Simply providing food is not enough to help the poorest populations. It is much more sustainable to teach them how to grow foods to feed themselves. In 2017, this point of view led to the creation of the Slow Food project 10,000 Gardens in Africa, of which Eataly is a proud partner. Thanks to this initiative, plots of cultivated land are being created in schools and villages in Africa that give rise to food for thousands of people. But that's not all: the same inhabitants, supported by members of the association, take care of the crops and learn what agriculture means first-hand.
Slow Food Gardens in Africa
Good, clean and fair gardens: Eataly supports the Slow Food project "10,000 gardens in Africa", promoting sustainable agriculture, local food culture and traditional products.
Good, clean and fair gardens
The African gardens have 10 characteristics that respect the Slow Food mantra "Good, clean and fair".
1. They are made by a community.
2. They are based on observation of the land, the raw materials, the available varieties and water sources.
3. They do not need large areas.
4. They are areas of biodiversity.
5. They produce their own seeds.
6. They are cultivated using sustainable methods.
7. They preserve water.
8. They are open-air classrooms to teach local populations how to grow agriculture.
9. They are useful, but also fun.
10. They are a network, meaning they are in contact with each other and help each other.
The numbers of Gardens in Africa
To date, almost 3,000 gardens have been created in 35 countries, involving over 50,000 people. Over the years, 600 of these gardens have been started with the contribution of Eataly. The initiative is also proving valuable in mitigating the impacts of climate change, as Africa has been particularly vulnerable in recent years due to its limited capacity to cope with the extreme and unpredictable weather conditions that have become normal. The Gardens in Africa are real "open-air classrooms" in which the principles of sustainable agriculture, local food culture and traditional products are promoted, and are now an essential tool for the populations who have learned to benefit from them.
Slow Food in Africa
The Gardens in Africa are just one of the projects Slow Food has launched on the continent: today Africa has 457 products in the Ark of Taste catalogue, an online offering of small, local, excellent products that risk disappearing, 43 Slow Food Presidia and five Earth Markets. All this thanks to the contribution of the new network of young Africans, who after being trained are committed day by day to building the new pillars of Slow Food philosophy in their countries.
Photo: Paola Viesi