Voices From the Field (2022-03-15)
Gygaia Projects
With Koç University, Gygaia Projects (and the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project) is a partner on the current grant Negotiating the Modernity Crisis: Globalization, economic gain and the loss of traditional and sustainable food practices in Turkey (AHRC AH/V000454/1) at Royal Holloway University, London. The project is called SOFRA.
Erica Rowan (Royal Holloway) and Christina Luke (Koç Univeristy), along with ANAMED post-docs Gülşah Şenkol, Jessica Feito, and Dalila Alberghina, are documenting seasonal food practices in the region of Manisa. Christina, Gülşah and Dalila visited the local markets in Gölmarmara, Ahmetli, and Salihli in February; the entire group returned in March.
We came together to walk field boundaries, meadows, and forests with local communities as they collected wild, edible plants. Their rich traditional knowledge spans generations.
We also visited the wild plant festival in Alaçatı and shared a meal of traditional foods at Asma Yaprağı.
Here we experienced the shifting landscape of knowledge. You can hear more about it at our 2022 ASOR paper later this year:
“Boundaries of the Orman: The Materialities of Wild Greens in Mera in Western Anatolia,” by Christina Luke, Gülşah, Şenkol, Dalila Alberghina, Jessica Feito, and Erica Rowan.
Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects soon!