Community Conserved Traditional Cuisine Arts in Borena Zone, Ethiopia

Girum Faris,Guta Waktole,Rahel Tilahun

doi:10.11648/j.sr.20210905.11

Abstract

Traditional knowledge (TK) refers to knowledge, innovations, and practices of local communities in globe. Documentation of TK helps to identify local community with whom benefit of commercialization of such knowledge is to be shared. This study aimed to document traditional knowledge associated with food and beverage preparation in Borena Zone of Oromia Region. The data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. Informants were recommended by district’s Culture and Tourism offices. Preparation method, ingredients, mode of preparation, current status, and purpose of preparation were the focus point of data collection. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 21. A total of 64 individuals (25 men and 39 women); aged 17 to 78 with mean age of 40.00 ± 15.44 years were recruited. The minimum, maximum, and average years they lived in the study area were 17, 78, and 40.00 ± 15.44, respectively. Findings revealed that a total of eleven traditional foods and drinks were listed by respondents: Yabelo nine (six traditional foods and three traditional drinks); Dire nine (six traditional foods and three traditional drinks); and Arero six (four traditional foods and two traditional drinks). Salting, drying, boiling, toasting, frying, baking, cooking, and fermentation are the major practices that were used by the community to prepare their local foods or drinks. Informants prepare the foods/beverages customarily during public holidays such as memorial days and birth day; and occasionally for wedding ceremony, funeral, visiting respected relatives, and for respected invitee. Economic problems, urbanization, and benefiting modernization were claimed by informants that these are determinant factors to prepare traditional foods/beverages frequently at home. To conclude, there is great gap in using traditional knowledge associate with foods and beverages preparation in Ethiopia. There should be special emphasis to optimize preparation procedures through modern biotechnology and promote for commercialization access for modern companies to share benefits arising from the utilization.

Highlights

Traditional knowledge can be found in a wide variety of contexts, including: agricultural, scientific, technical, ecological and medicinal knowledge as well as biodiversity-related knowledge
Traditional foods or beverages are natural diets or drinks which nourished our ancestors throughout the evolutionary history of human in the prehistory of the industrialization of food or beverage
In Ethiopia, the history of traditional foods or beverages is dating to the early of crop domestication and agriculture innovation, and it is linked to celebrations such as holidays, festivals, social gatherings, Girum Faris et al.: Community Conserved Traditional Cuisine Arts in Borena Zone, Ethiopia funeral, to honor guests, and special occasions [1, 8]

Summary

Introduction

Traditional knowledge can be found in a wide variety of contexts, including: agricultural, scientific, technical, ecological and medicinal knowledge as well as biodiversity-related knowledge It has great role in many research fields including drug development, rural engineering, resource management, and in bio-prospecting, and researching this field is vital for scientific community, conservation of the knowledge and protection from unethical patents [12]. The indigenous knowledge systems are a significant resource which would contribute to the increased efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability in environmental conservation among rural communities of developing countries in particular They form the basis for community-level decision making in areas pertaining to food security, human and animal health, education and more important in natural resource management [2]

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