Continuing the pasta tradition

Life is returning to normal here in North Wraxall and Bath but with one small change.  I attended my first Farmer's market since getting home from Bolsena and I added a new product - fresh ravioli!  I couldn't wait till Christmas for a pasta machine so got myself one last week and have been experimenting since then.  Last Friday I decided to make some ravioli with seasonal fillings.    Butternut squash, ricotta, sage and marjoram was one, with beetroot, almond, orange and ricotta for a second type.  The squash, beetroots and herbs were all from my garden.

I didn't make too much but it was so delicious that I thought I'd give it a go at the market; I sold out.  I will take some more in two weeks and see what sort of feedback I get.

Knowledge passed on from Nonna Teresa is being put to use in Bath, England.  Thank you.

Vix

Updated material

I have updated the page on the blog with the material we have been sending around on google! Take a look at our library page.

On pigs and blogging (and report for Grundtvig)

Great to see your post Vix on pigs. I am compiling now a short report for Grundtvig on our days together. The official one will be done by Sabrina in Italian for the national agency. I am posting it here for your comments.
Geoff has sent to me and Sabrina his feedback, and we do have your forms, but I hope we can use this space to chat a bit about the out come. I see the google groups has taken off which is great as well.
This is a very dry report so do spice it up a bit!

Rather missing all our good times, though not the cold of the Convento! I am going back with my family this weekend to see a house I would like to rent there (from Isabella who had the jewelry) and I do plan to take my family to see the pigs, especially now I am so informed by Vix and her research. : )

I am still digesting our  moments, will share more creatively what I personally got out of the week together over these days.
 Wendy

Short report on Workshop on Politics of Food, Gender Roles and Environmental Change held October 17 to 24 2010 Bolsena, Italy

The workshop was held in the unique environment of a 17 century restored Convento where participants were able to learn and enjoy the surrounding country with opportunities to visit slow food restaurants, farms and small food producers. The workshop offered both a formal learning as well as participatory hands on experience including cooking, open dialogues and exchange held around the fire place, outside in the garden, in the work stations and over many enjoyable meals.

It was a widely diverse group made up of different countries, ages, experiences and education levels. Despite differences, everyone was very collaborative and friendly, though some of the participants experienced language difficulties, this did not stop them from learning and enjoying the events. Participants were able to compare the diversity of their experiences embedded within the workshops focus on the world wide dynamic of globalization environmental change and food security. In the stories shared there was an interesting contrast of different cultures of food and gender relations.

The blog (Gender and Food Politics in Europe) that was set up during the Workshop underlines the importance not only of the information shared by speakers on EU policy on food, US and trade regimes but also the hands-on activities of food preparation, particularly Signora Teresa who showed the group pasta making. The gender politics of the kitchen was noted as well, as the men chefs were not as able to share knowledge as the women. The ICT component including group blogging pictures on face book and skype interview with Raj Patel was another key contribution to learning and communication of the workshop. As was the sense of history of the place in visits to museums and talks given on matriarchy and ecofeminism as part and parcel of the global politics of food, rise of agribusiness and about the commodification of food in food industry. 

There were several outcomes of the groups learning time together:

• The blog allowed for all participants to share their thoughts, and experiences, as well as pictures of all the food and sights.
• A facebook page was set up to share mostly pictures of the workshop
• A google group was set up to continue exploring the multiple links between food, gender and environment as one step on the way to forming a network engaged in food, gender and environment to understand how to encourage greater awareness of ‘slow food’, traditional cuisine and how to appreciate the importance of women’s roles in food production and culture
• The experiences of the workshop will feed directly into another Grundtvig workshop to be hosted in Berlin on meal security and the culture of food in February 2011.
• Through sharing and networking on the blog the group aims to share more information, both receipes for the Berlin meeting and information on what is happening politically around food and how to act in solidarity with women living in very harsh conditions in former Soviet Union where food prices are high and many people go now to food banks (in Estonia for example) and trade within Europe is not favourable (for example Moldavian wine). It will also be important to continue sharing the shifts in gender roles and new methods for research such as in the UK which is redefining what is the poverty line based on people themselves undertaking the research.
• One follow up was suggested between participants from Poland and Hungary that would discuss how to educate children in healthy food and lifestyles
• The researchers among the group agreed to explore how to look at engendering agriculture in the EU and raise awareness of food prices speculation. Some of the participants will investigate how to design a research project which gender audits (using gender budgeting methodology) and applies the idea of meal security proposed by one of the participants from Germany  as well as connecting research with advocacy at the European and global level. 

The overall evaluation of the participants underlined that the experience was very positive, especially the hospitality and beauty of the place and deliciousness of the food!

Fotos of WS on FACEBOOK

Dear friends,
check out the Convento S. Maria del Giglio Facebook page: Link to the Convento Facebook page

Polish gingerbread

> Gingerbread:
> 500 g Honey (or 250 g sugar + 250 g Honey)
> 200 g cream - 12% not more than 18%
> 200 g butter
> 1 teaspoon of baking soda
> 3 eggs
> 2 bags of vanilla sugar or add some vanilla aroma
> 3 glasses of flour
> 2 spoons of cinnamon or even better a bag of gingerbread spices
> favourite dried fruits(raisins, dates, plumes, apricots, figs, not
> cherries) , raisins, nuts, almonds, the more, the better geliebtes
> Backobst - am besten getrocknete Pflaumen, Rosinen, Wallnusse,
> 2 spoons of cacao (dark, bitter, not Nesquik-style;)
> mix all dry ingredients,
> melt honig with vanilla sugar, when it is already cool, add the dry
> ingredients, eggs, cream and fruit, mix, relish (attention, it may turn
> out that you like it so much that you come to a conclusion that's great
> without baking and you will be right! i always try to convince my Mum to
> eat it in a raw form:))
> put in a baking tin (I recommend baking paper)
> 180 degrees for 60-90 Minutes, enjoy!
> Lila

Gaining skills, losing skills.

