East African Biodiversity at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2022

18 Aug 2022 | English

 

Organized by Slow Food, the Piedmont Region and the City of Turin, the 14th edition of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto will take place in Parco Dora, Turin, from September 22-26, 2022. Terra Madre is the largest gathering of the Slow Food network, and aims to design a different future for food–a future that takes shape through the daily choices of individuals, in the collective efforts of communities, and in the policies of both public and private institutions. Over 3000 delegates from 130 countries and more than 700 exhibitors will take part in the event.

The Slow Food network from East Africa will be represented by Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Ethiopia and Rwanda, consisting of around 50 delegates in total. This diverse group of farmers, producers, chefs, academics, activists and communicators from the Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN) are eagerly awaiting the event.

Uganda will be the most represented country from the region, with almost 15 delegates coming to Turin this year, many of them representing indigenous communities.

After the 8th International Congress held on July 16, we are proud to welcome back from Uganda, Edward Mukibi: food and agriculture educator, social entrepreneur and, as of this month, officially the new President of Slow Food International.

Upcoming events: conferences, Arenas debates and Unisg meetings On Thursday, September 22, at 5.30 p.m., in the Kyoto Room of the Environment Park, Mukiibi will be one of the speakers at the major conference The regeneration we need, where we discuss the need to talk about the regeneration of the food system and how this regeneration can respond to the climate, ecological and social emergencies we are facing.

In addition to the major conferences, Terra Madre also features Arenas, spaces for exchange and dialogue where anthropologists, philosophers, economists, writers, ecologists, educators, but also farmers, shepherds, fishermen, cooks and members of the Slow Food network come together. In the Gino Strada Arena, on monday 26 from at 12 am, Asmelash Dagne Datiko will attend a Food talk on Permaculture and Agroecology, showing us an example of regeneration in Ethiopia. Asmelash is a teacher and member of the Slow Food network in Ethiopia. Here he is helping farmers to regenerate soil and combat desertification. Asmelash installs solar water wells in the most remote parts of Ethiopia and teaches agroecological and permaculture practices, applying models taken from natural ecosystems to agricultural and social planning.

While in the Arena dedicated to Berta Càceres there will be two meetings featuring activists from East Africa. On the same day at 12 a.m, a food mediator from Turin, a Colombian woman and an Endorois (indigenous minority) boy from Kenya take us on a journey through projects, resilience, collective involvement and food sovereignty. They are the example of how the connection between food and youth can mean creativity, determination and resilience. During the discussion, we can ask them questions about how you get back on your feet after a hurricane, how you can develop projects in one of the driest areas of Kenya, or how you can work creatively in one of the most difficult areas of the city to create a safer and more liveable neighbourhood.

On Friday 23 at 10 a.m. we stand alongside the indigenous karamajong herders thanks to Umar Bashir Ochen, a young indigenous ugandan. The indigenous Karamojong pastoralist community, to which he belongs, faces daily challenges such as hunger and other problems due to climate change. And Bashir struggles with them. He has started to introduce the good practices of agroecology on his territory and, thanks to perseverance and some project funds, has managed to strengthen the participation of the indigenous youth in a strong network of collaboration. Together with them, he is defending the local food heritage and trying to raise awareness of the value and benefits of indigenous food and to make people aware of the importance of preserving biodiversity on the territory. It has therefore organised a farmers’ market, which allowed farmers to sell their indigenous products and exchange technical and agronomic information.

On Thursday, September 22 from noon to 1 p.m., as part of the program of events organized by the University of Gastronomic Sciences, there will be a meeting that explores what challenges young African gastronomes face. John Kiwagalo, a farmer, food activist and communicator of the Slow Food Youth Network, Livingstone Kiggwe, a UNISG student, and John Wanyu, a producer, academic and communicator of the Slow Food Coffee Coalition, will talk about the different campaigns they are engaged in. Among the themes, the introduction of GMOs in agriculture, land grabbing and its impact on the lives of women and children, and the preservation and promotion of local production such as coffee and banana plantations in Uganda.

RegenerActions The RegenerActions are suggestions, ideas, solutions to regenerate our food through simple actions or recipes you can make at home.

