. Bread is an important component of their daily food, and is used for both breakfast and dinner. Children who go to school mostly get bread sandwiches for breakfast.

When tourists came to Ndemban Tenda, they would visit Tapalapa’s bakery and learn how bread was made. The visit was one of the main attractions of the town.

It is therefore about recovering the bakery to once again produce a basic food for the local population (which is now obtained from outside the municipality) and at the same time, turning the establishment into a tourist attraction that allows the visitors learn first-hand the traditional bread-making process, local gastronomy and the social role of bakeries in Gambian society.

More information about the project here