Bhubaneswsar: Forest food festival, the first of its kind, got off, here on Friday.
The festival, organized by People’s Cultural Centre (PECUC), shares the venue with the Kalinga Book Fare in the city’s Exhibition Ground. The inaugural ceremony was graced by member Odisha food commission Sipra Mallick, Member, special secretary finance Pradeep Kumar Biswal,PECUC secretary Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, director PECUC Minakhi Panda, food specialist Ruby Rout and Dipak Mishra.
Speaking on the occasion, the guests high lighted the importance and nutritional value of traditional food, balanced food with special emphasis on the traditional farming culture of tribal people, forest food and its nutritional value. PECUC executive director Anuradha Mohanty and DISHA secretary Abdul Kalam Azad also spoke on the occasion.
Tribal food enthusiast from all over the State participated in the festival which showcases the diversity of food stuff from the forest. The festival provide a platform particularly the the tribal women to celebrate diversity and tradition as well as to present bio-dynamic and nutritious food stuff from the wild.
Marking this occasion a workshop was organised in the Red Cross Bhawan. More than hundreds of tribal women from the districts of Kendujhar, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Bargarh, Nabrangpur, Khordha, Kandhamal, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Boudh, Mayurbhanj participated in it. In this workshop specialists from different fields discussed about the importance of forest food products and its necessities in the present context. In their discussion they emphasised on the importance of this type festivals as it will promote the nutritional values of such foods.
PECUC in association with DISHA and CAUSE implementing a programme titled ‘Food Sovereignty for Adivasi Communities in Orissa’ in 22 villages of Sundargarh and Kendujhar districts for preventing malnutrition by reviving traditional forest product, traditional seeds in collaboration with TDH(G) and BMZ.