During this week of discovery we have experienced tales of bread, pasta and cheese making. We have visited producers and growers and tasted their food. On our drives through the countryside of Lazio and Umbria we have seen the vegetable gardens and small scale (compared to some regions of Northern Europe) agriculture. We have walked a little around Bolsena and seen the bins of grape stalks and smelt the fermenting juice from the wine being made for home consumption. This is patently a region of great fertility peopled by those still in touch with the land and in possession of great skills. And yet these skills are in sharp decline and the countryside is being depopulated. Why make bread that is physically demanding and takes 24 hours of care, admittedly intermittent care, but care nonetheless, when you can buy supermarket bread for probably less money and very little effort? Never mind that it is unsatisfying, of dubious nutritional quality and is probably made with flour imported from elsewhere. Why spend a whole morning making pasta when you can buy it in more shapes and forms than you can probably name for very little money? Why undertake the drudgery and uncertainty of growing vegetables and keeping livestock, at the same time as trying to earn a living? These are questions that are being asked all over the world, not just here in Bolsena.

Signora Teresa

We spent a wonderful afternoon on Thursday being shown how to make pasta by Signora Teresa. At 84 she has been making pasta for her family twice a week for more years than most of us would care to remember. For those of us in the affluent west pasta is a convenient ingredient; readily available, quick and easy(ish) to cook and, above all, in it's dried form, cheap. Pasta can be dressed up with a fancy sauce or served economically with nothing more than a drizzle of olive oil and perhaps a grating of parmesan. In Britain we might eat it twice a week with no thought and even less consideration, more respect is given to it in Italy but how many people here still make their own? Why does Nonna Teresa? Making pasta must have a deeper symbolism than just the provision of bodily fuel. The procedure is tied up with complex aspects of nurture and love.

Mixing eggs into a 'Vesuvio' of flour

Nonna Teresa, while demonstrating her skill was a picture of restraint. Making pasta to her, her daughter and her grandson, was a normal everyday activity with no more mystery about it than peeling potatoes would be for the rest of us. And yet there she was, surrounded by 15 or so interested people, cameras flashing, who were recording this everyday experience. She handled it well concealing her astonishment and amusement that such a basic skill should be either alien or sought after. And yet there we were, asking questions and wanting to experience and acquire her lifetime of knowledge in just one short afternoon. She patiently pointed out when we should add more flour, knead more, add water to the dough or allow it to rest. Trying to articulate what was, to her, innate knowledge that should have needed no articulation.

Kneading the pasta dough

Nonna Teresa's skill, acquired over a lifetime of repetition, is something that is being lost. These everyday skills are losing their importance and, with their loss, society as a whole is the loser. Nonna Teresa's daughter no longer makes her own pasta on a regular basis. The labour of 'home made' is now saved for special occasions. Only the enthusiast or crank makes their own bread now.

These are small scale, domestic examples of everyday skills that are being lost but agriculture is also suffering. The days when every householder grew a few vegetables,saving their seed from yeaer to year, crop to crop, is fast disappearing. Many would not consider this a problem and yet this mass de-skilling, the loss of the ability to provide our own raw materials and then transform them into food, has serious consequences for the world. Many urban children are now so out of touch with the sources of their food that they have no knowledge of where milk, meat or eggs come from. To lose these connections, abilities and knowledge dis-empowers every one of us. Not only are we losing the skill to feed ourselves but we are surrendering our autonomy to transnational corporations on the way. We should all be very concerned about this. The future of the planet and the ability to feed ourselves should not reside in the hands of those whose motivation is profit and who have the power to dictate what we eat. The continued persistent de-skilling at all levels should be ringing warning bells for all of us.

Making ciciliana pasta

Nonna Teresa was tolerant of our inept attempts to make the simplest of pasta shapes but as a society we should not be so tolerant. I am not advocating a return to the supposed 'good old days' when peasants worked 15 hours a day with no security and little return, but I would like to see a move towards the realisation that the previous generation are a repository of skills and knowledge that is in real danger of being lost forever to the detriment of us all.

Nonna Teresa may not know how to send me an e mail but she can make 15 different types of pasta. Pasta that is economical and nutritious and which can feed family with one egg, a little flour and some water. That is a talent and skill which deserves huge respect and which should be valued, nurtured and disseminated. This sort of knowledge and skill is too valuable to be lost and I, for one, am grateful that Nonna Teresa shared it with me.

Vix

Etruskens as role models?

Ancient lessons for modern times

Etruskens are famous for their  artistique craftsmanship, but after today I wonder whether it were men or women who made the famous jewelry. Then we learned today that Etrusken women were very emancipated, literate, kept their own name when married, had businesses, were not  obliged to have the husbands permission for going out…Whow!!!!! Three thousand years ago. We have certainly not moved forward much, on the contrary. No doubt they knew a lot about food and health and beauty…We will learn more about it tomorrow, cannot wait.

