Art & Agroecology At The Yam Festival

During the first days of August, we gathered for an art and agroecology residency at Jardim das Delícias, Muda’s retreat center in Lumiar, Rio de Janeiro. We met with incredible people to practice agroforestry management, breathe in the forest, wake up our bodies, and do theater as part of the Festa do Inhame (Yam Festival), a local tradition.

At first, we walked through the forest to learn from the Masters, local residents who shared their knowledge about the bioregion, its plants, water pathways, and river sources. We learned about local culture, did culinary experiments with yam, and talked around the campfire to prepare for the festival.

Last year we planted 1,000 yam rhizomes and 200 cassava cuttings in agroecology style, with the intention of benefiting, distributing, and studying these roots which are an integral part of Lumiar territory, as it’s historically known for the cultivation of these roots. 

For the festival, we harvested, tested, and made recipes with our protagonist. There was yam quiche, yam dumplings, yam pancakes, and apple pie with yam. Have you ever eaten yam couscous? We did and have the recipe to share.

The locals held a beautiful celebration. There was a contest for the largest yam root, children's ballet, a talent show, guest artists, and horsemen parading with their animals. As Muda, we participated in a fair stall with our yam products and our partners from the theatre group Pedras presented their children's play “Rosa e a Floresta” (Rose and the Forest), which is a performance about a girl who is helped by forest beings on her quest to plant a whole forest. It brings awareness about challenges such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, and pollution while bringing hope that we can plant collective dreams such as Rosa’s reforestation quest.

As part of the residency, we also invited local agroecology projects for a day of planting and managing the agroforestry system we’ve been cultivating at Jardim das Delícias for the past 3 years. We had renowned agroecology teachers conducting the effort and we were able to meet and bond with impressively skilled local regenerative farmers and exchange knowledge. It was a caring work mostly focused on pruning and feeding the soil with organic matter. Afterward, the participants were rewarded with our currency and able to purchase some products from our network. Once again we combined agroforestry and art to inspire our alternative economies journey.

For more photos and videos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-lB0P_J6i7/?igsh=bWVvOWlvcWVxN2xk