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When
I told my colleagues I was off to an Ethiopian Feast they scoffed
that those two words surely don't belong in the same sentence.
Well,
that is the precise misconception that the Reading-based Southern
Ethiopian People's Action Group (SEPAG) hopes to dispel.
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| The
Ethiopian Feast buffet |
For
the past three years the Global Café in London St, Reading, has
hosted this popular fund-raising feast, organised by SEPAG's Achame
Shana.
"The
main problem is that the image of Ethiopia is always negative,"
said Mr Shana.
For
example, most people think that the whole of Ethiopia is arid and
barren, when in fact it is only the East and North East regions.
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| Coffea
Rubiaceae |
And
not many people know that Ethiopia is the world's main exporter
of coffee. In fact, coffee takes its name from the country's Kaffe
region.
Southern
Ethiopia is actually very productive and green. But one of the obstacles
is the lack of investment and management to transport produce to
the arid regions. This
also has a knock-on effect on the Southern region's farmers.
Mr
Shana, a research scientist at Thames Water, said: "People in the
South have lots of production of food but they can't sell it. "Everyone
produces at the same time, there is no market so the prices remain
low. In the South there is lots of coffee production but at the
same time they are setting up food centres."
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| One
table of the feast, with Injira in the foreground. |
But
back to the feast - Emama (meaning granny) Tsige cooked up a storm
with her assistant Elsa, both from Ethiopia.
The
authentic vegetarian and meat dishes included Injira - a pancake
made with an ingredient called Teff only available in Ethiopia.
The dough is left for three days before being baked and so takes
on a sour taste.
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| Another
feast table with Doro Wot in the foreground. |
Other
dishes were Dabo (Ethiopian bread), Doro Wot (chicken/lamb stew),
Kikwot (spiced split peas), Gomen Wot (spicy vegetarian dish) and
Gomen Be Ayb (yoghurt salad).
Me
and my two friends thought the food was absolutely delicious.
So
nice in fact that we even took a take-out!
To
find out more about the Southern Ethiopian People's Action Group
email admin@sepag.org,
visit www.sepag.org or
ring 0118 959 4761.
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