Local Culinary and Cultural Festival
Hundreds of farmers from various ethnic groups in Lam Dong Province experienced the diversity of indigenous cuisine and culture at a special gathering organized by Caritas Dalat.
About 160 farmers representing 14 communities in the Province attended the review workshop of the People-Led Development (PLD) program for the 2020-2022 period on January 5-6 at the Dalat Pastoral Center. Representatives from Caritas Phan Thiet, Caritas Long Xuyen, and their respective People-Led Development communities, as well as several guests from other organizations, attended the event themed "Igniting the Fire for People-Led Steps."
On the first day, themed "Local Culinary and Cultural Festival," participants enthusiastically joined in outdoor folk games such as overcoming obstacles together, tug-of-war, blindfolded duck catching, rice pounding, and cooking rice while on the move.
The freezing, rainy, and windy weather could not deter everyone from participating in the games and cheering enthusiastically for their teams. Joyful laughter and encouraging cheers warmed up a corner of the Pastoral Center's campus, drowning out the cold wind whistling through the trees.
A K'hor ethnic farmer shared, "My hands were numb from the cold and the effort of pulling the rope in the tug-of-war. Even though our team lost, we felt so happy because everyone showed solidarity and determination in the competition."
All the groups also competed in cooking traditional dishes characteristic of their respective ethnic groups, using ingredients sourced from nature and organically cultivated by themselves. The dishes were also traditionally decorated, and the groups presented their preparation and serving methods to the judges and participants.
Afterward, all participants enjoyed the dishes prepared by the groups together.
The groups also performed cultural acts deeply imbued with the Central Highlands gong culture, as a way of introducing and exchanging culture with one another.
Mr. Simon Long Ding Ha Hoanh, from the Cil community in Dung K'noh Parish, said, "This is the first time I have tasted hundreds of traditional dishes from so many indigenous groups in the region."
He added that it was also the first time so many community groups had participated in a culinary and cultural festival organized by Caritas Dalat.
The most profound moment of the festival was when participants visited the booths displaying local specialties such as coffee, honey, dried bamboo shoots, fresh vegetables, and over 100 varieties of seeds—ranging from rice, glutinous rice, and various beans to gourds, ginger, and chili. Most of the seeds were contributed by the local communities, while the rest were gifts from farmers in Nepal and the Philippines.
Participants were reminded of the human-induced extinction of plant species over the past decades, the vital importance of food crops in human life, and the crucial role of farmers in seed preservation.
Before exchanging seeds to take back and propagate in their respective localities to preserve and spread biodiversity, the participants spent time in silent reflection on the meaning and value of seeds for the life of humans and all living creatures on earth.
Representatives of the ethnic groups prayed in their own languages, imploring God to bless their seeds.
The local cultural and culinary festival concluded in a joyful atmosphere of fraternal communion, filled with traditional musical performances, gong dances, and the tasting of "ruou can" (tube wine) meticulously prepared by the communities. The festival served as an occasion for everyone to give thanks and celebrate after months of hard work in ecological farming, preserving cultural traditions, and building community.
The People-Led Development (PLD) program, initiated by Caritas Dalat in 2014, aims to encourage local people to identify their own issues, with Caritas staff accompanying them in the process of taking action and creating change to address the root causes of those issues.
Pham Tam
