Page 102 - Almanacco_ENG_2014

Ark of TAsTeEconomic prospectsIn Providencia, the financial returns vary greatly depending on whether the black crabs are being caught or processed, or if restaurant profits are being taken into account. The net income for a crab harvester ranges from 27,000 to 86,400 Colombian pesos per hunt. The variability depends mostly on the costs – for example, whether they walk or take some form of transport to the crab-gathering locations. This activity can involve between 48 and 57 gatherers in total.Crab-processing families can earn between 91,680 and 176,256 pesos, with one to three members per family nucleus usually involved. On average around 122 people engage in this activity each year.Without doubt, the restaurants make the most profit: black crab dishes cost around 10,000 pesos on standard menus and up to 40,000 pesos on gourmet menus.This is why one of the project’s specific aims is to keep the majority of the product on the island, promoting work alongside the restaurant owners, so that earnings remain in the local area.with the women playing a particularly important role. The crabs must first be carefully cleaned. They are then boiled for around 20 minutes until the shell changes color, from black to bright red. After cooling, all the parts are separat- ed: claws, front and back legs, abdo- men and carapace, and from each of these the meat is extracted, packed and refrigerated.a gaStronomic reSource to be protectedThe crabmeat is an important resource for the local gastronomy and economy. Currently most of the meat is sent to San Andrés, where demand is very high. It is sold by weight – though the muelas (claws) are sold by the piece – and used in many beguiling dishes. Particularly memorable is the sopa de cangrejo, with its typically Caribbean flavors, a soup made with ingredients such as chili, pepper, flour-and-water dumplings, yam, sweet potato, coco- nut milk and local herbs.Mass tourism has not yet developed in Providencia and Santa Catalina, so102 almanaCfocusing on the kind of travelers who care about the environment, the land- scape and local products could prove a winning choice and bring a number of benefits to the community. To this end, Slow Food is working with chefs in Providencia, helping them to fully ex- ploit the indisputable value of this typi- cal product.The harvesting and the high demand from restaurants have however led to a problem for the local population: catch limits. No clear figures on crab num- bers have emerged from the studies carried out so far, but a few years ago, Coralina (one of the project partners)© arChIVIo Slow Food