The 2015 Lavazza calendar has been unveiled today at Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre , featuring 12 photographs of African Slow Food producers and communities taken by world-famous photographer Steve McCurry. Protagonists of the calendar were present at the event, travelling from a number of African countries to be in Turin.
The calendar has been developed to shine a spotlight on the African continent and the “Earth Defenders,” the people who each day defend their land and projects with courage and devotion.
“’Earth Defenders’ are people who are working to preserve the Earth’s most precious resources and liberate Africa from multinationals, monocultures and seed patenting,” said Edie Mukiibi from Uganda, Slow Food Vice-President and subject of one of McCurry’s portraits. “One of the ways to preserve biodiversity is to give visibility to places where these resources are being actively protected through the daily work of people in the Slow Food network. Their efforts need to be highlighted, and this calendar is one of the ways we can share it with the world.”
The thousands of visitors to Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre 2014 over the next five days will be able to enjoy the photographs which will be exhibited during the event. They tell the story of a journey through the African continent through the faces, landscapes and local products, such as producers from the Karrayyu Herders’ Camel Milk Presidium.
Proceeds from the sale of the limited-edition calendar will go supporting Slow Food’s 10,000 Gardens in Africa project, enabling communities to cultivate food gardens in schools, villages and city outskirts of 25 African countries.
“Ten thousand is just a drop in the ocean, but will allow farmers and agronomists to grow their own food,” said Carlo Petrini, President of Slow Food. “Africans are able to manage the future of Africa; our role is a different one. I like to use the verb ‘give back’. It’s not charity or helping the poor; it’s giving back what our civilization has robbed from Africa.”