Other highlight of this day: the lessons of Anna Di Muzio, who also referred to ancient knowledge in combination with local practices. Concerning health and the role of food and herbs. It gives hope for these so called modern times, that is if we do what we can to save this important information, before it gets lost in the mediastorms which blow over and in our houses, whenever possible. Let us keep sailing, girls, please. Maybe the Etrusken women were good sailors as well….Ally

Money and dreams can make hopes come true

Money makes dreams go round

Day 4 of our course on food, gender and politics started with an inconvenient lesson: we are often rather one sided in our attempts to make this world a better place.  For instance, when we as representatives of the so called developed world  put sustainable development on the international agenda we payed little attention to the fact that farming in most ´underdeveloped´ countries is done by women. Therefore our approach and methods didn´t fit in their way of handling farming, nor did they respect their knowledge and position. More or less the same can be said when it comes to women´s issues, ecological matter or health: the power to bring about change is not  limited to governments and UN institutions, the economic and financial world play important roles as well. And these roles are becoming even more influential when neo-liberalism takes off. Wendy Harcourt opened the path to other ways of thinking in  solving problems and we were in groups discussing the possibilities.  What could we learn from one another? First of all that we somehow have to make connections between different layers of interest. Getting movements started or working on a small scale is motivating, but if there are no or few possibilities to change or influencing, then motivation often falls back. Geoff Tansey, who has a lot of experience in this field emphasized the power of financial and business world. Money and commercial interests often play a more powerful role than governmental institutions and regulations. Why bother about women´s rights and feminine knowledge if cheap labor is at hand, when companies can be bought and moved to other and cheaper areas?  Even if therefore thousands of people lose their job, which is now the case in Eastern Europe? European or UN institutions stand aside and watch. So we have to think of other ways.

But which? Geoff Tansey showed us in the evenings films with possibilities: get organized on a local level, make local politicians interested, or tie knots with movements in other parts of the world.

Where comes food into the picture and how? The interesting thing is that it peeps up everywhere. If people loose their job their existence is threatened in many ways. They have to rely on cheap food which is not always healthy or nutritious, cooking or heating might  become impossible, and so on. But it is a serious matter too if we look at the growth of fast food, sweet drinks, the use of additives and pesticides, the loss of biological diversity, pollution. Media are bought and they push unhealthy products every hour of the day. How do we concur this violence?

Part of the fifth day was used to discuss some actual problems of our own choice. The group I was in came up with four topics . The first: how to get children eat good meals instead of the chips and sweets which are around everywhere?  The second: the poisoning of food because of expiration of dates, additives or the use of pesticides. The third problem  was how to play and use the media. We started however with a topic which bothers us quite a lot: how to connect  movements and local matters in an effective way? Another group had this question as well, so I suppose we will have more  information on this. Geoff gave us a wonderful example of success, but we need more. And what our topics are concerned, we came with several suggestions for handling the meal problem for children. They can be summarized in: the  use of good role models and possibly sport, get media involved, the example of Jamie Oliver, meals at school (also positive for women, they don´t have to cook dinner coming home after a tiring day ) ….Our day ended in the private rooms of an organic farmer and his family who served us a wonderful tasty dinner, and therewith showing us that it is possible to grow good and solid food in this day and age. Ally

faworki carnival pastry from Poland

Women are the best

Our civilization started with women and was expressed in the mother goddess!!!

Like most of us I was educated with theories that mankind developed along the path of  nomadic hunters and fishermen to farming settlers and traders, and from primitive hut builders to ingenious craftsmen who built canals and cities. And they fought a lot, which brought along new technologies.... Wrong, wrong ,wrong so told Michela Zucca us on day 3 of our course; we started as nomads all right, living in primitive huts and picking fruit and mushrooms, digging roots, searching for snails and shellfish, but it were the women who did so. Hunting took place in a later stage, when bows, arrows and other equipment for hunting were available.  And we didn´t live in caves either: they were used for religious purposes and storage. The oldest religious remains are small women figures, pregnant and with big breasts, symbols of  life and fertility. Women were the central persons in the communities, providing for food, health care and passing on knowledge.

A lot has changed since then. Women are now living in a global system dominated by ideas of free marketing and competition. Knowledge of food in relation to health and environment is becoming a scarcity; how to keep this wisdom alive? Michela played the marketing tune as a possible solution: we could for instance try to save the knowledge by hiding it behind a seductive story on authenticity, cultivating its cultural and environmental value, selling the belonging unique products  on the place to middle aged businessmen....

Parto Teherani-Kroenner put the importance of the cultural  value of the heritage of food in a different perspective: she made clear that we don`t just have to find economic solutions. We are operating in a broader and much more complicated structure which contains different  of views  and values: ecological, economic, political and moral. The central question is how we are developing our social relationships. In answering this question she agrees with Michela, saying that sharing is not just a primitive reaction if meeting one another but also a wise decision. It saves not only time and energy, but it also enables us to exchange information and experiences, from which we can learn. And we may be able to help one another when necessary. This attitude however conflicts with neo-liberal ideas of free enterprise and marketing.

Food and meals can be seen as the materialized symbols of social networks. Parto tells us that in the creation and use of these symbols men and women have different positions, roles and tasks, which are culturally determined. She underlines her vision with literature and with own research in Iran, in which she looked at food security. She makes a distinction between food and meals and from both perspectives she analyses matters of security. By doing so she unfolds different contributions of men and women. So are men generally involved when technology is invented, used or repaired. Also transport to markets often is a male task. Women on the other hand make sure that the meals are nutritious and safely made. And they are an influential force in matters of social acceptance and networking, communication and passing on of knowledge. With Parto´s contribution we finally got answers to the question what the men were doing in the early days of our civilization. They helped in making the environment fit for living in one way or another. Maybe they were also involved in the domestication of sheep, cows or deer for milk. Because we did that as well in the very early stages of our existence.

