The Salone del Gusto taking place yearly in Turin is a highlight for every gourmet, gourmand and all those who simply love good food and good drink. But it is not just about schlemming it is most importantly the platform founded by Slow Food in 1996 to better present their visions, philosophy and missions to the world and which among other events and publications has helped this non-profit member-supported association grow to over 100,000 members worldwide joined in 1,300 local chapters called convivia along with a network of 2000 food communities producing small-scale sustainable quality food.

You can find more details on Slow Food’s visions, missions projects and how to get involved on their website.

Next to the produce by the exhibitors and Slow Food Education, the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre Conferences are an opportunity to talk about experiences, to open up the debate on how responsible eating habits can improve our health and that of the planet’s and call into question the distortions and paradoxes of large-scale production and distribution systems.

The conference I chose to visit was “The Africans’ Africa” under the category Youth & Developmen. It was fascinating to hear about the different projects and efforts along with the hopes and frustrations on African soil. It was a revelation to me and an inspiration to do more for the movement. I also throughly enjoyed visiting the typical African Garden which was set up at the Salone. You can see pictures of it and some African exhisbitors and their products here:

This conference had the great honor to be opened by the Slow Food movement founder Carlo Petrini.

I have chosen to write-up the conference in form of minutes because I want to let you “hear” what each African country present both on the podium and in the public had to say. The statements given have been abbreviated and condensed by me for easier reading but I have not added to their content.

To find out more about the „A Thousand Gardens in Africa“ project mentioned during the conference which Slow Food launched in 2010 under the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity and donate please find information here.

Our see the YouTube video here:

Minutes of the SlowFood conference: “The African’s Africa”
at Salone del Gusto Turin, October 25 2012
Category: Youth and development
Chaired by John Kariuki, Slow Food International Vice President

Stipulation: “The world knows it only for conflicts, droughts and famines. But Africa is a wealthy continent, rich in forest, water, fertile lands and precious minerals; rich in cultures and languages and traditions, rich in youth, creativity, energy and potentials. Young Africans will describe challenges, projects, gastronomy and their ability to combine new technologies with traditional knowledge.”

Opening words by Carlo Petrini (original Founder of the Slow Food movement in 1986):

• Slow food will be decisive in working together with Africa
• One of the biggest challenges is the so-called neocolonialism: land-grabbing
• Africa must take the initiative itself and Europe must give back as Europe has always stolen from Africa. That is why help is the wrong word – restitution is the proper word. An obligation to give back BUT only young Africans can change Africa
• In Slow Food’s opinion Slow Food Africa is growing into an austere anarchy
• Gardens such as the thousand gardens of Africa can be implemented but the steering wheel must remain in African hands.
• African youths are the future with African Slow Food gardens with regional products and cultures

Opening words Conference Chairman Jon Kiriuki, Slow Food International Vice President

• Africa is the richest continents and Africans are lucky to live there
• Africa must stop sending its resources out of Africa
• If Africa stops this then it has enough food to feed its people
• African countries must unite against land-grabbing
• The governments have it in their hands
• Advocacy and community empowerment are the answer
  

Edward Mukiibi, Makerere University, Uganda

• Gardens and Slow Food in Uganda
• Colonization in Africa = robbery
• Earlier it was slaves, ivory and resources, today it is seeds and crops
• Africa needs gastronomical independence
• In Uganda, Kenya and Malawi land is being exchanged and sold
• I believe Africans must wake up and demand back what was lost
• But it is hard to fight because the government, landowners and foreign investors have the money but the Africans have the roots that need to be used
• Slavery was just like transferring crops from one place to another
• Local seeds are important for Africa because only seeds that come from there are adjusted to the local climate conditions
• Sustainable agriculture is the key
• In his view there are 3 worlds in Africa

1. The world where people are health conscious both consumers and producers working on sustainable and traditional foods and method
2. The world that doesn’t care what it eats: fair/unfair, good/bad – and where the producers don’t care about the production consequences
3. The world where they don’t know the difference

Africa wants to feed the 1^st world!!

• In Uganda mobile technology has brought important breakthroughs. People can call for advise or use Internet to access information and manuals produced by the government on agricultural production AND those who cannot read can call in and listen to the audio books

Sithandiwe Yeni, national coordinator, A Thousand Gardens in Africa, Republic of South Africa

• it is an activists-based support group for small farmers in the Northern Cape, Cape and Natal regions
• The climates alone if these 3 regions are so different:

1. Cape = Mediterranean
2. Northern Cape = extreme weather hot and cold = desert climate
3. Natal = tropical – here they work with household seed banks

• The NGO goals are to help small farmers in their search for

1. alternative agriculture
2. which is environmentally friendly
3. and focused on original/traditional food varieties

• The biggest challenge in SA is the land-grabbing which has created a very hostile environment
• As regulated pr policy at the end of apartheid 80% of the land is owned by a small amount of commercial farmers have also control the access to the markets
• As opposed to the small scale black farmers that have no access to the markets or any type of loans
• They must make do with sharing the 20% of land that must then be leased from the municipal governments
• The only possibility is to spread the word on the policies – active voice but little chance

