July 2007 In this issue: 1. Editorial     Terra Madre Newsletter     Looking Ahead to the Congress 2. Focus on Convivia     New Convivia     Convivia in Action 3. Terra Madre     Gardens for Peace 4. Events for Learning, Meeting and Tasting     A Taste of Latvia     Enjoyment in Northwestern Germany 5. Slow Education     Adventure for the Senses in Argentina 6. Mission Biodiversity     Presidia as an Example of Local Sustainable     Development     New Presidia and Ark of Taste Products 7. UNISG: Life on Campus     Passage to India 8. Communications...     New site     Closed for Summer Vacation     Program for Cheese 2007     Convivial Pursuits 2. Focus on Convivia • New Convivia The following convivia have recently joined the Slow Food network: Niagara (Canada) Karikol – Brussels (Belgium) Chisinau (Moldavia) Limerick & region (Ireland) Stockholm Haga (Sweden) Lara (Venezuela) Illes Balears (Spain) Ahal (Turkmenistan) Lodz (Poland) Tehuacán Mixteca Popoloca (Mexico) • Convivia in action Gastronomic Expeditions in Belarus There is certainly nothing new about scientific, ethnographic or geographic expeditions, but gastronomic expeditions are something else! In November 2005 the Belarus convivium (Minsk) started a series of visits to Terra Madre communities, which are now continuing steadily. Producers and members accompany interested people, TV and print journalists to meet small farmers from various villages, offering the opportunity to taste and buy good genuine food directly from the producers. The visits aim to collect information from producers, disseminate it through the media and inform Slow Food members about the local rural situation. Typical local products are cataloged at the same time. The gastronomic expeditions have also enabled restaurants to begin collecting information about traditional methods and preparation. The results of this research are regularly presented in the local weekly publication Gastronom. For further information, contact the convivium leader Ihar Danilau: danilov@gastronom.by < Return to top > 3.Terra Madre Gardens for Peace Within the Terra Madre network there is a center which is putting into practice the precepts of “cultivating peace”. Its name is The Irish Organic Centre and it coordinates two projects, the “Community Food Project” and “Building peace through our shared environment”. They involve 12 community gardens situated in two counties in the north of the Republic of Ireland—Leitrim and Donegal—and one in the Northern Irish (UK) county of Fermanagh. About 200 people are involved with the gardens, which are located on the two sides of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. In learning to cultivate the gardens and cook the organic produce with each other, people belonging to different religions discover that the environment can teach us about living and working together. Asylum seekers, women’s groups and disabled people also work on the project. The Organic Centre works with local elementary schools, helping the children through all the stages of sowing seed, tending plants, harvesting and preparing food in the kitchen. A harvest festival is celebrated each year in September with children and adults who worked on the projects getting together to celebrate and to cook what they have picked. The center will soon publish a guide and video on how looking after a garden can be a way of promoting reconciliation and peace. For further information on the projects: www.theorganiccentre.ie < Return to top > 4. Events for Learning, Meeting and Tasting A Taste of Latvia Every year at the end of summer, the Riga convivium organizes a festival day called “Taste of the Nation”, which each time is held in a different region and town. The 2007 edition will take place in Madona on August 25. Organic producers from all over Latvia will attend and sell their products, along with local cooks who will present them in dishes using traditional recipes and methods. The event, which will be opened by the Latvian Minister of Agriculture, is very popular and enjoys a high profile in the national media. For information, contact Ms Dace Krastina: dace.krastina@restorans.vincents.lv Enjoyment in Northwestern Germany On September 23, the German convivia of Bremen, Diepholz, Oldenburg, Osnabrück and Ostfriesland are organizing the fourth edition of the event “Genuss im Nordwesten” (Enjoyment in the Northwest) in Cloppenburg. This is a market attracting producers from all over this part of Germany and is one of the main events organized by Slow Food Germany with 8000 visitors last year. The whole event focuses on high quality regional products. For information: www.genuss-im-nordwesten.de < Return to top > 5. Slow Education Adventure for the Senses in Argentina Children are losing a whole world full of aromas and flavors: this belief has led the Buenos Aires convivium to develop a series of educational initiatives. Memory can be trained, the palate can be educated. All it takes is to pay attention to the flavors and aromas you encounter and take the time needed for them to register. Twice a year an “adventure for the senses” workshop is organized where children use their senses to experience the different characteristics of food, according to their age, the season of the year and the region where the educational activity is held (Buenos Aires, Rosario, Ushuaia). There are also workshops for pregnant women and the parents of smaller children. The most recent adventure for the senses was held on July 24 and 27 during the winter vacation, at the national school for sommeliers in Buenos Aires. In addition a program has been set up in elementary schools focusing on pre-Columbian native foods. Through snacks and meals prepared for national festivals, the program is also reaching parents, teachers and principals. For information contact Lic María Di Scala: info@slowfoodarg.com.ar < Return to top > 6. Mission Biodiversity Presidia as an Example of Local Sustainable Development The collaborative initiative between the ILO (International Labour Organization, a United Nations body) and the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity continues. On July 4 a delegation of Iraqis met producers from the Presidium for Monregalese Cornmeal Cookies and the Presidium for Castelmagno Alpine Cheese (a high quality raw milk cheese), in the province of Cuneo, Italy. The visit forms part of a training project for inhabitants of the province of Basra, aiming to provide participants with the instruments needed to set up microbusiness and local development initiatives. The ILO, a partner in the project, chose Presidia as an example of economic and social development for small local communities. New Presidia and Ark of Taste Products Two new Presidia will appear at Cheese, Slow Food’s international event dedicated to quality cheese which is being held from September 21 to 24 in Bra (Italy). They are an aged goat cheese produced on the Bolona plateau (Island of Santo Antao, Cape Verde), a remote and arid location where cheese production has had to adapt to extreme conditions, and a Swedish goat cheese aged inside natural caves. Slow Food Switzerland and the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity are working together to create new Presidia. After conducting a careful selection process, five candidates have been identified: bread from the Canton of Valais and bread from Val Müstair, both using local rye, short pastry from Val Bedretto, bona flour (a very fine toasted corn flour) and Kirsch, a traditional cherry distillate. In coming months the producers who will be involved in the Presidium will be selected and work will commence on drawing up rules of production. Sixteen new products have been selected by the Spanish Ark Commission. Products representing the biodiversity of the Iberian peninsula include the Andalusian pink tomato, Basque Country smoked fish, Urezti sweet wine and the Xalda sheep breed, found in the Principality of Asturias and with characteristic black wool. For further information: www.slowfoodfoundation.com / www.fondazioneslowfood.it < Return to top > 7. UNISG: life on campus Passage to India Before graduating, third year students at the University of Gastronomic Sciences flew to India in order to explore its cuisine and food traditions. Apart from studying the production of rice, mangos and mustard oil, the UNISG group analyzed present day Indian food culture compared to the example of Mahatma Gandhi and his teachings. The program of seminars and discussions provided opportunities to address highly topical issues such as biopiracy, patenting of genes and the role of women in agriculture. The group visited Terra Madre communities located in various parts of the country and met key figures of the Indian agrifood scene such as Vandana Shiva, founder of the Navdanya project for conserving native agricultural varieties. To read the full program of the trip: www.unisg.it/eng/stage_india.php < Return to top > 8. Communications... Remember to add to your address book the e-mail address newsletterTM@slowfood.com, so you will receive the Terra Madre Newsletter every month without the risk of it being blocked as spam. New site The new Brazilian website www.slowfoodbrasil.com, is now online, pay a visit! The site will be useful way of strengthening links between producers and members in the lead-up