Volunteer Stories
Benedicto Marinas
Mali
Improving the Sustainability of Malian Sheep and Goat Farming Program
Name: Benedicto Marinas
Current title/profession: Chef
Current hometown: New York City
Areas of expertise: Culinary Arts
ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
Name of project: Improving the Sustainability of Malian Sheep and Goat Farming Program
Location of the project: West Sikasso region, Mali
Duration of assignment: Eight weeks
Organization that sent the volunteer: Common Pastures/Browse and Grass Growers Cooperative
In the village of Solla-Bougouda, as in many other villages in the West Sikasso region, most families have corn porridge for breakfast; and corn porridge, break corn or corn paste with tomatoes, onion or okra sauce for dinner. If a third meal is taken the options are the same.
New York City Chef Benedicto came to Bougouni Circle in the Sikasso region of Mali to share his creative use of farmer products in nutritious, inexpensive meals. He worked with 4 villages and 1 school including 125 men, 129 women, 118 youth and totaling 372 (36 with disabilities).
He first requested that the participants share their cooking methods and ingredients. He then explored what was available in their community gardens and sold on the roadways. With this information he was able to increase the nutrition and diversity of their meals. Measuring tools were ignored. Participants were encouraged to use their intuition and trust their eyes and taste when creating meals.
Almost half of children in the rural areas of the Sikasso region, 42%, show delayed growth (Malian Demographic and Health survey: EDSM-V 2012-2013). Benedicto built the capacity of men, women, and youth to prepare and appreciate more diverse food choices, such as the highly nutritious moringa tree leaf, papaya, sweet potatoes, and spices, along with the addition of protein from fresh milk, eggs, chicken, and fish from the local river.
The village chief, Mr. Djeka Mariko, praised the results: “Benedicto you are a blessing…, by coming so far and training all of us on the importance of using our foods as our medicine to maintain health.”
Chef Benedicto Recipe - Corn and Moringa in Fish Broth
Ingredients:
- Moringa leaves
- Dried catfish
- Corn Kernel
- Onion
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Heat oil in a large skillet. Cook and stir garlic, then onion, ginger and tomatoes in hot skillet until softened, about five minutes. Add the dried catfish, stir slowly until tender. Add water. Let it boil. Add the corn kernel. Simmer until cooked, about 15 minutes. Add the moringa leaves. Season with salt and pepper. In no less than a minute after the moringa leaves are added, this dish is ready.
Note: moringa leaves gets overcooked easily and when they are, they tend to get bitter.
Fresh corn, moringa leaves and dried fish