Thoughst by Mario Calabresi, director of La Stampa, Italy and Slow Food friend

• Until last year food was not in focus or a topic in Italy with regard to Africa
• In general Africa was only in focus if at all unless it is a famine, drought or catastrophe such as in Uganda, Somalia or Kenya
• Africans are only seen as victims
• The Italian public was mostly interested in speaking about the Africans as intruders on their coasts
• But La Stampa decided to send reporters out to look at specific small projects in Africa: doctors doing vaccinations, a special tool needed to do something
•  La Stampa then decides to launch a subscription to help these small projects with a special issue in August
• The Owners/Editors thought he was crazy that it would be a nice gesture but with little success since August is also vacation month– but he decided to do it anyway
• It turned out to be the largest edition bought in 5 years with 800,000 sold instead of the daily 360,000
• In 3 weeks in August almost 1 million € were gathered in small amounts people gave 10/20/30 € because people were told about the small projects
• Unlike the usual storyline they worked with Terra Madre and gave the special issue the name “Africa the Opportunity” about African energy, African opportunities for Africans (w a little help from Bob Geldorf, Bono & Desmond Tutu)

Abdon Manga, chef, Guinea Bissau

• I worked as a very successful luxury restaurant owner & cook – with many clients from the UN
• But I spent all my time and money running after luxury items – with less than 20% local goods or produce
• But then I went to a Terra Madre conference and it changed my way of thinking so I left my job and returned to my village and put myself in the hands of my community
• There I set up a restaurant with local sustainable food and no more luxury goods
• And people from the whole world come and visit when they are in the area even my former clients because they realize as I do that Africans are losing their food identity

Padre Kizito, director of Nigrizia journal, he is a catholic priest who has been running a program for street children in Nairobi for over 20 years

• In Nairobi of 5 millions inhabitants 100 – 150,000 are street children
• I started working with them by chance – I run the program and a magazine to help finance it
• Many of the children I worked with at the beginning are now adults and are working in the program themselves in the hospitality business in hotels or as chefs – there is now tourism run by former street children
• In 2003 it was no longer possible to care for the children from normal funding
• The organization decided that working with local food was a good opportunity with local people
• We now run a hotel and local food activities for example wild asparagus that grows on the side of the road is gathered cleaned, cooked and sold by the children
• We also sell products from small farms
• Many of the children are addicted when they begin working with us to glue or petrol
• The story of Kevin is typical – Kevin 12 belonged to a street gang but he felt isolated there. Part of the work with the street children is that they must tell their story to strangers – only 2-3 minutes per person. On the day Kevin told his story he said: he was 12, had no parents, couldn’t remember living anywhere but on the street. He ate garbage and often slept in it since it was warm due to fermentation and in Nairobi it is cold at night. He sniffed glue and petrol to forget the hunger. And then Kevin burst into tears and yelled out loud 3 times I have lived like an animal but I am not an animal. Now 1½ years later Kevin works in the garden and goes to school and being in contact with nature has brought him peace of mind.
• I believe and have seen that agricultural activity brings peace of mind to children as they learn about the seasons and watch things grow and be harvested.
• We are human when we eat what we grow
• My message is you must be able to produce the food for your family to eat – if you do that you are truly a free person.
• The organization runs a hotel, hostel and restaurant in Nairobi popular with tourists and travelers worldwide who support the idea.

Anna Nyadye from Senegal – President of Couscous Sale a woman’s couscous and millet production company

• The women are taught about growing, hygiene and quality
• Hygiene is the first step to quality
• The couscous is cleaned, strained, cooked twice, salted with berber powder and packaged to be sold
• It sells locally since it is a local staple eaten daily for lunch or dinner
• It is a women’s self-sufficient activity

Q&A at the end of the session:

A man from Kenya

• Thanks Slow Food for the 1000 Gardens of Africa and wishes there could be 1 million gardens
• He sees 4 major challenges for Africa:

1. Access to resources
2.  Improving resources
3. Better use of resources
4.  Management of resources

A woman from the US who works with an US/South African Farming Cooperation
Asks the South African NGO representative whether there is any type of international support in reacquiring land

Answer from South African colleague from same NGO: there is no international support because the government and investors want the investment opportunities and the land and they want the land to remain in white hands. There is no organized EU or international effort.

A man from Bukina Faso

• It is also a matter of Africans recognizing the value of products not supported by the government = giving value to local
• In general people believe that only imported/external goods are good as the government says
• But when a local product is sent to Paris then it becomes accepted locally – this attitude needs to change

A man from Madagascar tells the story of a local chef

• The chef was invited to visit a Slow Food conference and found out all about Slow Food and he loved it
• He next refused a very lucrative restaurant contract to open a small local products restaurant
• His restaurant has now become such an inspiration for so many people at Terra Madre

A man from Malawi

• Slow Food / Food / agriculture is a great agenda for African young people
• After all, the elders took care of bringing independence to the people
• It is now young people’s duty to make the economy grow but many young Africans are just too lazy

Julie Siseck from Senegal

• Access to land is a great difficulty but Senegal and Burkina Faso are working together in the EU against land-grabbing
• Access to land is open officially but only for those with money – small farmers do not receive loans
• Congratulation to Slow Food for the 1000 African Gardens

A man from Mauretania

• Before Slow Food’s help, Mauretania relied on 70% of their produce coming from foreign countries now the reversal has started thanks to Slow Food showing people how to do it