EALLU book co-author Anna Chuprina graduates from bachelor program with highest distinctions

Anna Chupina is Dolgan from reindeer herding family in Taymir peninsula, she is also a students at the Institute of the Peoples of the Nororth at the Herzen University in Saint-Petersburg. Anna is an active participnat of the Arctic Council EALLU project  . On June 24th she defended her thesis work on “Traditional Food Culture in the System of Ethnic Identity Formation of Childen”, Anna’s work was highly appreciated by teachers and members of the examination committee. 

Student from the Herzen University defends master thesis about Nenets and Sami Reindeer Herding Vocabularly

 Nechei Serotetto who  Nechei Serotetto, from reindeer herding family in Yamal, is a graduate student of the Institute of the Peoples of the North of the Herzen University in Saint-Petersburg, who also participated in the Arctic Council EALLU project, she has successfully defended her master thesis: Nenets and Saami reindeer herding vocabulary as a way of maintaining national traditions. Nechei is also a co-author of the EALLU cook book, where she writes about traditional knowldge on consuming reindeer meat. The field of scientific interest of Nechei is the study of traditional knowledge about ways to preserve products from reindeer, as well as the methods of traditional slaughtering of reindeer. She conducted a comparative analysis of traditional knowledge and technologies for butchering reindeer from the Saami of Norway and the Nenets of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. For this, Nechei studied the Sami language at the Saami University of Applied Sciences in Kautokeino for a year. In addition, Nechei has also contributed to the work of the Rievdan project.

Visit to Evenki herders in China – A Sámi Herders Perspective

Issát Turi is a Sámi reindeer herder, one of the authors of the award winning EALLU book and has been working with and for the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry for many years. He also accompanied Anders Oskal, Mikhail Pogodaev, Inger Anita Smuk, Juoksa Smuk and Elen Sara Sparrok after the Gourmand Awards to Inner Mongolia, to the Evenki village of Alouguya, China as the ICR-WRH team visited with Evenki herders. Below is a brief summary of a conversation with him now that the ICR / WRH team are back in Sápmi.  

Of course reindeer herding on the tundra and the taiga are very different things. For the Evenki, their economy is totally different. We depend on meat production, whereas Evenki in China use the herds to produce medicinal products from antlers and there is some small milk production. There’s a big market for these products in the Far East. They have challenges to recruit young herders of course, as many of the herds are quite remote and are in tough places to live. Their herds are now inside a recently created national park and this has brought new challenges. Local Evenki are no longer allowed to hunt inside the borders of the Park and hunting is a big part of their livelihoods. The rules of the National Park have also meant that herders are not allowed to carry any weapon, even a bow and arrow, to protect their reindeer from predators. Bears are especially numerous in the park and are taking  a lot of the reindeer calfs. Herders are allowed to have a dog but herders told us that the dogs don’t help so much. 

See a new photo gallery from the ICR / WRH team visit to Alouguya below

ICR/WRH Visit Evenki Reindeer Herders in Aoluguya, China. See Photo Gallery

After the stunning victory of overall  ‘Best in the World’ Foodbook for the EALLU food book, a smaller delegation from the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry (ICR) and the Association of World Reindeer Herders (WRH) made their way north to the town of Genhe, then to the village of Aolouguya to meet once more with their Evenki herding compatriots. The ICR/WRH delegation consisted of Anders Oskal, Mikhail Pogodaev, Inger Anita Smuk, Issat Turi, Ellen Sara Sparrok and Juoksa Smuk. 

WRH attended meetings and a welcome dinner with the Mayor of Genhe, Zhaomin Hu. Genhe is a sizeable city  in the far northeast of Inner Mongolia, and is the only region with reindeer husbandry which is centred on the Evenki reindeer herding village of Aoluguya. Genhe and Alouguya was the location of the 5th World Reindeer Herding Congress. 

Why EALLU Won – Gourmand Founder & President Edouard Cointreau

Mr E. Cointreau, founder of the Gourmand Awards, samples traditional foods in the EALLU tent.

As noted previously, the EALLU food book was awarded the prestigious grand prize at the 23rd Gourmand food book awards held in China, last weekend. The founder of the Awards is a Mr Eduard Cointreau and he had the following things to say about the EALLU book:

EALLU is the first book ever, presenting an overview of the food cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Arctis, says Edouard Cointreau, president and founder of the Gourmand Awards. A unique book that, unlike many others, can really change the life of indigenous families, their nomadic communities and villages. In an exceptional and impressive way the authors, who are all arctic indigenous youth, has managed to create a book that share the way of life and the food culture of places that has been known by very few people on the planet. The importance of their work and the beautiful EALLU book has no comparison. The way these youth professionally and respectfully shared their food, the arctic culture and their insights on sustainability at the Gourmand Awards on may 26, caught the immediate attention of chefs, authors, writers, journalists and photographers from more than 60 countries.

See a new photo gallery the event below

EALLU Wins Grand Prize and Arctic Prize at Gourmand Awards

EALLU: Best in the World!

The Gourmand food book awards have now wrapped up in the coastal city of Yantai, China and the EALLU team are now heading home. It has been an extraordinarily successful trip, with the EALLU Food book picking up both the Grand Prize as ‘Best Foodbook in the World’ and best in the Arctic food culture category. This is an extremely important vote of confidence in the large team of young authors who contributed to this unique food book over the life of the Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group project.

“To receive such an award from the mainstream food publishing industry is a powerful recognition of the richness and depth of a focal point of our cultures, our relationship to food. This is much more than just a book of recipes”, says Chair Mikhail Pogodaev of Association of World Reindeer Herders.