to an important date in October: the meeting in Brasilia of all those involved in the Brazilian Slow Food and Terra Madre networks. Closed for Summer Vacation The International Office and the Slow Food Membership Service Center will be closed from August 13 to 17. We apologize for any inconvenience. We will reply to queries from August 20. Program for Cheese 2007 From September 21 to 24, the sixth edition of Cheese, the biennial festival of quality cheese will be held in Bra, Italy,. The full program can be consulted or downloaded (as a pdf document) at the site http://cheese.slowfood.it along with a lot of other useful information. English, German and Italian versions of the site are available and the program is also available in French. Convivial Pursuits Two new activities have been added to the Convivial Pursuits. They are a project promoting a short chain and a taste education project. Please send us your stories and news or contact us so we can publish your activities. < Return to top >   For any questions or information and events you wish to share please contact your national office or your area coordinator if no national office exists in your country. Slow regards, Slow Food International Office international@slowfood.com CONTACT US Slow Food national offices: please refer to this page web Area coordinators (based in Slow Food offices in Bra) for countries where no national office exists: Africa and Middle East Séverine Petit – s.petit@slowfood.com Latin America Lia Poggio – l.poggio@slowfood.com José Carlos Redon - j.redon@slowfood.com Canada Lilia Smelkova – l.smelkova@slowfood.com Asia and and Oceania Elena Aniere - e.aniere@slowfood.com Europe Spain, Belgium, Greece, Luxemburg: Mariagiulia Mariani - m.mariani@slowfood.com Eastern Europe, Community of Independent States, The Netherlands, Ireland: Lilia Smelkova – l.smelkova@slowfood.com Scandinavia: Veronica Veneziano – v.veneziano@slowfood.com Austria: Raimondo Cusmano – r.cusmano@slowfood.com Portugal: Lia Poggio – l.poggio@slowfood.com Communication Marta Mancini – m.mancini@slowfood.com Monica Mascarino - m.mascarino@slowfood.com Michèle Mesmain – m.mesmain@slowfood.com General issues international@slowfood.com EDITORIAL Terra Madre Newsletter Dear Friends, A few weeks ago you received the first issue of the Terra Madre Newsletter, our new way of communicating within the Terra Madre network. The network is strengthening all the time, thanks to all of your efforts and commitment. As lovers of good food you are well aware that no culinary culture can be preserved without defending the dignity of small farmers, fishermen and herders around the world. The Terra Madre Newsletter is sent to the producers, cooks and academics of Terra Madre, along with all the other people and organizations involved in the Slow Food world. It gathers voices from around the globe, giving space to local traditions and projects that open new prospects for the future of a sustainable global society. In the Newsletter, which we are also sending to journalists, public institutions and non-profit organizations, we will forcefully assert the principles we support. We believe that everyone has a right to pleasure, whoever they are and wherever they live; we need to promote local flavors and knowledge to counter the standardization of taste; we must safeguard the rich biodiversity that provides our food; it is important for the work of small farmers, shepherds, fishermen and producers of artisan food to be recognized; we should defend small producers from the aggressive assault of agribusiness; we totally reject GMOs. We are also counting on you to make the Newsletter an effective way of facilitating exchanges between the Slow Food network and the Terra Madre network. Communication Office: Marta, Michèle, Monica communication@slowfood.com Looking Ahead to the Congress Puebla enjoys a rich gastronomic tradition, one of the most important in Mexico, which reflects an Aztec, Arab and European background. The many delicacies include mole poblano, one of the most popular festival dishes in Mexico. A magnificent creation of peppers, chocolate, spices and turkey, it has become a symbol of mestizo national identity, combining Spanish and native American influences. In the shops you can find industrially produced mole, but for special occasions such as weddings and the Day of the Dead, Mexican housewives still tackle the laborious process of roasting and breaking up all the separate ingredients. You can read all about this dish in issue 58 of our international magazine Slow, which is coming out in October. With the Congress coming up, you can find a special feature on Mexico on www.slowfood.com