Local culinary practices, nutrition and wellbeing

Course Brief

Abstract

Food in the Karavali region is inseparable from its landscape and people. The travelling studio is based in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district to learn how food is not only nourishment but also livelihood, identity, and memory. In this coastal belt, the climate, fertile soil, rivers, forests, and the sea together shape a food culture that brings together boiled rice, coconut, fish, and seasonal vegetables as key ingredients. Food practices shift from one community to another, across castes, festivals, and rituals, each carrying layers of meaning that extend beyond taste to health, belonging, and survival. This travelling studio invites learners to engage with farmers, fishers, market vendors, cooks, and community elders. Through oral histories, recipes, shared meals, and photo documentation, participants will create artefacts such as a recipe book and other such visual archives that record these practices. The process highlights how cycles of production and consumption are intertwined with social determinants of health, such as access to resources, labour conditions, gendered roles in kitchens and markets, and ecological sustainability. In doing so, food becomes a lens to see how communities sustain themselves in both everyday life and in times of change.

Keywords

Karavali Cuisine, fish, nutrition, local cuisine, coastal, Food culture, Matrilineal communities, local knowledge

Objective of the course

One of the axioms we use to learn about the place is ‘learning from below’. When it comes to cooking, the knowledge is transferred generations after generations and remembered through every day practice. The knowledge is also mostly held by the women of the houses. But they are in most case dismissed as gender roles and cooking becomes a duty. Cooking has always been more than taste, it is about nurturing the children and family, caring for them when they are sick by making kashayas(herbal drinks), porridge and comfort foods. In this course we will look at cooking as way of every day knowledge about being healthy and sustaining self and the family, influenced by geography, environment, culture, caste, and rituals influence local food diversity. Every community brings a different practice of cooking, with different ingredients, utensils, vegetables, meat and stories. Cooking and food habits are also heavily influenced by the shift in the patterns of cultivating, fishing, availability of certain ingredients cause by climate change. In this travelling studio we will be learning by moving from one place to another, tasting food, exploring kitchens and hearing stories by which we can appreciate the labour, thought and knowledge which goes into the act of cooking and the wellbeing of the community.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the food cultures and stories across villages in Kundapura, which is part of the Karavali region

• Learn and appreciate how food, its production and meaning varies across caste and community practices, and how seasonal foods influence the local diet.

• To appreciate the diversity of food practices and explore how to make our learning available for others.

What you bring?

• Curiosity about food and culture and their interconnections.

• Openness to learn about diverse food practices

• Optional: Ability to speak and understand in Kannada

• Participants should be comfortable engaging with food practices where meat (particularly chicken) and fish are central in Kundapura, though they are not required to consume them.

What will you make?

Learners will document recipes and food practices through recording, sketching, annotating, and photo documentation. They will collect stories, histories, and myths that show how food in the Karavali region is inseparable from its people and landscapes.

• A recipe book that layers instructions with stories and sketches

• A visual archive of annotated drawings and photographs

• Field notes that connect food practices to cycles of production, gender roles, labour, and ecological sustainability

By making these artefacts, learners will see how food acts as a lens to understand remembering, belonging, and wellbeing in the everyday life of different communities, and how it adapts in times of change.

Learning modes

As this is a travelling studio, the learning will also unfold on the move, while journeying from one place to another. The travel itself becomes an immersive way of engagement, where conversations in buses, observations from windows, and shared meals along the way add layers of understanding to what is seen in fields, markets, kitchens, and homes.

• Cooking as learning - preparing meals together as a way to understand ingredients, methods, and stories

• Sketch notes - capturing field encounters, recipes, and practices visually

• Photowalk - collectively documenting foodscapes, markets, and everyday practices through photography

Course Fee

Fee Summary

Our course fees vary based on the total Notional Learning Hours (NLH). When you view a course description, you'll see a transparent breakdown of costs which reflects the unique structure and requirements of that particular learning experience. The published cost calculation below gives you clarity on what's included in your fees. As more learners join a course, we may adjust the per-person cost accordingly. We track all expenditures carefully against our initial estimates to ensure resources are used effectively for your learning journey. For more information please look at FAQ page.