One important lesson of Michela to end this short review of day three: in the beginning of human civilization it were the women who decided on borders and territory.  Why and where did we women lose that position? Interesting question for the coming days!!!!  Ally

From here ot where?

It’s almost over. We’ve eaten well, of course. This is Italy, after all, and food is a focus of the workshop. We’ve made it too. I’ve made pasta for the first time in my life, taught by an 84 year old grandmother. I’ve met people from countries I’ve never met people from before and heard their stories – personal and political, inspiring and distressing. Stories that tell of a very disparate and still divided Europe, struggling to come to terms with the legacy of its history. And that legacy, struggle and its consequences fall unequally on men and women, not because of their biological differences but because of the distribution of power and control between them, because of the way risks and benefits from change fall, because of the gaps between rich and poor, because of the way gender roles are constructed and maintained. All of which are challenging and discomforting for me as a man.

            We have looked beyond Europe, to its place in a deeply unequal world and to the dynamics and geopolitics that surround food. It is a world which, through its history, Europe has helped create. We’ve heard, on video, inspiring stories from illiterate, marginalised women in India. Had revealed to us the long peaceful period in what archeologists call Old Europe, led by women. And much more, including an outline of the reality of what lies behind US food aid and the ‘iron triangle’ that supports it and why thinking about meals rather than food provides a sounder basis for understanding ‘food security’.

            But, so what? We are better connected, better informed. How will this connect into actions that help tackle the challenges we face? Climate change not only poses the biggest threat to the environment that has sustained us but also the settlement patterns and food webs we have come to accept.

For me, the gender dimension will be a bigger part in how I understand and talk about the food system and the choices we face. More broadly, one challenge is to link the personal and the stories beyond the usual concerns that emerge, such as children’s eating and obesity, to financial, political and economic structures. To understand better how power is exercised and engendered around food and how such understanding helps focus action that connects local to global in seeking to create a fair and sustainable system for everyone, everywhere.

         Within Europe it means having a better understanding of the diversity of experiences and translation of those into policy from local to EU level. Both are needed to transform the EU’s approach to food and farming. Here the upcoming Common Agricultural Policy reform is central. Beyond that, though we must look at the responsibilities and actions taken by the EU and members states to the rest of the world. And celebrate and enjoy the diversity and depth of the myriad of food cultures and draw on them in this.

Geoff

Gathering experiences and culinary sensations

As we all know life is usually teasing and it is always so that in good company and favourable conditions time passes by extremely quickly. Friday took us by surprise in two ways: firstly, because it came so fast and secondly - it was simply amazing.

We started with a group photo and then “round-chair” discussions sharing experiences and exchanging examples concerning job market, agriculture and food sovereignty. We talked about financial situation in our countries, minimal wages and gender budgeting – we agreed that the latter has to be implemented in the agricultural policy. Similarly, we came to a conclusion that it is indispensable to combat the problem of food speculation. Later Geoff told us his story of influencing policy-makers via accessible/ user-friendly  publications on food, agriculture and security. It gave us hope that change on a political level can indeed be madeJ

After a break we continued in a lovely atmosphere in the garden by breathing exercises and stimulating our energy, among others by moving conveto’s walls;) Then we divided into three groups, each of which had to formulate own vision of future (dream of what the reality should look like) and propose what we can do after the workshops in order to change sth for better.

The first group emphasized that in the future children should be protected from harmful, unhealthy or old food. They are convinced that media and schools ought to play a major role in improving the current bad state of affairs. Local authorities could introduce to schools nutritional meals in, say, Jamie-Olivier style. Appropriate role models might encourage kids to go in for sports and develop healthy eating habits. It is crucial to target vulnerable groups. We also count on peer pressure (which at least once could have beneficial effects) – if a popular child ate healthily, others would follow in his/her footsteps.

The second team came up with the following sound bites: community, connection, self-awareness, linking the political with the private, historical awareness of Europe, responsibility, definition of happiness, holistic approach to all problems.

The third group would glow with happiness if people understood that good food is not elitist. What’s more, it can cost less than the “cheap”, low-quality products (obviously we perceive it in such way, because we don’t take into account health repercussions of its consumption). We think it is really necessary to retain people’s dignity and not simply provide them with meals from food banks. Education, culinary lessons at schools, legislative changes in redistribution of food “waste” (take e.g. unsold bread) and media campaign against overconsumption/overbuying are of primary significance. We decided to cooperate also after the workshops by means of a mailing list and in this way to stay in touch, keep informed, share materials, experiences etc. We will disseminate the acquired knowledge and raise food/gender/green awareness by social networking (never underestimate the power of Facebook;)) It might be also very helpful to jointly formulate various letters to MEPs on issues that are so dear to us.

Brainstorming cost a lot of energy which we supplemented with generous portions of unrivalled pasta we did yesterday with three kinds of sauces: zucchini+anchois, pesto and tomato+herbs. Then, we proceeded with a fried Italian sausage and bean in tomato sauce. Mmmmm…J

In jolly moods we learned how pecorino and ricotta are made locally. We couldn’t of course resist a temptation to savour them and also buy some for keepsake (or should I say – eatsake) and gifts. Then, in the delightful full moon we wandered through ecological farm and listened how kiwis, grapes and olives are grown organically. To our horror, the climate change has already impacted crops and everything blossoms almost a month earlier (sic!).

