Seasons have an effect on how we live, they also determine which plants, trees and fruits to grow, their breeding period, and other changes in non-human activities. There are times when nature allows us–humans–to use and times when we must give back and take care, these patterns are what should regulate our food culture and consumption.
Empathy Education is defined as the knowledge we get from the ability to share and/or experience in different levels and ways another being’s situation. Through it humans and non-humans will have a healthy relationship based on the understanding of each other’s life cycles, seasonal behaviours and habits. We are living in times of change and within them cultural change.
Our goal is to create a new food culture with different habits, for this we need to invite new generations to learn as they grow and build their customs. We hope these unfamiliar species, food ingredients, to become habitual and part of human’s consciousness in order to restore the biodiversity of the sea and land.
We are presenting three subjects as our first attempt for this movement: a “Seasonal Map” which visualizes the local species’ growth and changes; “Sea Neighbours: Seaweed”, a children’s activity book that initiates children’s interests in local seaweed species through different interactions; and “Seaweed Diary: Future Snacks”, a cooking diary that documents our experiments with and reflections on cooking seaweed within a western context also encourages people to become part of the experience.
