Representatives of Ugandan tribes and communities will contribute to the event by sharing their knowledge and experiences
A large delegation of representatives of indigenous communities from the Slow Food Terra Madre network and beyond will be participating in Indigenous Terra Madre (ITM 2015), which will take place from November 3 to 7, 2015 in Shillong (Meghalaya, India). The event is the result of a collaboration between Slow Food, the Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (Indigenous Partnership) and the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS).
International representatives will be coming to the event from five continents, from 14 African countries, 17 Asian countries, 8 European countries, 12 American countries and 7 Oceanian countries.
Representatives from several Ugandan communities will be attending:
– the Bakonjo community (Lake Katwe Sub county). They are farmers who practice agriculture and animal husbandry as a way of life, with crops such as cassava, yams, bananas and beans. They also keep goats and sheep. They collect salt from Lake Katwe especially rocksalt, which is used by the Banyankole people in order to prepare a traditional sauce with ghee. The Banyankole are also involved in raising Ankole Cattle, a Slow Food Presidia.
– the Batwa Pygmies are originally hunter-gatherers who lived in the forests of Bwindi, Mgahinga and Echuya in southwest Uganda, areas now marked as national parks and forest reserves. As a community they are involved in farming, especially of passionfruits, potatoes and beans. They also keep bees for honey. Other sources of income are through the sale of firewood and work as laborers.
You can find the program of the event here: http://bit.ly/1LWZaxh
Indigenous Terra Madre 2015 gratefully acknowledges funding support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), The Christensen Fund and the Government of Meghalaya. Indigenous Terra Madre 2015 is also thankful for the contributions made by Tamalpais Trust, Swift Foundation, AgroEcology Fund, Bread for the World and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Terra Madre is a worldwide network, launched by Slow Food in 2004, which unites small-scale producers from 163 countries involved in the sustainable production of food. Among these, to date the Indigenous Terra Madre Network comprises 372 indigenous food communities, 41 indigenous Presidia projects and 308 indigenous Ark of Taste products. For more information: https://slowfood.com/international/149/indigenous-terra-madre-network
Discover the stories of Indigenous Peoples from around the world on Slow Food website in the ‘Indigenous Voices’ section! https://www.slowfood.com/international/food-for-thought/slow-themes/260987
For further information, please contact the Slow Food International Press Office:
Paola Nano, +39 329 8321285 [email protected]
Ajay Nayak, +91-9820535501 [email protected]
Slow Food involves over a million of people dedicated to and passionate about good, clean and fair food. This includes chefs, youth, activists, farmers, fishers, experts and academics in over 158 countries; a network of around 100,000 Slow Food members linked to 1,500 local chapters worldwide (known as convivia), contributing through their membership fee, as well as the events and campaigns they organize; and over 2,500 Terra Madre food communities who practice small-scale and sustainable production of quality food around the world.