Come join the Millet Revival Project 2023 with The Locavore & Rainmatter Foundation!

Farming & Soil
41

Hello!

We invite you to join the latest session of our #BeyondThePlate series—a panel discussion titled “Understanding Millets and Marginalisation”. Moderated by Dr. Chubbamenla Jamir, our panelists include Dr. Bhrigupati Singh, Dimum Pertin and The Big Fat Bao.

Beyond the Plate is an initiative by The Locavore, wherein, through discussions and screenings, we explore what food can be, beyond the act of eating.

Save the date, and book your free spot by filling up this registration form.

1080×1300 314 KB

IMG_20240809_174826
IMG_20240809_174826598×675 141 KB

The history of millets is one of twofold marginalizations; firstly in that it is often associated with poor people and oppressed castes since rice and wheat were often unaffordable. Secondly, their cultivation itself has significantly declined in favor of rice and wheat during the Green Revolution, sidelining indigenous knowledge and leading to less diverse diets.

Through this panel discussion, we will examine the recent popularization of millets in the context of its past connotations, the design and packaging choices being made to appeal to urban elites, ethnographic accounts of the dietary shifts and its agricultural impact, and finally, we’ll learn about efforts being made to revive Job’s Tears, a millet so few of us even know about.

Join us for this exciting and necessary conversation!

:date:: Tuesday, 13th August 2024

:alarm_clock:: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

:round_pushpin:: Online (Google Meet)

42

Hello everyone,

I am happy to share updates for the month of August at the Millet Revival Project!

In August the Editorial Lab worked with Climate and Policy Lab volunteer, Manasa V to publish an interview with Dr. Ruth DeFries. Dr. DeFries is a celebrated environmental geographer and the co-founding dean of Columbia Climate School. She also founded the Network for Conserving Central India (NCCI) which strives to make millets easier to grow, process and thereby eat, for local communities. Learn more here!

The Cooking Lab had a busy month as they published six recipes, three of which emerged from the Kochi Cluster events. The lab has also been actively engaged in creating and shortlisting millet recipes for external collaborators. These include a monthly column titled ‘Millet Mania’ in the Malayalam culinary magazine, Vanita Pachakam. We are also assisting Gokul Ootupura, a chain of vegetarian restaurants in Kochi with including millet dishes in their menu.

The Jowar Moti Pulav by Tejaswi Rathod is decadent, indulgent and bursting with flavours.

1600×1412 701 KB

If you want a quick snack that is quintessential to the monsoon season, you might enjoy these easy to make Bajra cutlets by Urvashi Swami.

1280×960 213 KB

Sayani Sengupta also whipped together these delightful Foxtail Millet Modaks, just in time for Ganesh Chaturti.

1200×1600 476 KB

We’ve also published dishes from the Kochi Cooking Workshop held in July on popular demand from the attendees. Do check out the Little Millet Paal Puttu by Supriya A, Little Millet Mocha Magic Pudding by Tsarina Abrao Vacha and The Locavore Millet Salad Bowl by ChefTZac.

The Resource Lab was focused on conducting an exhaustive website audit, including a UX case study for the Millet Revival Project website, with the aim of improving user experience. The team is also working on database management by vetting current entries and ensuring that all information is updated. To that end, they’re also looking at including information from all the past BTP panelists.

A collaboration between the Resource Lab and the Climate and Policy Lab is underway to support the MRP survey and expert interviews, where the RL has brought in valuable structural and qualitative inputs. The Climate and Policy Lab conducted 2 expert interviews in August and is gearing up to do more over the next two months. They also hosted a BTP session titled ‘Understanding Millets and Marginalisation’, whose panelists included Dr. Bhrigupati Singh from Ashoka University, Dimum Pertin of Gepo Aali and The Big Fat Bao; moderated by Dr. Chubbamenla Jamir. This discussion explored the ways in which marginalised identities like caste intersect with ways of relating to and eating food, as well as understanding the marginalisation of millets from our overall diets due to various factors like the Green Revolution, upward social mobility etc.

1600×697 224 KB

This August the Millet Revival Project saw increased momentum in collaborations, both internal and external. This is a change that we’re all excited by as we are keen to contribute our expertise to organizations that want to make an impact in the food and sustainability space, as well as continuing to learn from each other’s unique skills.

Please find our monthly reports attached below.
MRP Qualitative Report_August 2024.pdf (58.7 KB)
TL MRP_Monthly Master Reports - August 2024.pdf (44.0 KB)