Breaking Bread With Mipath & Sharjah Architecture Triennial...
For those of you who are unfamiliar, Sharjah Architecture Triennial is an open platform launched to bring together key stakeholders in the fields of architecture and urbanism with the goal of engaging in a collective conversation on the influence that architecture has on shaping the culture and lifestyle of a given society or neighbourhood. Through exhibitions, publications and public programs under the administrative grant of the office of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the foundation is committed to pursuing a multi-disciplinary approach that fosters an understanding of the broader role of architecture as well as its key relationship with social and environmental issues.
At the recent workshop organized by our family friend - Mipath Furtado in collaboration with the Sharjah Architecture Triennial, attendees had the opportunity to see the live demonstration of freshly baked bread. The event kick-started with a short introduction of the Triennial by Sahil and his team to familiarize the attendees with the purpose and initiatives of the foundation. After that, there was a short ice-breaker session led by Nihal and Sahil which gave all of us attendees the opportunity to introduce ourselves. The session also threw light on how the garden at the Al Qasimia School could be further used to benefit the neighborhood as a whole with some attendees coming up with very creative ideas on utilization to build better awareness. As we were hearing all these stories, we could feel a close cultural connect as attendees went at great length explaining how they grew up to be the individuals they are today in their respective villages, cities and neighbourhoods. Since the crowd consisted of mostly Goan families - the discussion was aimed at bringing together perspectives, thereby creating a broader connect through relatable experiences. By bringing together people through such events as this break-making workshop, the triennial are slowly aiming at building a broader community or forum interspersing linguistic barriers and cultures.
We took a pause half-way while Mipath, our dearest friend began with her masterclass on how to make freshly baked bread of different varieties. With her broad smile and exuberance, she was able to capture our full attention as she took us through the process step by step while occasionally cracking jokes reminiscent of her hometown and neighbourhood. It was really fascinating to see the different styles of bread preparation some of which included - the normal bun and the styled bread - a special variety we heard for the first time this session. In addition, the ingredients were also kept on display at the edges of the table for attendees to familiarize themselves as they followed through the session.
After the bread-making masterclass, we took a stroll to the nearby garden where the staff of the Triennial explained to us the different varieties of vegetables and fruits from the Indian, Asian and American continent. We were taken aback with surprise that such plants as an example - the cotton plant could grow in such harsh climates. All of this was made possible on account of a special agricultural technique - permaculture where the farmers recycle the residue of the harvest or plantation in a compost bin and use it to make fresh manure which is then returned back to the soil. As a result, plants and vegetables from places such as India get accustomed to the UAE climate after a year, since the nutrients required for sustenance have been mixed by then and already made available in the recycled residue or forage.
We finally ended the masterclass cum discussion with a snack session where every single attendee brought homemade food items that were all laid on the table. The snack session resembled a potluck with all the local delicacies from not just Goa, but covering other parts of India such as Mumbai, Kerela including Mexico, Lebanon where some of the staff were from. Overall, it was really fruitful to bring together a community over the breaking of bread and we look forward to more such initiatives in the future.
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