The aim of the project, coordinated by the Slow Food Foundation and supported by the FAO and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, is to safeguard West Africa's food traditions and rich biodiversity.
From the sand dunes north of Timbuktu in Mali to the seashell island of Fadiouth in Senegal and down to the mangrove-lined coasts of Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, the ecosystems of West Africa are home to many different vegetable varieties, fruit trees and native grains which over the course of the centuries have adapted to the unique geography and climate of different areas.
Thanks to the collaboration of food producers, cooks, experts, researchers and the local Slow Food and Terra Madre network, the food biodiversity in these four countries was mapped. Local and traditional products were identified in each country, including fruits and vegetables, livestock breeds and processed food products. Particular attention was paid to wild foods like herbs, leaves, berries, fruits, honey and fish. Following the mapping, four new Presidia were identified and established, for Kenema kola nuts in Sierra Leone, wild palm oil in Guinea-Bissau, katta pasta from Timbuktu and Gao in Mali and salted millet couscous from Fadiouth island in Senegal. Kenema kola nuts are now being used by the Italian brewery Baladin to make a natural, "virtuous" version of the world's most globalized beverage, cola.
Four booklets, one for each country, were produced to promote the Presidia, local consumption and awareness of gastronomic traditions. They bring together descriptions of traditional products and recipes provided by cooks from Slow Food's local network. The booklets were published in the official languages of each country, in French for Mali and Senegal, in Portuguese for Guinea-Bissau and in English for Sierra Leone.
Click here to download the "From Earth to Table" booklets!
The Presidia producers will be attending the 2012 Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre in Turin from October 25 to 29, 2012, and the cooks who contributed recipes to the booklets will be preparing traditional dishes for the event's visitors.
Find out more
Communications coordinator for the project "Promoting origin-lined quality products in four countries"