There couldn’t be any better crowning of this day than our dinner at the farm. The wealth and variety of food was simply overwhelming. It’s difficult not to forget about everything we ate, but I will do my best: bruschetta in three versions - with fresh oil, mushroom paste and tomatoes, bean, bean with onion, chicpea, aubergine with garlic (well, oil was like an intrinsic element, so you can take it for granted that it was added to everything), delicious bread, pasta with broccoli and sausage, chicken breast with fried potatoes and special local cabbage, aubergine with parmigianno, two tarts with apricot or blackberry jam, special pastries with wine most… Not to mention that we helped ourselves with divine organic wine, two kinds of Grappa and herbal liquor. Some of us got so motivated and brave that they dared to go to hot springs despite the darkness and arctic temperatures (mind who is writing these words;) Anyway, this is a completely different story, which will have its own author…

Liliana

Monday 18th of october

Presentations of the 1st day of Workshop

Agenda of the Workshop

Ally de Vries

Each of the participants was asked to bring something from home, something meaningful, that is used in the preparation of food..many surprised us with interesting and colorful stories..

Jeannie Marshall

Wendy Harcourt

Nathan Morrow

Deconstructing modern food systems: globalization, industrialization and agribusiness

Food Aid Policy 
Nathan Morrow
"Food Aid  is an inappropriate instrument for achieving long-term Development....
It is necessary to de-link food aid in-kind from agricultural production and markets at home (untying of aid) and support the promotion of  local, regional and triangular purchase of food – preferably  from surplus producing areas in the region or other Southern producers"

Policies for agriculture: EU vs US 
Matteo Vittuari

Matteo Vittuari

"In the future, rural policy will be increasingly affected by changing environmental pressures regarding energy, water and the need to preserve rural areas as the reserve for cities, rather than places deserving development in their own right. These pressures will be tempered in the EU by broader values regarding territorial equality and social inclusion. In the US, where attachment to place is lower and marke competitiveness is paramount, broader rural development policy is less likely to receive significant attention"

Global Food Security: challenges, choices and power

Geoff Tansey

Geoff Tansey

"The food system nowadays is disfunctional. Instead of food security we should shift to the concept of Food Sovereignty, which is the right of people to define their own agricultural and food system...In the 90's the global food system rools changed: excess of rules and regulations (intellectual property rights), global players (WTO) and financial innovations driven by short term profit. It is now necessary to recognize leaverage points, changing paradigms to an ethical, ecological, fair and just food system"

Global local - reflecting on food sovereignty via skype with Raj Patel

On Wednesday just after the visit to the organic bread maker 10km far from the convent we had a skype interview with Raj Patel, author of "Stuffed and Starved" and more recently of "The Value of Nothing". - Sabrina
Among other topics we had also conversation on the place of gender in food security, and on the progressive reduction of street food as gentrification of urban places progresses.

Wednesday: a lot to chew on

Finally getting this post out after some failed attempts...

On Tuesday to our delight the sun had popped out whilst we were in beautiful Orvieto, the town atop the flat summit of a volcanic cliff, looking like it had quite naturally grown out of it, so skilled and artistic was the architecture. However, the chilly wind still found its way in, and we feared this morning (Weds) that another cold day was in store. We were still full from the delicious food the night before (pasta from an old variety of wheat with spicy arrabbiata sauce - literally "angry" sauce, exquisite bread, and pork with salad and bitter greens), prepared with the passionate talents of Alfredo Ferranti and Damiano and inspired by the knowledge of the wonderful naturopath Anna di Muzio, who gave us a talk just beforehand, which set us up for our 'heated discussion' by the fire (see earlier post). This morning more treats awaited us, of the intellectual sort...

Anthropologist Michela Zucca from Milan, with her every finger wrapped in a large ring, her long, wavy and voluminous hair theatrically falling to shroud her face and then being swept back to timely punctuate her points, and her expressive face and hands, delivered a dramatic talk. She first challenged the positivist scientists, historians and archaeologists about the linear 'evolution' of humans and their food and agriculture habits, and the supposed dominant role of men within this where it was more evident that societies had been matriarchal, throughout the world and across the proposed ages (stone age, monolithic, neomonolithic, etc.), positing instead that former societies were equally intelligent as contemporary ones and that they efficiently adapted to their diverse environments rather than developing in the same way across regions. Also that material and economic aspects of society were very much secondary to culture and religion. Secondly Michela discussed the social construction of authenticity; how foods especially are presented as authentic in order to sell to tourists but which sells only what is desired and which masks the real process, often industrial and globalised, of the 'authentic' produce. This can be reflected in geographical indicator (GI) stamps (such as champagne and parmiggiano). She noted that women especially are involved in such production and in demanding this kind of recognition of their produce, perhaps in order to assert some form of value to the hard work it represents. 

Then from our own group, the charismatic rural sociologist Parto Teherani-Kronner, gave her fascinating talk about meal culture. Drawn in particular from her research in Iran and interrogation of language and translation, instead of 'food security' Parto proposes that we use a framework of 'meal security'. Food can be any edible product (wheat, potato, maize, fruit, yogurt, etc.) but a meal requires an additional set of criteria - time, knowledge, energy (human and fuel resouces), equipment, cultural influcences, social expectations.... as well as ingredients. This is a more accurate way of understanding what, how and why people consume food and therefore how to better address the problems of adequate food and nutritional health. The simplistic idea of eating as one of a handful of fundamental human/animal needs (like shelter) must be broadened and complicated to allow for culture, society, politics and environment to play their equally influential roles in the human act of eating; we are social cultural beings.

