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aFricahoTels anD resTauranTsin africa are beinG invaDeD by imPorTeD Dairy ProDuce wiThouT a care for The TraDiTional knowleDGeof nomaDic breeDersBetween 1960 and 1980, the value of milk and dairy produce imports in Af- rica rose from $US43 to 680 million. Concentrated and powdered milk are now found everywhere, from the tables of hotels and restaurants to houses in town and country.There is, however, a great variety of processing techniques and traditional knowhow related to the production of fresh milk, curd, butter, cheese and yogurt that is often overlooked. These dairy products have been traditionally made and consumed by nomadic live- stock breeders belonging to different ethnic groups.animaLs arE mEmbErsof thE famiLyAs the Mauritanian anthropologist Ould El Ghassem points out, the nomad tra- dition is founded on a rapport with ani- mals and the resources they produce: milk, hides, wool, meat and so on. The animal is to all intents and purposes a member of the family, whereas “breed- ers define themselves as ‘children of the clouds,’ meaning that they are al- ways moving to where rain is falling to exploit the best pasture.”2211