Traditional food and plants often play a central role in ancestral knowledge, medicine and sustainable practices. The name of this project, Yekyetolis wan yetktamahsewalis itech in Masewal Altepet, means ‘health and recovery of the traditional foods of the Maseual people.’
Through workshops in 10 communities, this project focuses on the rescue of traditional crops and their use in regional recipes. Workshop participants will prepare an annual calendar indicating the harvest periods of different plants and vegetables in the region and will learn how to recover and save the Native seeds of these plants. In addition, participants will create, produce and disseminate a traditional foods recipe book, written in Nahuatl and Spanish, as well as create recordings about people’s experiences with their traditional foods. These recordings will be broadcast through the local Maseual radio Tosepan limakxtum.
The project encourages the participation of Nahua men and women from communities in the Sierra Norte de Puebla. The vision is to strengthen ancestral knowledge and sustainable practices, and to honor the great biodiversity of medicinal and edible plants that can be found right in people’s backyards. Participants will also be responsible for raising free-range chickens, caring for bees native to the region and producing pure honey.
It is crucial to the well-being and quality of life of these communities that this knowledge and these sustainable practices are restored and passed down to future generations.