Climate Recipes: Art project in Goa gathers traditional knowledge for climate adaptation

Climate Recipes pop-up by Edible Archives and contributors of the project at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Panaji. (Image by Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts)

What did indigenous people and cultures know about climate change? Did they have strategies and knowledge for climate adaptation that could be useful in dealing with the climate crisis today - perhaps in conjunction with, or even more than, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)? Perhaps they had something intimate or tactile, or some age-old wisdom that is captured in the stories and practices of our respective cultures?

‘Climate Recipes’, presented by Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Pollinator.io, and Socratus, and curated by Srinivas Mangipudi and Srinivas Aditya Mopidevi, asked these questions. The wisdom gathered was then compiled in a 130-odd-page book that has insights on how to tackle the issue of climate change by looking back at our indigenous knowledge. The book contains the life experience, and knowledge of 25 people who come from different backgrounds, right from academicians to farmers, poets, architects and environmentalists.

The ‘Climate Recipes’ book

Each of the 25 people expressed their lived and tested knowledge in 150 words and a storyboard for Climate Recipes. “We have titled it recipes as they are intimate and part of everyday life,” says Mopidevi. Mangipudi explains that recipes are also a form of instruction as that’s the larger theme of the art show of which Climate Recipes is a part, ‘this. generation’.

‘this. generation’, an exhibition dedicated to code-based practices, is on at the Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts in Panaji till March 31, 2024.

The Climate Recipes book, which is a part of the show along with illustrations, is a trove of local wisdom that is embedded in day-to-day practices and simple acts. For instance, foraging for seasonal food as explained by Ayurvedic physician Maryanne Lobo, or training your tongue as suggested by environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar by eating what grows around you.

Mangipudi suggests that foraging and eating local are old practices, but they also could be our future as due to erratic climatic conditions our food crops are getting impacted and thus we may have to eat what’s available.

The Edible Archives restaurant at Assagao is one such example of an ingredient-driven and cuisine-agnostic restaurant. “We substitute what is available, experiment with recipes, and talk to people about these realities.”

The book is filled with interesting anecdotes. Photographer Assavri Kulkarni mentions a coconut grater which is her grandmother’s gift. “It was her recipe for staying fit, eating right, feeding people the right food,” says Kulkarni, adding that for her, using that grater every day also means daily using freshly grated coconut, a staple in Goan cuisine.

The project also looks at other aspects of sustainable living. Konkani writer and 57th Jnanpith awardee, Damodar Mauzo, elaborates on the concept that in Goan villages, people didn’t build houses higher than the coconut trees. “The practice signified that an individual’s aspirations and status are not disrupting the village’s harmony,” states Mauzo. Architect Tallulah D’Silva advocates slow architecture by taking references from old mud houses and termite mounds.

The book also highlights the intangible aspects, like through literature. Poet Mamata Verlekar draws a connection between languages and the land it belongs to. “Languages carry philosophies and metaphors of nature in stories and poems.” She adds, “By remembering things in multiple tonalities, we carry the potential to tell stories for future generations. The loss of a language to truly express, is losing a way of life.”

Naturalist Parag Rangnekar speaks about animism and nature worship which is integral to Goa’s culture. He adds, “We need a new approach to religion, a 2.0 version that conserves the mountain, rivers, and termite mounds as sites of worship.”

Food displayed at the Climate Recipes pop-up by Edible Archives. (Image by Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts)

The book also speaks of everyday simple acts that can have a larger impact. Divya Singhal, Professor, Centre for Social Sensitivity and Action at Goa Institute of Management (GIM), elaborates that in her class she asks her students to thread the needle and sew a button. For her, it is through such life skills that we can speak about the larger issues. “Sustainability begins with mending one’s habits,” she says.

Mopidevi says that terms like ‘sustainability’, ‘smart city’, and ‘net zero’ are empty signifiers or jargon that do not give any entry point. But we need to bring back such practices, which were part of our lives, by giving them the respect they deserve.

Mangipudi and Mopidevi, who spent around six months collecting and documenting this knowledge, say that this whole process also brought immense change within them. “Throughout my life, I have stayed at different places, changed 13 schools. But for the first time while doing this project, I felt more connected (to Goa) in ways I have not felt connected to before. It could be because all these contributors are speaking about home so passionately,” says Mangipudi.

Mopidevi says that he approached this project with an open mind. But during this journey, his habits have changed. Be it cooking his meals or saying no to packaged drinking water. He mentions that such simple acts do have a deeper meaning. It connected him to his childhood where he spent his days on his grandparent’s farm in Telangana where life was content and self-sufficient. And also challenged him as a curator. “I loved the way it has challenged me to make knowledge accessible as that’s my job as a curator,” says Mopidevi.

The curators say this project is for the commons. As Mangipudi states, “We believe that knowledge exists to deal with climate change issues. We need to look at the systems or the recipes that make this knowledge accessible. It is for everybody as it is the project of the commons.”

‘Climate Recipes’ project is part of ‘this. generation’ - an exhibition dedicated to code-based practices - which is on display at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Panaji, Goa, till March 31. The book is available for sale at the venue.