Warm welcome for finger millet porridge

Whenever I hear people talking about reviving food traditions, I always want to ask them what they’re doing with expatriates. They are often the people who are most attached to traditional foods and assorted agrobiodiversity from back home. Take my wife. No sooner did our visitor fly in from Nairobi, laden with uji mix,

that she had the stuff boiling away on the stove as if she hadn’t tasted porridge in years. ((Which come to think of it she probably hasn’t.))

Now, I’m not saying that Kenyans abroad are going to save finger millet cultivation in the Nandi Hills or whatever. But they might be a good place to start.

Equator Prize 2008 winners announced

The Equator Initiative, a United Nations-led partnership that supports grassroots efforts in biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation, has selected 25 winners of the Equator Prize 2008.

And here they all are. Lots of great stuff there on agrobiodiversity conservation and use. Somewhat invidious to single anyone out, but I can’t resist. Check out in particular the work of the Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de Cotacachi.