Recipes for Resilience: Engaging Caribbean Youth in Climate Action and Food Heritage through Stories and Song

Plummer, Nicole; Wilson, Marisa; Yaneva-Toraman, Inna; McKenzie, Charmaine; Mitchell, Sylvia; Northover, Patricia; Crowley, Kate; Edwards, Thera; Richards, Anthony

Abstract

This paper presents findings from the Recipes for Resilience project, an international, interdisciplinary collaboration between Caribbean and UK scholars of history, geography, anthropology, cultural studies, development studies, ethnobotany, and climate-risk studies, and the research partners, the Caribbean Youth Environment Network. The purpose of the project was to investigate how agrifood heritage may be mobilized in creative ways to engage Caribbean youth in climate action and justice. The project utilized arts and humanities methods, such as storytelling, songwriting, online games, and brief research-led talks, culminating in the co-created song: “Food and Resistance for Climate Resilience”. The results of the project provide evidence that climate action requires arts and humanities methods to appeal to youth, as opposed to purely fact-based or scientific forms of climate communication. We conclude that co-creative methods such as music and storytelling can inspire youth to engage in climate action, in this case through a (re)valuation culinary and agricultural heritage.

Citation

Plummer, N., Wilson, M., Yaneva-Toraman, I., McKenzie, C., Mitchell, S., Northover, P., Crowley, K., Edwards, T., & Richards, A. (2022). Recipes for Resilience: Engaging Caribbean Youth in Climate Action and Food Heritage through Stories and Song. Sustainability, 14, Article 8717. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148717

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 14, 2022
• Publication Date: Jul 16, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 26, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 26, 2022
• Journal: Sustainability
• Electronic ISSN: 2071-1050
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Article Number: 8717
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148717
• Keywords: food heritage; climate change; climate action; climate justice; storytelling; communication; arts; humanities; emotions; music
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/14/8717
• Additional Information: Data Access Statement : The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.