This got our brains ticking. How does the information and issues presented fit into current capitalist systems and the wider global politics of food? What is the future with wage labour as the trend, especially for women, is to move away from food (in the sense of time spent growing, preparing, serving and sharing it) which is not valued economically (or culturally?) and towards the formal financialised sector? Marcel Mauss brought attention to the symbology and significance of every gift, in the sense that it can form important ties in society through creating obligations of reciprocity and debt. Food is a very special type of gift. We can see this on the large scale in the way that food aid policy uses food as a weapon by a food aid-giving nation to make certain recieving nations indebted to it (as discussed by Nathan on Monday). On the smaller and more personal scale and often in the home food can demonstrate love through feeding as a key way to nurture, and in return for nurturing/feeding one can gain the love of others and their reciprocity in a complex web of social cohesion. But if we continue to 'liberate' ourselves from the time constraints of preparing and consuming food, not seen as economically useful, and this responsibility is taken over by indsutry and corporations, then who do we become indebted to? Who must we owe and what will we owe? Who should we love and respect? The supermarkets that provides us with our unhealthy microweavable ready-meal or our tasteless packaged sandwich that we eat rushed and alone in front of our computer during our "too busy to take a proper lunch break"-lunch break? The corporations who own the whole food process? The entire system?....


Too much food for thought... it was time for lunch (pasta with lake fish, salad, greens and cheese by Enzo), the first wine of the day began to flow (does it ever stop here?!) and the sun was out and warm and delicious on our skin after a grey start and the cold of the fist few days. Then it was out again with our taxi drivers Luigi and Massimo to the nearby bakery Il Sambuco, an organic cooperative that uses local ingredients (see 'Real Bread' post below). Set in a peaceful green spot, we had a thorough tour and explanation of the process of bread making and we tried some of the some yummy produce; they did not only bread but also pasta and sweet and savoury biscuits and other treats. We all left with some scrumptious goodies in tow  :-)


Back at the Convento we admired a beautiful sunset, reflected on the day, gave a helping hand to and learnt some cooking tips from the cheffs (or just took photos and drank wine!), and conducted a skype chat with Raj Patel, on his way to Italy for the Terre Madre event. Yet more consumption of hearty food together before huddling around the fire to watch a moving and informative film made by women in Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, telling their own story about their agriculture, biodiversity, and their cultural and religious events that interweave with their agriculture. Yet again we're reminded that food is highly cultural.


The programme is really starting to take shape now. How will we continue to pull together the various strands of the contemporary food and gender web?


Lauren

Thursday lunch outside

First lunch outside...eating while enjoying the marvellous view!

The view of the Convento

Holistic Nutritionism

Tuesday afternoon with the inspiring Anna di Muzio who talked about how food can make you well. We all know the feeling when you have eaten something that makes you ill. Anna pointed out that if food can make you ill then perhaps it also has the capacity to make you well. This seems such an obvious concept that it is a wonder that Naturopathy isn't more widely known about. In her wonderfully calm and centered way she explained how the aim of naturopathy is to restore 'balance' to the body and to facilitate this through stimulating or calming various organs. There is obviously no quick fix for a body that has been out of balance for a long time but, her explanations, and our lively discussion afterwards gave us food for thought. Particularly pleasing was the discovery that food fried gently in olive oil can be good for you! Avoid reaching smoking point with the oil though.

This session also introduced Alfredo Ferranti and Damiano to us. They were going to spend the next three evenings showing us something of Italian food and feeding us all with classic Italian menus devised along naturopathic lines.One group spent some time in the kitchen with them making the arrabiata sauce which we ate later.

Alfredo and Damiano served us with a wonderful meal of fusilli with arribiata sauce followed by fried pork loin chops seasoned with dill pollen served. The chops were served with the now familiar chicory dressed with olive oil. The Italians like to eat seasonal food and chicory is now in season so we are having a lot of it! The pork was delicious and the unusual seasoning caused a lot of discussion. The fusilli was not only wholemeal and organic but was made with spelt flour, an ancient variety that is reputedly easier to digest especially for those with gluten intolerance. The next morning many of us remarked on how well we had slept – coincidence or the result of the local wine? 

Vix 

The Pasta making

Thursday, 21st of october
This afternoon we all enjoyed learning from Signora Teresa 84 years pasta traditional expert from Viterbo who came  to teach us how to make home made Pasta: sicilani, tagliatelle, cappelli ...all three from scratch, with rolling pins, and special local pasta rolling stick
Ingredients: flour, water and eggs! 
As some of  us made the pasta others enjoyed acorn coffee and treats from Latvia as well as apples from Liz's garden in the UK, slightly bruised but wonderfully sweet.

As the pasta was piled high on the plates,  we ate boiled chestnuts with bay leaves, drank wine and watched the perfect sunset over the lake. Time to light the fire, drink more wine and get ready for yet another delicious dinner.

 

Lots of new things under the sun

Thursday turned out to be a perfectly balanced day. First, we started by an introduction into ecofeminism. Sabrina and Wendy explained what are its origins, aims and which ideas lie behind this unique concept. Wendy shared with us her personal experiencesof working on ecofeminism and mainstreaming gender and environmental issues. It made us wonder how to promote them even more effectively and how to combat  common phenomena such as reluctance or ignorance. We agreed that in order to reach our goals we have to value care/nurturing work properly. Especially, as they are central to women's position worldwide. Additionally, it seems indispensable to combine issues that now are perceived in opposition: private vs. public, women vs. men, hetero- vs. homonormativity etc. There are no dichotomies, only continua. There is also no place for labelling. Such approach should constitute a good starting point for making a change.

After this lecture we moved to the garden to continue with discussions in the gorgeous sunshine. We debated in two groups by referring to various topics: immigration, welfare state, empowering children in household duties, social pressure to consume without limits, health system and involvement of the state in its functioning, Big Society, role of China, changes in post-Soviet countries, the Roma and the intervention of the European Union. This variety might create a false impression that our discussion was chaotic. On the contrary, all of those issues are linked with each other and crucial for the themes of our workshops.

