Indigenous knowledge systems

December 8, 2010December 8, 2010

The revival of taro biodiversity in Hawaii, in film

This just in from a reader in Hawaii. Thanks, Penny.

The film short “Na Ono o Ka Aina; Delicacies of the Land” featuring Jerry Konanui, a Hawaiian, expert in the identification of traditional Hawaiian taro cultivars, and an inspiration in their recovery. This film is the work of award winning Hawaii-based filmmakers, Na Maka o Ka Aina. The film garnered awards at the Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Hawaii film festivals in 2009 and 2010, and the short was featured on National Geographic’s “All Roads Film Festival” in 2008. One way to protect local crop biodiversity — reinspire everyone — from farmers to researchers to students; especially within the community that once created that diversity. It’s in the numbers; the more old cultivars we recover and grow and the more who grow, the less risk of loss we will have. You can get a taste of the film short — and the ono (delicious) taros of Hawaii below.

December 3, 2010December 3, 2010

Nibbles: EU <3 ABD, Food companies, Maize, Coffee

EU counts the ways it loves agricultural biodiversity. 17!
OFEC anyone? Tom (& the FT) thinks food is the new energy.
The Scientist Gardener explains maize hybrids and hybrid vigour. My question: what if the effort had gone into mass selection instead?
A 15 minute video on the Ethiopian Coffee story; thanks CAS-IP.

November 17, 2010

Nibbles: Forest management, Sahelian trees, Biofortification blogging

Combining traditional and scientific knowledge on an invasive species to manage forests.
Variation in dryland trees: Balanites and Adansonia.
Roundup of biofortification bloggers.

November 16, 2010November 16, 2010

Nibbles: Ethnobotany, Marketing, Cacao

Not much better today on the nibble front. Jamaican and Chilean medicinal plants.
And an interesting approach to the social marketing of local produce. iFarmers.
Saving chocolate, the high- and low-tech ways.

November 5, 2010

Kebab and apple strudel

A speaker at the International Scientific Symposium Biodiversity and Sustainable Diets alerted me to the existence of the EuroFIR (European Food Information Resource) project.

EuroFIR aims to provide the first comprehensive pan-European food information resource, using state-of-the-art database linking, to allow effective management, updating, extending and comparability.

Sounds pretty dry, but the stuff on traditional and ethnic foods is actually rather fun.