The Fellowship

Knowledge does not survive in books alone. It survives in people. The Midunu Fellowship exists to make sure there is always a next pair of hands.

The Aunties (Senior Fellows)

Each season, the Institute invites an elder knowledge keeper into residence in Accra: a woman recognized in her community as a holder of culinary knowledge, from northern Ghana, from across the country, and in time from across the continent. She is housed, honored, and paid for what she knows. Her knowledge shapes the entire season's menu, her name stands in the dining room, and everything she chooses to teach is documented in her name, on her terms.

To recommend an Auntie from your family or community: info@midunuinstitute.org, subject line 'Auntie'.

Junior Fellows

Each season, a cohort of young Ghanaian women beginning their careers in food joins the Institute through Ghana's national service program and beyond: cooking for the weekly table under the Auntie's instruction, rotating through the Midunu chocolate workshop, and trained in documentation. It is an apprenticeship in the oldest sense, with a title carried for life. The first cohort begins in 2027.

Graduating students in hospitality, catering, food science, nutrition, and administration: the Institute recruits each year ahead of the national service posting cycle. Write to info@midunuinstitute.org, subject line 'Fellowship', to be contacted when recruitment opens.

Practicum Fellows (from 2028)

A paid placement semester in Accra for culinary and food-studies students from the diaspora and beyond: cook at the table, learn from the Aunties, contribute to the archive.

Universities and culinary schools interested in a partnership: info@midunuinstitute.org, subject line 'Practicum'.

Naming a Fellowship

Every fellowship year can carry a patron's name, permanently: on the dining room roll, in the archive, and in the life of the fellow who holds it. See The Founding Chapter.