Issue 15, December 14, 2016 - January 10, 2017
"Learn from What We Eat" Programme
(caption for the above picture: Participants at the first Learn from What We Eat session hosted by the Canterbury Indonesian Society)
On Sunday November 27, 2016, the first cooking session of the ongoing seminar series “Learn from What We Eat” (LfWWE) took place at the Hagley College, Christchurch. The project is kindly funded by the Tindall Foundation.
The first migrant community to feature in the workshop series was the Canterbury Indonesia Society led by its President Elyana Thenu Nonie. Three “master chefs” from the Indonesian community demonstrated with strong enthusiasm how to prepare Urap and Tempe - two traditional Indonesian dishes. 36 people from fifteen different countries attended the session including seven Indonesians and 29 people from other ethnicities - Iranian, German, Japanese, Korean, Maori, European kiwi, Taiwanese, Thai, Indian, Spain, Austria, Romania, Chinese, Malaysian.
The preparation of the food was accompanied by a talk about how food helps us to understand different cultures. Moreover, a short speech about salt intake in food by Andrew Adiguna pointed out the connection between nutrition and health. At the end, all participants had an opportunity to try the Indonesian dishes and share lunch together. Andrew, who is a primary health professional in Indonesia, also offered a blood pressure check to the attendees with an advice on health.
About
The seminar series is organized by the Canterbury Migrants Centre. This monthly programme will continue through 2017/2018. Diverse migrant communities are invited to present their own traditional ethnic dishes and talk about characteristics of their culture, heritage and values. The programme elements are all focused on both physical and mental well-being. On the basis of food, the seminars aim to offer transcultural and intergenerational communication. Different migrant communities have the possibility to present themselves. This exchange will raise the awareness of health and interesting cultural diversity.
The next session will be held in January 2017, featured by the community of Zimbabwe. If you would like to attend, please get in touch with the Canterbury Migrants Centre (by phone 03-366 1379 or kevin@cmctrust.org.nz) or join the Facebook group “Learn from What We Eat” for further information.
