Edie Mukiibi Brings Good Food News From Africa to California

By November 18, 2015 July 31st, 2020 News
Edie Mukiibi with Susan Obuchowski (r) and Zeno Swijtink (l), of Slow Food Russian River

Edie Mukiibi Brings Good Food News from Africa to California

After attending the Slow Food Sacramento  Mixer last Monday night, November 17th, I felt inadequate. I realized I am so small in the scheme of what is happening around us, especially the ‘us’ in the United States. I felt I should be doing more.

On Monday night we welcomed Slow Food International Vice-President Edward Mukiibi from Uganda on his final leg of the Good News From Africa food sovereignty tour across the USA. We met him at Nido on R Street in downtown Sacramento. His earlier stops were at New York City, Detroit, New Orleans, and Petal, Mississippi.

He enlightened us with stories of the African communities solving their own social and food crises by embracing small scale agriculture and youth/school gardens.

He advised that creating 10,000 good, clean and fair food gardens in African schools and communities means not only raising awareness among young generations about the importance of food biodiversity and access to healthy, fresh food, but also training a network of leaders aware of the value of their land and their culture who can serve as protagonists for change and the continent’s future. However not only in Africa, all over the globe, pointing out the goods works that has been done right here in the Sacramento area.

Even before knowing about Slow Food and the  2006, Mukiibi founded Developing Innovations in School and Community Gardens (DISC), a project aimed at promoting community engagement and agricultural sustainability among the youth.

Slow Food Russian River is grateful to our donors and supporters to have sponsored eight gardens in Africa, the Mecholo school garden and the Abuna Melekesedek school garden both in Ethiopia; the Kulawuma community garden, the Moibayeima community garden, and the Temgewabu family garden, all in Sierra Leone; the Ngurdoto community garden and the Themi educational garden, both in Tanzania; and the Mohamed Meaabed school garden, in Egypt.

After his group talk, we conversed. Here is where we Iearned of the coffee brotherhood. Where small scale coffee growers bond together by blood. Yes, indeed, blood. I believe we may have all heard of ‘blood brothers’ from our childhood. Here in Africa, it’s still experiences an active existence. When the coffee farmers will dip a coffee bean and the coffee berry in their own blood and give to a fellow coffee grower to be consumed. This consummated their bond. Forever brothers in coffee, creating networks of support.

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