By John Denny Observer Reporter
(Charlestown Villa, Nevis) ” A variety of delectable smells were in the air Oct. 24 during the Second Annual Inter-Cultural Food Fair hosted by the Nevis Department of Agriculture. Roti, goat water, blood sausage, Chinese, viazi karanga (African potatoes), pork ribs and other treats were more than one person could sample. Menus from 10 different countries could be selected ranging from local fare of fried chicken and Johnny cakes to African dishes such as and mahambri, dengu and chapatti. There were cooking displays and locally grown produce and meat for sale at the event. Booths from the Nevis Growers Cooperatives, the Nevis Agro Processors and the Nevis Livestock Farmers Association provided outlets for their products. Children were entertained by a bounce room and many from the St. Thomas Pre-School danced all afternoon. Everyone was subjected to the sound system that played good music so loudly that conversation was nearly impossible. A group of secondary school students were also there as a school project, writing down all the menus from the different booths to do a report on the culinary diversity of Nevis. The countries represented at the fair include: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Dominica, Montserrat, Kenya, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, China/Taiwan, Barbados and Nevis. “I have eaten many of these dishes before, but this gave me a chance to compare some different ways of preparing,” said one fair participant. “There are still a few things I would like to try, but I might not get to everything. I”m starting to get full.” The fair was an effort to showcase the cultural diversity of Nevis through food and to bring awareness to the recently celebrated World Food Day. It was also an effort to strengthen the social fabric of the island, according to the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Kiethley Amory. “Our objective was to have an intermingling of different cultures,” he said “”By returning our focus to growing our own food we can achieve sustainability. There is no reason for Nevis to have to import so much food to feed ourselves.” World Food Day provided an occasion to highlight the plight of 923 million undernourished people in the world. Most of them live in rural areas where their main source of income is the agricultural sector. Global warming and the bio fuel boom ” ethanol and biodiesel – are now threatening to push the number of hungry even higher because the manufacture of these fuels uses food crops such as corn and soybeans.
