Collection: Burundi

In Burundi, hot peppers are widely grown by smallholder farmers, particularly Capsicum frutescens types similar to African bird’s eye (peri-peri) and local red and green annuum chilies. These varieties, often simply called piment, are sold fresh in markets or sun-dried for storage.

Chilies season bean stews, isombe (cassava leaves with beans or fish), and sauces served over ugali- or pap-like stiff maize porridge. A common household condiment is pili-pili: crushed bird’s eye–type peppers in oil, vinegar, or lemon juice, sometimes with garlic and onion. Women often manage small chili plots and trade, drying pods and selling ground chili in small packets.

While there is little formal export, local demand for peri-peri–type chilies is strong, and cross-border trade with Rwanda and Tanzania spreads these Burundian hot peppers regionally in both fresh and dried forms.