Crops and Conversations with Soil of Cultures

Urban Dream Brokerage, 113 Taranaki St (upstairs)
Weds 24 April
4-7pm: Cooking workshop
7-8.30pm: Kai and Kōrero

Charles and Grace Buenconsejo from Soil of Cultures, alongside Frances Bueno from Liyang Network, led a collective cooking workshop celebrating Earth Month. Together with the participants, they prepared three traditional Filipino dishes featuring the four major staple crops of the Philippines: banana, rice, sugarcane, and coconut. 

Following the cooking session, participants shared the meal and engaged in discussions about the stories behind these crops, including the challenges faced by peasants, plantation workers, Lumad (Indigenous) communities, and environmental defenders due to militarisation, commercialisation, and climate change. The workshop aimed to raise awareness of these critical issues while building connections and solidarity through shared food and conversation. 

Soil of Cultures is a collective of artists, cultural workers, community organisers, growers, and land stewards who work together to promote food sovereignty and support local food movements in Aotearoa and internationally. Their goal is to address the root causes of injustice in our food system through collective action, storytelling, and art. They aspire to co-create solutions through participatory workshops, community exhibitions, and educational programmes guided by the knowledge and voices of marginalised communities.

Limited Capacity (15 people max for cooking workshop + 10 more for kai + kōrero = 25 people total. Due to demand, a waitlist was also kept).

Participants were kindly requested to bring a contribution on the day towards the costs of the workshop and meal (suggested amount: $20). Any proceeds went towards support the ongoing work of Liyang Network, a local to global advocacy network that amplifies the calls to action of grassroots communities in the Philippines. Cash or bank transfer were accepted.