Community experiences to encourage the use of its resources. A cooking fair in Candito neighbourhood, Candelaria, Pinar del Río

Abstract

Culinary fairs have been developed in the last
two years within the context of diversity and seed fairs, as an
extension of a community movement named Mi Plato y Yo,
rooted in Las Terrazas community that includes rural families,
their traditions and rich diversity. The objective of the present
work was to extend this community experience to another one
on the periphery of Sierra del Rosario biosphere reserve,
through demonstrating novel ways for preparing food. The
multiple uses known in the area for the species mentioned as
well as the knowledge of their qualities for the family´s diet
became evident. There was a nice exchange of the nutritional
values of the ingredients employed, and the forms used in
other countries; such aspects enrich food culture of the area.
Besides traditional recipes, creoled meals were presented in
Cuba, which constitute indispensable elements in a Cuban
table now-a-days. Considering gender, a well-delimited pattern
of work division was evident in households, where women´s
task is to prepare the food whereas men are in charge of bringing
it; however, there is a portion of work that men should always
carry out and requires more effort. There was an approach that
accuses women for allowing men to do wrong behaviour
patterns when facing housework distribution; this is a serious
problem, since women are responsible for transmitting habits
to the young generation. The educational activity of these
workshops was recommended to be continued, and to get
enriched by the community, besides linking it to the movement
of yards and parcels, as a way of achieving a sustainable
initiative.