SAROGUA FARMS

Sarogua Farms is a project that takes its lead from the superior farming skills and knowledge of the Ogoni people. A people that were not taken as slaves because of their ability to farm and whose surplus supplied ships making transatlantic crossings before, during and after the slave trade. The farm will provide a model that demonstrates how these skills can be translated into well-designed agribusinesses. This is so that we encourage younger people to turn to farming and agribusiness seeing as the average age and demographic of a farmer is a 70-year-old woman. The young are unwilling to farm and we want to help change this. The food from the farm will be turned into innovative dishes at the Mangrove Test Kitchen as well as turned into commercial products that can be sold locally and nationally. The project wants to preserve the heritage and assure the future of Ogoni farming. It is also another way to reassert this aspect of the heritage and move the identity and energy away from clashes around oil.

OYSTER FARM

Oysters are a major part of the food offerings artist Zina Saro-Wiwa makes at her food-based performances. But it is not just because she loves oysters but that oysters are and have always been a major part of the West African coastal ecosystem and diet. Oysters are also a wonderful way to clean up the brackish waters of the region. But the market is limited. Oysters are not eaten as widely but the Mangrove Arts Foundation wants to change that. The Mangrove Arts Foundation want to farm clean and healthy oysters to resuscitate the local market through innovative dishes offered at the Mangrove Test kitchen and eventually use the oysters to aid in clean up in the creeks. Creating markets is the best way to inspire and speed up the political and economic will to combat pollution. It also offers alternative livelihoods to oil bunkerers whose efforts to survive are polluting the land.

BOTANICALS PROJECT

Ogoniland, like many parts of Africa, has a rich history and relationship with its flora. The botanicals that flavor our gins and cuisine, and create our medicinal teas are unique even within the region and they also create an alternative cartography for a place that is better known for sites of oil despoilment and violence. This project is one that seeks to document the botanicals of Ogoniland, foreground the local people that are knowledgeable about them and present the findings as a gorgeous reference book and film. The results of this research can also be experienced directly through the palm wine spirits created by another one of our projects the Illicit Gin Institute.

The site for the farm would be within Ogoniland. And we need to establish and develop the farm, train researchers so we get to grips with the incredible diversity of the land and encourage more young people into agribusiness. Please consider donating to MAF to help us achieve this by clicking here. Thankyou so much!