© Melissa Haidar
Today, the Centre of Excellence begins a series of reports to introduce the participants of School of Flavours, a reality show that brings together indigenous, quilombola and riverine school cooks, broadcast on Saturdays at 12 noon on Band TV. The project is an initiative of the National Fund for Education Development, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil.
In this first report, we highlight the indigenous school cooks who, together with partner nutritionists, are reviving food traditions and strengthening the identity of indigenous peoples.
Irene Nestor Mariano lives and works in one of the few municipalities that still strongly preserves traditional indigenous culture, Uiramutã, in Roraima. Irene is a cook at the Ko’Ko Carmelita Macuxi Municipal Indigenous School and participates in the reality show with her nutritionist partner Midiã Moura de Souza.
Márcia de Paula moved to the coast and found her calling. For eight years, she has been a cook at the Nhebo E A Porã Indigenous School in Bertioga (SP), where she was welcomed with great affection. She works with nutritionist Audrey, valuing ancestral knowledge in typical dishes.
Active in the fight for the causes of indigenous peoples and for keeping alive the relationship with the land and food, Kunhã Oryba is the cook at EMPI Irajá, in Aracruz (ES). Her nutritionist partner is Isabela Rodrigues.
Assalu Waura, who has been working as a school cook for 15 years, is representing Ikpeng State School in Xingu Park (MT), alongside nutritionist Lizia Soares Penido. He plans to bring typical dishes from his village to the programme.
Alison Júnior da Silva Almeida started out in baking, inspired by his mother, and is now a school cook at the Irmã Sandra Henry Municipal Indigenous Daycare Centre in São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM). His partner nutritionist is Alexsandra Maria Melgueiro D’Elia.
Both the guidelines for indigenous school education and those of the PNAE provide for respect for the food traditions of indigenous peoples. School meals must respect the traditional practices that are part of the community’s food preferences, with menus and food purchases integrated with local habits.
In the reality show Escola de Sabores (School of Flavours), these professionals show how ingredients from family farming and the forest, such as cassava, corn, bananas, fish and native fruits, are transformed into dishes that combine flavour and history.
Escola de Sabores (School of Flavour)
Broadcast:
Band: Saturdays at 12 p.m.
Sabor & Arte Channel: Saturdays at 9 p.m.
Terraviva Channel: Sundays at 8 p.m.
Production: Newco Pay TV
Partnership: WFP Centre of Excellence Against Hunger in Brazil, FNDE/MEC, and ABC/MRE
Previous episodes are available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wfpbrasil