THE BACKGROUND
By 2050, there will be 9 billion people on this planet and not enough land to grow food for them all.
The report acknowledges the crucial role insects play in building ecosystems, diversifying diets, ensuring food security and providing livelihood across the world.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Where does Boochi fit into the conversation?
Boochi is an investigation into the culture, challenges and future of edible insects in India. By collecting recipes, having conversations with chefs, entomologists, anthropologists and insect farmers, and experimenting with insect-based ferments, Boochi hopes to be a dynamic interface for a larger conversation on the future of food in India.
Boochi was initiated at the Serendipity Art Foundation's Food Lab, a residency program held over a 3 month period. The residency follows a hybrid model, being for virtual for 3 months with a physical outcome being showcased in early 2022.
The Serendipity Art Foundation is an arts and cultural development organisation which aims to promote new cultural partnerships, creative strategies and artistic interventions that are responsive to the social and cultural milieu.
THE QUESTIONS I'M EXPLORING
Who eats insects in India today?
Which insects are eaten?
How are they cooked?
What are the current challenges?
What would I make with insects in my own kitchen?
Recipes
Boochi collaborated with Dr. Lobeno Mozhui (an entomologist) and Shiva Kant Vyas (a graphic designer) to collect insect recipes from across the country and document them visually. Through this process, I learnt of the different communities that eat insects, traditional harvesting and semi-domestication methods practiced by tribes in Nagaland, the habitats the insects are found in, seasonality, market value and preservation methods.
Getting access to these recipes showed how far entomophagy was from the mainstream national food identity. The communities that still eat insects today are not considered within this larger identity, and have been discriminated against on the basis of their food and their identity. Boochi hopes to cultivate a more inclusive conversation about the future of food, where these perspectives are valued through this process of creating new systems of food in the future.
Get in touch if you have your own insect recipe to add to this research.
COMING SOON
The Boochi Bottle
What would I do with insects in my own kitchen? Teaming up with Payal Shah of Kobo Fermentary, Boochi is fermenting weaver ants, grasshoppers, black soldier fly and crickets to make insect-based garums and miso, that could possibly be alternatives to soy and fish based products.
PODCAST EPISODE
Listen to my recent conversation about entomophagy on The Sandip Roy Show
ARTICLES
Follow along as I journal my entomophagy experiments on MOLD
Follow @theboochiproject on Instagram
Get in on the conversation!
Boochi wishes to serve as a platform to engage with chefs, insect eaters, entomologists, researchers, and entopreneuers to gauge the landscape and assess where we are with insects on our plates today. If you want to talk entomophagy, reach out below and let's have a conversation!