Discussions were intellectually demanding, so we were happy to strengthen ourselves with a delicious lunch: risotto with radicchio (and spicy sauce for volunteers), as well as tender veal, pepper sauce and cauliflower with curry. Somehow all white wine disappeared. I wondered how it happened...:) Then we took a little siesta (some were lucky enough to linger on hammocks).

The second part of the day was really practical in a culinary sense. We played host to a pasta expert - Donna Teresa. She showed us two ways of pasta preparation. Some of us were courageous enough to form a pasta team and tried their hands at kneading the dough, rolling it out, processing it with a vintage pasta machine and finally cutting into divine fettucine, siciliana and capellini (admire the pictures). Now we are impatiently waiting for the final results. Oh, not to forget that we savored unique Latvian coffee (made of acorn) with milk and unforgettable apples brought by Liz from her garden in England. Could you possibly think of a mix that would be more international?

Liliana

Arrival to Bolsena

Sunday, 1st day of Workshop
As participants were arriving to the Convent of Bolsena, we all gathered around the fireplace, in the old kitchen room of the Convent. It was cold and rainy outside...but we heated up the atmosphere with our stories...starting to introduce ourselves.


Parto and Lauren

Elizabeth and Mila!






The group (below):

Global or local? Real bread.

Discussions about politics and gender; feminism; migration; neo-liberalism and power have been continuing under the hot Bolsena sunshine.  These are all huge topics and each is worthy of a week devoted solely to it. However, I can't help feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the scale of the problems facing so many of the people in this world. My inclination is to start on a smaller scale and try to facilitate individuals, but where to start?

Our visit to a local artisan baker at the Coop il Sambuco near Viterbo yesterday was an inspiring example of a group of people getting together to make such a small scale change. Ten producers joining in a co-operative venture, to grow, mill, bake and supply organic loaves of the highest quality. Using ancient varieties of wheat, locally produced hazelnut shells to fuel the brick ovens, and a pasta madre (yeast mother or leaven) that has been nurtured for 150 years, this was a wonderful example of small-scale, sustainable production. The loaves produced from the thrice weekly baking last up to 10 days and are chewy, delicious and sustaining. But the Co-op don't only produce bread. The ovens are fired to a high temperature for the bread making and, as they cool, the residual heat is used to bake varieties of grissino and sweet biscuits. The smoke from the firing passes by and gently heats a cupboard for drying pasta so not even that heat is wasted. The bakery produces bread to order so no loaves are wasted and deliveries are made to restaurants, specialist suppliers and organic shops all over the region and as far as Rome.

Each batch of bread takes 24 hours to make from start to finish. The long period of feeding the pasta madre and then allowing the dough to ferment permits the development of complex tastes and helps to improve the texture of the finished loaves. We all got to taste a sample to prove it. Before we left the bakery there was an opportunity to buy some dried pasta, grissini and sweet biscuits. There will be packets of Coop il Sambuco pasta travelling all over Europe at the end of the week taking a little memory and taste of Italy home with each of us.

Vix

The story of stuff

The first afternoon we saw a great clip regarding the toxic, wasteful, unsustainable world we live in. Annie Leonard is funny and illustrates the issues very well, so do check out her story!The Story of Stuff 

Heated discussion

The idea behind these unique workshops is to facilitate networking and exchange of experiences, knowledge and personal stories. For this reason, we have agreed to divide each time in the afternoon into three working groups. And so we have our one and only cooking team,an inquisitive blogging duet and a holistically-oriented discussion group. We thought that we might elaborate on issues like "gender and food safety regulations", "gender and politics of food" or "passing intergenerational, gendered knowledge of food on children" or how local initiative can influence the system. Having moved to the divine fireplace (now you know where the title of this post comes from), we opened the discussion which eventually handled various topics and had nothing to do with simply following the convention.
First, we shared our observations concerning today's events, so we conducted a gendered critique of presentations that we listened to. The first one on food safety was presented by a man, the second about holistic nutritionism - by a woman. It was really amazing to realise how differently they handled empowerment, how they interacted with the audience, imparted their knowledge, held their positions or facilitated the understanding. We wondered to which extent the outcome was influenced by gender or maybe language barriers or personal qualities.
Then we shared our personal stories about 'having voice' in public/academic circles, about being encouraged or, unfortunately more often, silenced by rather (objectively) unjustified accusations of "talking too much". We all know well what is the reason behind this common charge. If the ideal of a woman is based on expectations that she shall not speak (dates back to the Renaissance), than it is no wonder that women who actually 'dare' to talk are criticised. But we want to challenge it and we will not allow others to silence us (of course it does not mean that we will not let others speak, democracy in discussion goes first:)). Another issue we touched upon is how women behave as mentors and what are the expectations towards them.
What struck us, was that discourse on food is actually very limited. It focuses on women as main counsumers, it is restricted to heteronormativity and it does not take into account all life stages, e.g. older people. We really need to widen these perspectives. We discussed how some feminists consider cooking as means of womens' subordination to gender roles and social expectations, which made us wonder what are the solutions. If women reject this limititatng convention and refuse to cook, they consume more industrialised, highly processed food (not to mention cultural and social repercussions). What else can they do? We thought that involving men and encouraging them to get involved in cooking and more generally sharing duties despite stereotypes and rigid role attribution could help. Women would be disburdened, not feeling like servants and also men would get a chance to dismiss accusations of being 'unmanly'. The problem is how to achieve it... Share your ideas with us!:)
We also wondered to which extent class background exerts impact on our attitude to food. Is class separable from money? How does the notion of class differ among nationalities? Speaking of post-communist countries, how do they handle politics of food and role division? We see a solution in collectivism (cooperation of partners in home duties), but how can we achieve it in capitalist system promoting individualism? What about countries with non-existing social capital?
The last (but not least, it was just the first discussion evening) matter we discussed was the decison-making with reference to food (of course). We usually see women doing shopping, but is it really so that they are the ones who decide? Women most often cook for their families, but are they really empowered? Who gets to decide what we eat?...
Many questions were left unanswered, many were given consideration, many have to be slept on. Speaking of which, I shall approach the end:). Hopefully, we will solve those and subsequent issues, normalise current food crisis  and make our world a better and truly sustainable place.
Liliana

