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The annual Buganu Festival (also known as the Marula Festival) is one of the biggest tourism events in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Celebrating the start of the Marula season, the Buganu Festival attracts visitors, corporate participation and media coverage from different parts of the country, across the continent and around the world.

This year, as the Festival gets underway and with the current travel restrictions prompted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) will run an interactive media campaign, ‘#ATripDownBuganu’, to share memories of previous Festivals and to help keep the national events calendar alive. This campaign aims to recreate the spirit of unity that the event inspires, on a virtual scale.

An interactive competition will run across ETA’s social media pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). Individuals and companies in Eswatini, and international guests who have attended the Buganu Festival in the past are invited to share their best highlights from the ceremony over the years by uploading their favourite pictures and/or videos – at the same time describing what they love about the Eswatini culture and why it is important to preserve it.

The best submission on each of the 3 platforms will win prizes including a Swati secrets hamper, lunch for 2 and a guided tour at the National Museum to explore more about Eswatini’s rich culture and traditional practises.

This campaign aims to celebrate 3 key themes:

The Cultural & Traditional Practices of Eswatini: The Kingdom of Eswatini is well known as one of the last remaining traditional cultural strongholds in Southern Africa and the Buganu Festival is one of a number of traditional ceremonies still faithfully celebrated

Women Empowerment: Swati Secrets is an authentically Eswatini and internationally-renowned skincare brand that uses the Marula fruit to create essential oils, shampoos and lip balms, amongst other cosmetic products. It is also one of a number of organisations in the country that empower women in rural communities – in this case to gather the Marula fruits and supply the kernels from which the essential oils are produced

Skill-Sharing for Self-Sustainability: some of the prominent women voices in the country’s traditional practices and events will be profiled and share their in-depth knowledge on the history and significance of this Festival.

So – keep a look out on Eswatini’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to enjoy ‘#ATripDownBuganu’, and, if you have experienced the festival in person in the past, make sure you make share your own videos, images and memories.