PASIL, Kalinga – The local government and concerned agriculture industry stakeholders will be celebrating the Indigenous Farmers Day that will highlight the 2nd edition of the ‘Slow food’ festival on December 9, 2017.
The ‘Slow food’ festival, which is part of the annual event, will have the theme “Preserving a Taste, Protecting a heritage,” which will be a whole day celebration that will done in the covered court in the municipal quadrangle, Amdalao, Guinaang, here.
“Slow food’ is a global grassroots organization that was founded in 1986 in Aricegola, Italy to resist the opening of a fastfood chain in Rome. In 1989, the founding manifesto of the International ‘Slow food’ Movement was signed in Paris, France by 15 countries and the movement was founded to prevent the disappearance of local food, culture and tradition, counteract the rise of fastfood and fast life and combat the dwindling interest in the food that people eat, where they come from, and how the food choices of the people affect the world.
Pasil farmers groups are said to be members of the ‘Slow food’ movement and although the organization did not originate in the local scene, the festival embodies the goal of the municipal government to aggressively promote organic agriculture through the enactment of Ordinance that took effect last year.
Among the lined up activities during the festival include information and education campaign to revitalize the indigenous, traditional and organic food products that are produced in the locality to strengthen the awareness of the youth on the local food system and the effect of inorganic activities such as the effects of chemicals that harm the environment, ecology and human health.
The other activities that were lined up by the local government for the festival will include a simultaneous lecture on the different topics in relation to indigenous foods and tradition, biodiversity and climate change, the effect of fastfood and fast life and various topics that will serve as a challenge to everyone to revive the culture and tradition in farming as well as inorganic farming.
One of the major attractions during the festival will be the display of cooked food like inanjila, and kinallolay and wine or bayas, prepared by the local farmers who come from the different barangays of the municipality.
Residents and visitors like will have a chance to partake of the indigenous food as the same will be served to the public during snacks and lunch.
The first ‘Slow food’ festival was previously held in Cagaluan, here and the proponent of the conduct of the festival is Lam-en Gonnay, an organic farmer and ‘slow food’ advocate from the municipality.
Local officials recognized the important role of the ‘Slow food’ movement in creating awareness among the populace, especially the youth, of having good, clean food on the table and that they have expressed their all-out support for the sustained conduct of the activity to allow the aggressive promotion of organically raised crops in the countryside.
By Milagros F. Batalao