Ancient lessons for modern times

Etruskens are famous for their artistique craftsmanship, but after today I wonder whether it were men or women who made the famous jewelry. Then we learned today that Etrusken women were very emancipated, literate, kept their own name when married, had businesses, were not obliged to have the husbands permission for going out…Whow!!!!! Three thousand years ago. We have certainly not moved forward much, on the contrary. No doubt they knew a lot about food and health and beauty…We will learn more about it tomorrow, cannot wait.

Other highlight of this day: the lessons of Anna Di Muzio, who also referred to ancient knowledge in combination with local practices. Concerning health and the role of food and herbs. It gives hope for these so called modern times, that is if we do what we can to save this important information, before it gets lost in the mediastorms which blow over and in our houses, whenever possible. Let us keep sailing, girls, please. Maybe the Etrusken women were good sailors as well….Ally

Italian food experiences; what I have been eating (so far.....)

Gruntvig lifelong learning, together with Sabrina Aguari and Wendy Harcourt, have facilitated this week of scholarship, fun and discovery combining good company, good food and not so good weather, with the opportunity to discover more about the food culture of Lazio and Umbria. A core group of 15 women and one man have travelled from all over Europe to come together with a floating population of visitors, experts, advisor's and friends who have gathered here at the Convento for a week to discuss and learn more about our topic.

Arrival by minibus from Ciampino and Fumancino airports for some of us wasn't until after dark so we weren't able to appreciate the wonderful setting of the 17th century convento building. However, we certainly did notice the cold. The unseasonal cold north wind together with the ancient stone building (with no heating) combined to make a chill start which necessitated the handing out of duvets all round. The simple rooms were distributed by lottery and we quickly moved on to an introductory session. A brief getting to know each other session with a glass of local white wine, all seated round a blazing fire soon banished any frigidity.

A move into the vaulted refectory was followed by a delicious supper of lentil soup then omelette and salad and perfectly ripe local fruit and local wine, all produced by the energetic and indefatigable Enzo, soon helped to restore us so that Wendy and Sabrina could outline the plan for the week. Before we left for bed Enzo asked if anyone wanted to accompany him to the lake to buy fish for the next day. He was intending to set off at 5.30am. After an arduous day's travelling he didn't get any takers!

Rather than give a blow by blow account of what we have experienced to date I just want to think about some of the food we have eaten so far.

Day 2: Enzo introduced us to lunch at breakfast time! He had failed to buy any fish at the lake and instead came into the refectory with a raw Turkey crown. He explained that he had bought it from a local farmer who treated his birds well and that he was going to cook it with local potatoes and a lightly curried sauce. I am not sure if the vegetarians amongst us appreciated the gesture, particularly when Enzo named the bird as Andrea........ However, it was delicious when it followed our first course of penne and zuchinni.

Dinner on day one was at a local slow food restaurant, named after a bear - Orso (?).   The restaurant was high up on a hill and probably had a fantastic view of the lake but it was dark when we arrived. My little group had travelled with Enzo and his dog. 'Oliver' is a very large white boxer who looks very fierce. In fact he is a giant softie but his vigorous and noisy demands for attention in the back of small car made for an interesting journey! The small restaurant had tables for all of us (23 for dinner) but no menu. We were verbally given a choice of two starters; ribollito or pasta with lake fish, followed by pork with chicory or lake fish with salad.

  

Having made our choices bread, wine and water was brought, rapidly followed by an unexpected plateful of white beans. These were fagioli beans, a local speciality, simply served with a olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a piece of bread, toasted over an open fire by the taste of it, which had been rubbed with garlic and more olive oil. An utterly simple but totally delicious dish. Hoever, knowing we still had two courses to go (including pasta) I tried hard not to finish all of it. The pasta which followed was again very simple. Broad ribbons of home made pasta dressed with small flakes of white fish, pepper and more olive oil. I never discovered what the fish was called. Again, delicious and very satisfying and a very interesting example of how the pasta here is simply presented and isn't overwhelmed by it's sauce but complemented by it allowing the flavour of each ingredient to speak. The pork, three thin slices cut with the grain, was a bit more disappointing. It had a great flavour but was a bit tough and had no colour so looked fairly unappealing. It came with a small heap of a green vegetable, again dressed with olive oil, which I couldn't identify. The Italians among us said it was chicory but it was dark green and had long narrow leaves. Perhaps wild chicory. I have a memory of Elizabeth David and Patience Grey referring to 'bitter' or 'wild' greens but I shall have to look it up when I get home. Whatever they were they were sensational.

Pudding was a choice between pannacotta with blackberries or ricotta with cinnamon and honey. Being a cheese freak there was no contest, the ricotta was delicious and despite being completely full, it all vanished.

Enough food for one entry – more to come.....

Vix