Field Network · Volunteer Programme

Fifty years from now, someone should still be able to taste this history.

Join the volunteers documenting Nigeria's food heritage before it disappears — the same way a young delegate joins an international programme: for the skills, the network, and a body of work that outlasts the internship.

"Most cuisines the world celebrates were documented deliberately, by someone who took the trouble. Nigeria's has mostly lived in memory — and memory doesn't back itself up."

What you actually get

Not a favour you're doing us

This runs like a youth delegate programme, not an unpaid gig — built for the exposure and credential you take with you after.

Certified
Fieldwork

A certificate backing real documentation work, not attendance.

Real
Network

Direct exposure to the government, NGO and sponsor partners behind the archive.

Cross-
Discipline

Work alongside people from completely different fields toward one archive.

Lasting
Record

Your name, permanently credited on what you helped preserve.

Open roster · All disciplines welcome

This isn't just for food people

Every dish we preserve needs more than someone who can cook it. Here's where each track fits in.

Food & Nutrition

Verify recipes, tribe and state provenance, ingredient accuracy, and nutritional detail.

Computer Science & Data

Help structure the archive, build tooling, and shape the data layer everything else runs on.

Design & Media

Photography, video, and storytelling that make each dish's history worth returning to.

Field & Community Outreach

Local surveys, sensitization, and building trust with the culture-bearers we're documenting.

Business & Partnerships

Help us reach the sponsors, ministries and institutions this archive needs to survive.

The process

How joining actually works

01

Apply

Tell us your discipline and which state or tribe you have real access to.

02

Onboard

Short orientation on documentation standards, so what you submit holds up.

03

Fieldwork

Survey, document, verify, or build — depending on your track.

04

Certify & connect

Get credited, certified, and introduced into the network behind the archive.

Campaign

Save The Boy Chef

Volunteers help run community sessions encouraging boys to embrace kitchen life.

Roadshow

Boys Can Cook

A touring food-show format — outreach volunteers help bring it to new communities.

Join the field network

Bring your discipline. We'll bring the archive.

Applications are reviewed directly by the team for now — tell us your discipline, your state or tribe access, and why this matters to you.

Apply by Email

Or reach us on X — @Ubongabasi_ae