Africa At Cheese 2015

A delegation from Africa is set to take part in Cheese 2015 , the biennial international event dedicated to milk in all its shapes and forms to be held in Bra , Italy from Friday , September 18 to Monday , September 21 , 2015 .

Slow Food Presidia

At the event there will be a special stand dedicated to display Africa’s biodiversity. Here visitors will be able to meet Slow Food Presidia and food communities from Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, São Tomé and Príncipe.

From Ethiopia the Karrayu herders will bring their camel milk handmade soap. The Karrayu herders will not be able to offer tastings of fresh camel milk for logistical reasons.

The Pokot, an ethnic group of herders native to Western Kenya, will offer some tastings of their traditional Ash yogurt , a Slow Food Presidium. To make this yogurt, milk it is poured into long, narrow gourds, left to rest for at least three days and then mixed with ash from the wood of a local tree, the cromwo, known for its antiseptic properties.

From South Africa, there will be some producers from the South African Raw Milk Cheeses Presidium . Cheese 2015 will be an opportunity for these producers to inform international consumers about the benefits of cheese made from unpasteurized milk and the importance of South African artisanal cheesemaking.

Visitors will be also able to discover Matured Goat Cheese from the Planalto de Bolona (Cape Verde). The methods used to raise animals and make cheese in this mountainous, dry and almost uninhabited area are examples of an impressive capacity to adapt to difficult environmental conditions.

A delegation from Morocco will bring the Jben of Chefchaouen , a traditional goat cheese, which is on the Slow Food Ark of Taste .

Last but not least, a section of the stand will be dedicated to the São Tomé and Príncipe Robusta Coffee Presidium , which involves 12 families from São Nicolau (the poorest part of the island) and eight communities of producers in the southeast, for a total of 150 producers.

Taste Workshop

On Saturday, September 19, at 1 pm, the Taste Workshop Up-and-Coming Italians in the World of Dairy will see the participation of Agitu Ideo Gudeta, a young woman from Ethiopia who breeds Pezzata Mochena goats , a breed on the verge of extinction, in Trentino. Agitu’s story provides one of the four stories visitors will hear about at this workshop.

Milk Workshop

Every day at 5 pm in the Biodiversity House there will be a series of tastings and meetings dedicated to present Slow Food projects.

During the appointment Discovering the Slow Food Presidia coffees from Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, São Tomé, Guatemala and Honduras (Sunday, September 20 at 5 pm), visitors will have the opportunity to taste and learn about these unique coffees, which come from a variety of species and environments (from islands to high mountains) and use different processing and roasting techniques.

The full program of the events is available online at: http://cheese.slowfood.com/en/

To apply for accreditation for Cheese, please visit the following website:

http://cheese.slowfood.com/en/press/pre-accreditation-request/

Cheese 2015 has been made possible by the support of companies who believe in the future of the quality dairy sector, including the Official Partners : Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano, Lurisia, Pastificio Di Martino and Radeberger Gruppe Italia.

Cheese, the international biennial event organized by the City of Bra and Slow Food, will be held in Bra, Italy, from Friday, September 18 to Monday,September 21, 2015. Dedicated to milk in all its shapes and forms, the event has led to the formation of an international network of cheesemakers and dairy artisans, and is currently in its tenth edition.