Seminar Held on the Traditional Food System of Pohnpei

By Amy Levendusky

On Thursday, February 23, 2006, the Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFCP) sponsored a seminar entitled, The Traditional Food System of Pohnpei based on the Mand Study. A total of 66 participants attended the seminar held at the Medical Training Room at the Pohnpei State Hospital. The main purpose of the Mand project is to understand the traditional food resources of the community in order to improve health, and to conduct and evaluate a health improvement program using local food resources.

The seminar included the following topics: An introduction to the Island Food Community of Pohnpei, the methodology of the Mand Study, the results for the agroforestry survey done in Mand, the Mand Food List, a dietary assessment, and several health indicators including fasting blood sugar, blood pressure, body mass index, and a dental screening on the children. Community perceptions and attitudes were also discussed. Presenters included Adelino Lorens, Chairman of IFCP and Pohnpei Chief of Agriculture, Kiped Albert, Traditional Leader in Mand, Welsy Hagilmai of COM/FSM Land Grant, Yumiko Paul of Public Health, and Douglas Nelber of the Office of Historic Preservation.

The Mand Drama Club comprised of 5 young girls and 5 young boys from Mand, led by Mr. Rohaizad Suiadi, performed the "Go Local" song during the refreshment break. To conclude the seminar, a local food lunch was served.

The Mand Study is part of an international study led by the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment (CINE) within McGill University in Canada as part of An International Union of Nutritional Sciences project. The goal of the Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems International Research Programme is to gather data from 12 deliberately diverse case studies (Mand is the 12th case study) of indigenous people in different parts of the world to document the inherent strengths of traditional food systems and to provide evidence that local resources are critical for food security, nutrition and health. Ultimately, the programme's goal is to influence local, national and international policies for environmental protection of indigenous people's land and food resources, thus promoting food security and food sovereignty.

The Mand project is a collaborative effort of the Island Food Community of Pohnpei, the Mand Community, Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment, in conjunction with Pohnpei Office of Economic Affairs, Pohnpei Department of Health, College of Micronesia-FSM Land Grant Program, Pohnpei Department of Land and Natural Resources, Pohnpei Environmental Protection Agency, Peace Corps Micronesia, Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, Emory University, and KP Studios.