KENYA
In Kenya the students will learn about the country through various visits and meetings with local experts, as well as by participating in a series of lessons, including on such subjects as Kenya’s fishing industry, tea production and commercialization, sugar refining, the coffee industry, and YARD, Youth Action for Rural Development.
In addition, the trip will include visits to the Slow Food presidium for Nzoia River Reed Salt, the historic city of Kapenguria, the Mau escarpment, a coffee-hulling plant, the Maasai Mara park, a tea plantation, and the Kenya Meat Commission.
The students will then meet a group of sugar producers, members of the Pokot Ash Yogurt presidium and other food communities, members of the Molo Mushunu Chicken presidium, and the women of Karunga who produce wool.
MEXICO
Mexico will see the students divided into two groups that will alternate schedules. The visit kicks off with an introduction to the history and culture of the country, the territories, and the food products, with Gloria Lopez Morales, president of the Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana.
Over the course of the following days, the groups will take part in various activities including workshops and discussions on such subjects as food security and GMOs, university projects focused on the preservation of local recipes, the region of Tehuacan, the origins of agriculture and central American irrigation systems, the history of amaranth in Mexico (including terracing and the “Milpa” cultivation system), promotion of cultivation in the region, and the harvesting and processing of vanilla.
Visits are also planned to the historic city center of Mexico City, to the Museum of Anthropology, the market of San Juan, the Biological Station of Umbral Axochiatl, the “floating” chinampas, the pyramids of Teotihuacan, the Central American Center for Water and Agriculture, an amaranth plantation, as well as to the Oaxaca headquarters of Sustainable Harvest, to a mezcal production facility for a guided tour and tasting, and to a group of producers of wild vanilla.
Students will also actively participate in a number of workshops, including Cafe de Chinos, frijoles y produco hechos en casa, which aims to trace almost-forgotten Chinese culinary traditions, and a hands-on lesson in making dulce de alegría (“happy candy”), a traditional sweet made with puffed amaranth.
SOUTH AFRICA
Those students heading to South Africa will participate in lessons on sustainable Cape fishing, on the cultivation of rare mushrooms at All Manna of Mushrooms, and on charcuterie with Niel Jewell at the Môreson Estate.
From there, an introduction to the South African ostrich at the local Chamber of Commerce, an interactive workshop on bread at the Ile de Pain bakery, and a session at Joubert & Monty, producers of dried meats. The visit will also include a presentation on the Garagiste movement, a grape harvest with Topaz Wine Education, including the vinification process and winery hygiene practices, followed by a practical exercise in food and wine pairing.
Students will also participate in a series of excursions: a visit to the aquarium; an exploration of Malaysian culture in Cape Town, including the Museum of Bo-Kaap and shopping for meal ingredients prior to sharing a typical meal with a local family; an experience focused on traditional African cuisine, during which they will visit the towns of Langa and Gugulethu, as well as the “Spaza shops” (informal stores) and the Mzoli butcher, followed by a gastronomic workshop in the home of a local family.
Also planned are trips to M’hudi Wines of Uplands Estate, the headquarters of SCOT (South Cape Ostrich Tanning) and Mosstrich, including a slaughterhouse and tannery visit, an ostrich nursery, and lessons at Timberlake Village.
For more information:
UNISG Communications Office
comunicazione@unisg.it
tel. 0172 458507-05