“We are incredibly proud of this achievement and our fantastic team of indigenous youth from across the Arctic who bridged generations and distances to create this extraordinary book. Maybe this signals a shift in how mainstream society values our food knowledge and that our societies can leverage this recognition to better community physical, mental and economic health. Arctic indigenous peoples have an absolutely unique understanding of the Arctic environment, their ecosystems, and our living food resources,” says Anders Oskal,the EALLU project leader and Secretary General of the Association of World Reindeer Herders. 

Read the official press release here and below see a gallery of photos

Arctic Indigenous Youth Write Best Cookbook in the World!

Indigenous reindeer herding youth win ‘Best in the World’ at 23rd Gourmand International Cookbook Award

An international group of young indigenous peoples, with their food book entitled: “EALLU –Food, Knowledge and How We Have Thrived on the Margins” has won the overall Gourmand International Cookbook Award.  The winners were announced today at the “Oscars of the cookbook world”  in Yantai, China. In this unique and now acclaimed food book, a team of 50 young indigenous authors presented 14 different Arctic indigenous peoples´ food cultures in one volume, the first of its kind. There were hundreds of entries from entries from across the world, the EALLU food book faced stiff competition (´eallu´means a herd (of reindeer) in the indigenous Sámi language, closely connected to the word ´eallin´ which means life), and was nominated in as many as 4 categories as well as the main prize itself –Best Food Book of the World, across all categories. The book was 1 of 16 nominees for the main prize, selected from contributions from 116 National States and was a delivery from the Arctic CouncilSustainable Development Working Group project EALLU.

“To receive such an award from the mainstream food publishing industry is a powerful recognition of the richness and depth of a focal point of our cultures, our relationship to food. This is much more than just a book of recipes”, says Chair Mikhail Pogodaev of Association of World Reindeer Herders: “This is about Arctic indigenous peoples´ deep knowledge about food, raw materials, processing and conservation, food security, health and wellbeing – It’s about our food traditions, our traditional nomadic lifestyles, our local economies, our philosophy and our worldviews.

EALLU Team in China for Gourmand Award Ceremony

A team from the EALLU project has touched down in the coastal city of Yantai, China to attend the awards ceremony of the 23rd Gourmand International Cookbook Awards (the “Oscars of the cookbook world”) which are being held May 26-27.  Authors from all over the globe will compete for the prestigious awarding of the World´s best cookbooks and the EALLU book has been nominated for the best in all categories and also in three separate categories. 

Present in Yantai are ICR Director Anders Oskal and a group of indigenous youth including many authors. On Friday, May 25, the EALLU team, which have brought with them reindeer blood, smoked meat and a large lavvu will host attendees and tell about the book, the story behind the project and the importance of traditional foods to indigenous peoples. Also, the Gourmand Awards are the setting for the launch of the 2nd edition of the EALLU book, with a redesigned cover and new content. The EALLU team has representation from Sápmi, Russia and China. From Sápmi: Anders Oskal, Issát Turi, Inger Anita Smuk, Juoksa Smuk, Ellen-Sara Sparrok. From Russia: Mikail Pogodaev, Alena Gerasimova, Marta Okotetto, Anna Chuprina and from Aoluguya/Genhe; 4 persons. See some photos below

EALLU Foodbook Nominated as Best in the World

Have Indigenous Youth Made the Best Cookbook in the World?

Indigenous reindeer herding youth initiative nominated for 22^nd Gourmand International Cookbook Awards 2018

The 22^nd Gourmand International Cookbook Awards (the “Oscars of the cookbook world”) is being held May 26-27 in Yantai, China where authors from all over the globe will compete for the prestigious awarding of the World´s best cookbooks.

An international group young indigenous people and others are among the top nominees, with their food book entitled: “EALLU –Food, Knowledge and How We Have Thrived on the Margins”. The term ´eallu´ means a herd (of reindeer) in the indigenous Sámi language, closely connected to the word ´eallin´, which means life.

In this unique and acclaimed food book, a team of 50 young indigenous authors present 14 different Arctic indigenous peoples´ food cultures in one volume, the first of its kind. The book has been nominated in as many as 4 categories at the Gourmand Awards: Food Heritage, Sustainable Food, Arctic Food, and the main prize itself – Best Food Book of the World, across all categories. The book is 1 of 16 nominees for the main prize, selected from contributions from 116 countries.

“This is much more than just a book of recipes”, says Chair Mikhail Pogodaev of Association of World Reindeer Herders (WRH): “This is about Arctic indigenous peoples´ deep knowledge about food, raw materials, processing and conservation, food security, health and wellbeing – Its about our food traditions, our traditional nomadic lifestyles, our local economies, our philosophy and our worldviews.”

Read the full press release belowEALLU Press Release Gourmand Nomination

“I didn’t choose this life, it chose me”

A nice article and photo (in German) was published in Berliner Zeitung a few months ago which we are reposting here, with their permission. Journalist Bernd Hauser visited Kautokeino in the spring and spent time with Issát Turi (pictured with his mother Kirsten Turi) and family in their winter pastures. Turi talked about the challenges facing reindeer herders in Finnmark and how herders can best continue to practice their traditional livelihoods. Turi is also an author in the EALLU food book where he wrote about the traditional ways that Sámi slaughter reindeer in order that the flavours of the reindeer meat are enhanced. The article closes with a quote from Turi that encapsulates the essence of the livelihood: “Nicht ich habe dieses Leben gewählt. Es hatmich gewählt!” (I didn’t choose this life, it chose me)