On Thursday September 22, from 2 to 3 p.m, delegates from different countries will teach African educational practices against food waste with simple techniques and activities for both children and adults. During this activity, we take a journey through African countries and their cultures and learn to give new life to leftover or discarded ingredients. The starting point is Nigeria with the young cook Olajumoke Okeola, who will show us how to make tea with pineapple rind. Next stop is Kenya, where we’ll learn to make a cake out of overripe bananas. In Uganda, finally, we’ll discover how to turn leftover cooked vegetables into powder.

Meanwhile on the same day, from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m., we discover the foods of Ethiopia, like injera, teff and berberè. Similar in shape to the indian chapati, the greek pita, arab bread or the italian piadina, the injera belongs to the vast round and flat bread family, and is a staple food in Ethiopia. It is made from teff flour, teff being a native cereal. In this workshop we discover Ethiopia, one of the most fascinating countries in Africa through its food products and dishes. Not only injera and teff, but also berberé and moringa and Buchana, dumplings made with wheat or corn flour, beans and moringa. Leading actors Asmelash Dagne Datiko, an academic, food activist and communicator of SFYN and the Indigenous Terra Madre network, Menna Amanuel Samuel, an educator of Slow Food Youth Network, project coordinator at Gardula People’s Development Association (GPDA) and Ayele Eskender Mulugeta, director of the “Foods Secured Schools Africa” organization and also a producer of the Indigenous Terra Madre Network.

Eskender Mulugeta and Amanuel Samnuel, from Ethiopia, know very well that a healthy soil needs a good amount of care and attention. On sunday 25 at 10 a.m, in the meeting Soil Regeneration practices from Ethiopia, they share their methods for ensuring you reach planting season with soil that’s bursting with nutrients and happiness. Increasing crop yield in a sustainable way has never looked so easy!

Through the Regeneraction series we can also see how food education is developing in schools around the world. And when it comes to School gardens activities, we know that our East Africa team fears no comparison! Throughout the years they have been establishing hundreds of school gardens all over the area and many more to come. On this occasion, they will highlight good practices – focusing on cone gardens – that they have been developing to engage pupils in a playful yet educational path and a hands on approach to the production of good, clean and fair food. The Market The market has always been the heart of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, a meeting place for thousands of producers from across the world and hundreds of thousands of visitors, a unique occasion to discover the extraordinary gastronomic diversity of every continent. International exhibitors from East Africa include Sesames, which takes us on a discovery of Ethiopia’s typical sweets.

Meet the delegates

Beyond the official program, many other delegates from East Africa will be present at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto:

  • From Kenya there is Margaret Tunda Lepore, member of the Maasai peoples. Margaret plays a key role in advocating for the preservation of positive cultural practices in the Maasai community. She holds a degree in Development Studies from Busoga University in Uganda and a Master in International Studies from the University of Nairobi. Having lived and witnessed the challenges faced by minority communities in Kenya, she realized that these communities should be supported to ensure that their rights to land and natural resources are protected and their voices heard. She is currently collaborating with Slow Food to conserve and promote the Red Maasai Sheep, a local breed.

  • Stephano Msuya, an educator and food activist of the Slow Food Youth Network. He is involved in Educational and training activities within the Earth Market project in Mangulwa village located in Rombo District, one of the seven districts of the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. He also facilitated several training and establishment of school and community gardens and in 2021, together with local Slow Food network, he trained more than 15 professionals in the mass media to promote the idea of having Slow News in the Kilimanjaro region.

  • Sharon Chelangat, a young producer and a food activist of Slow Food Uganda. She campaigns against land grabbing, defending the rights of indigenous peoples and developing food sovereignty projects within the Indigenous Terra Madre network in Uganda.

  • Ochen Umar Bashir: a young Indigenous man who started to introduce his pastoralist community in Karamoja, Uganda, to agroecology and sustainable gardening as a way to face the threats to food security. He has planted several Slow Food agroecological gardens, provided training and created several Slow Food communities in the area. Find out his story in SFYN’s “Voices from the Roots” podcast here.

Here you find the full program 

Terra Madre Salone del Gusto is organized by Slow Food, Piedmont Region and City of Turin. The event has been made possible by the support of companies who believe in the values and objectives of the event, including Main Partners: Iren, Lavazza, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pastificio di Martino, QBA – Quality Beer Academy, Reale Mutua and UniCredit; Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, Consulta delle Fondazioni di origine bancaria del Piemonte e della Liguria.

 

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