Re-designing our Food Systems: A Decolonial Workshop Toolkit
Design for
Decoloniality, Food
Year
2018-2019
Food systems are one of the manifestations of the ways in which we relate with other non-humans and humans. The dominant western, capitalist, racist, patriarchal and dualistic food system, continues to hold a huge amount of territorial and economic power, pushing forward the idea there is only one correct way to do food which can be universally applied.
A decolonial perspective argues that socially and environmentally sustainable food systems can, and do, emerge from local and constantly changing relationships with place, and thus a multiplicity of food systems is logical.
In this project I developed a workshop toolkit to support Scottish grassroots campaigners, volunteering with the Scootish Food Coalition, to design locally and collectively their dream for their desired local food system. The toolkit also provides people with an understanding of systems-thinking and power dynamics within the food system in relation to coloniality.
Insight
Did your project evolve in unexpected ways?
Yes! Halfway through the project I had to find new partners and even though that was scary at the time, I ended up fining an internship which led on to my current work.
Do you think this project can be scaled up?
I think the framework of the project can be scaled-sideways through organic growth. It is a toolkit that is meant to be co-constructed and reconstructed locally with humans and non-humans. I can see it growing organically, strenghthening itself with the nutrients available in each place, and also getting rid of things that are not supporting its flourishing in a different environment.
What was your biggest ‘take-away learning’ from this project?
To bridge the theoretical with the practical. Working with a practice-based organisation helped me go through the process of grounding ‘big ideas’, turning them into accessible messages. Another takeaway was the importance of working and learning from others – asking my peers with extensive creative backgrounds for help, enabled me to learn new skills, many of which still inform my work.
