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
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