Rich in history of empires and warrior kings, Zimbabwe’s past meet the future in places where tourists can feel at home whilst going through the various wonders of the world such as the Great Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, and Matopo Hills. Zimbabwe is a wonderful place for the affluent tourist from all over the world, and is on a global drive to invite people; business and leisure being the two things that are fostered to achieve it tourism goals.
New York city, known to the rest of the world as the centre of business, and coffee shops and restaurants, I believe comes to Gokomere, an ancient city of Zimbabwe, in a lovely contemporary coffee house in Harare called 40 Cork Road.
After having over 2,000 cups of coffees in the last twelve years at 40 Cork Road, there is a story to tell; that of the finest contemporary coffee houses and restaurants in the world, situated right in the middle of Southern Africa, and twin it with the ancient centre of trade called Gokomere, the beginning of past formidable kings in Zimbabwe.
Founded in 2004, Kwamambo at 40 Cork Road is a Coffee House, Restaurant, a Bakery, an Art Gallery, a Frozen Yoghurt Parlour, a Conferencing Hall, and a Bookshop. It is by far one of the best executive leisure restaurants in Zimbabwe.
Gokomere, to many is just now a name of a place in Masvingo province, unknown to even more. Not so; Gokomere, 16km from Masvingo is at the centre of Zimbabwe’s rich history, known not only for its rock art dating from 300 to 650 AD, but also that the civilisation of Gokomore had begun chronicling its heritage through rock painting, and by 650AD development had advanced, leading to the formation of kingdoms, empires, and states ruled by warriors and kings known in the history of the nation today. Arguably, Gokomere is where trade and commerce began in Zimbabwe, as the society evolved as it entered the 11th and 12th centuries, with the construction of complexes that still stand to this day as monuments; symbols of power.
It is said the ancient Bantu people who inhabited the area of Great Zimbabwe around the 4th century AD probably built the complex between 1000 and 1200 AD. The Gokomere traded via ancient trading routes over the Chimanimani mountains on the current Zimbabwe / Mozambique border with the Swahili civilization on the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast. This group gave rise to the maShona and the waRozwi tribes. Commerce and gathering at centres of trade gave birth to present day Shona and Rozwi people, that make a bulk of Zimbabwe, Mozambique and parts of Zambia.
Fast forward centuries later, we have gone past Rhodesia, and are in Zimbabwe, and trade and commerce between visitors and locals is now happening in coffee houses; Kwamambo, at 40 Cork Road, taking a sizeable share of relationship building in the capital of Zimbabwe as was the capital Gokomere in the 12th century. Kwamambo means “the king’s residence”, and as you walk into 40 Cork Road, you enter as king. The place is a fusion of contemporary art, a garden built with exotic wood, covered with safari material, brick courtyard, a small fountain and an art gallery on a lovely veranda, and many more.
Read more in Kufunga Magazine.
