We’ve blogged a few times about how mobile phones bring farmers and fisherfolk closer to the market, and how this can work for agrobiodiversity. But of course agriculture is not the only field which can benefit; people all over the developing world have realized this, and manufacturers have in turn noticed that, and are trying to cash in. There’s an article in the NY Times Magazine about an anthropologist hired by Nokia to help them design the kind of phones that poor people need — and could help lift them out of poverty. Jan Chipchase is his name and if the article piques your interest you can see him give a TED talk. He also has a blog that’s great fun, and which occasionally even refers to food and agricultural biodiodiversity.
Nibbles: Tangled Bank, wild boar, food miles
- It’s that time again. Tangled Bank 103. Don’t miss the comments!
- Italian cinghiale different from wild boar north of Alps, not involved in domestication.
- Book traces plate of curry, trousers back to source. Weirdly, Bangladesh in both cases.
Nibbles: Crabs, barley, IAASTD, wine, vegetables
- Why fisheries management is so often a failure.
- Climate change threatens beer. Luigi appalled. Via.
- IIED to answer questions raised by IAASTD. Chef comments, “Your alphabet soup is ready now.”
- Not enough Sangiovese in Brunello di Montalcino. Jeremy appalled.
- People in the burbs really into growing vegetables all of a sudden.
More on thatching
A couple of weeks back I alluded to problems in the thatching industry in the UK and linked to a piece by Danny at Rurality. Well, I put in the wrong link (now fixed), and anyway Danny’s post was pretty short and it was talking about an article that is not online. But never fear, if you’re really interested in the crisis in British thatching, you can read about it in the Telegraph. Or you can get the bullet-point version at Cronaca.
Going down to the market
Markets for agrobiodiversity to the fore today. Two resources highlighted by Eldis look at strategies for agricultural diversification and at the importance of assessing market potential in prioritizing among indigenous fruit trees for promotion and development. And once you get your high-value agricultural product to market you will want to guard against pilferage and counterfeiting, won’t you?