The Nilgiris Wild Food Festival begins in Udhagamandalam from December

A farm-to-table meal of buttery jackfruit stir fry, a mixed bean sambar with foraged greens and tubers, and a helping of heirloom foxtail millet await the participants on day one of the four-day Nilgiris Wild Food Festival that begins from December 19. The traditional meal is cooked on firewood and prepared by Irulas, an indigenous farming and beekeeping community of the Nilgiris. The food is served on teak leaves, after a guided forest walk on their ancestral lands in the southern Nilgiris. Attendees also get to learn about heirloom produce and traditional farming practises.

“It’s time we looked at foraging and produce that is available abundantly around us, instead of buying industrialised foods,” says Ramya Reddy, director of The Nilgiris Foundation (TNF) adding that the festival turns the spotlight on mindful ways of gathering food, and consuming it. “The indigenous communities have a natural instinct towards foraging for food attuned to seasons. We hope the festival brings attention to foraging, wild foods, the place of wild foods in a climate changed world, sustainable farming, and sustainable eating. We have to start looking at smaller farms and small holdings to get our food.”