Calalú and Dashin: Delights in Río Caña
A group of Ngabe women from the Río Caña community received training with chef Maito Castrellón where the objective was to enhance local gastronomy. By: Team ELLAS, published October 15, 2021
Fifteen women from the Ngäbe community of Río Caña, in Kusapín, Bocas del Toro, participated in a cooking workshop with Mario Castrellón, the most renowned Panamanian chef outside the country, who places local cuisine in a special place. They cooked their native dishes for him and the chef, while discovering new ingredients, showed them new ideas for their preparations.
This group of women was brought together by biologist and community activist Felipe Baker, who, knowing the chef's interest in indigenous Panamanian cuisine, invited him to share with this group of women for a meeting that also aims to enhance Ngäbe culinary traditions and offer them to tourists and visitors.
Turtles are Protected Here
Río Caña, in Bocas del Toro, is a community that cares about the conservation of sea turtles. Its beaches were an important nesting center. However, consumption of turtles and other factors have significantly reduced the population of these animals. For two decades, the Sea Turtle Conservancy, STC, has been carrying out education and conservation programs in the area to support efforts to conserve turtles.
Biologist Felipe Baker works with STC. He was a child when this group came to teach how to protect and care for turtles. But the message would not have been enough without the willingness to learn and cooperate shown by the community. Baker understands the importance of the community finding sustainability through the good use of its resources, one of which is its kitchen.
For about six years, the island of Escudo de Veraguas, almost opposite this community, has been attracting more and more tourists, says the biologist. The women of Río Caña cook for these visitors and receive income in return. Felipe thought it would be a good idea to promote gastronomy and did not hesitate to contact the best person for this, even if he was hundreds of kilometers away.
Mario Castrellón had previously worked with groups of Ngäbe women in Kankintú and Chiriquí, exchanging culinary knowledge. Felipe knew this and that's why he contacted him. The chef accepted.
With Jungle Asparagus
On the day of the workshop, the group met, of course, in a kitchen. There, the women placed the typical ingredients of their cuisine: dachín, which is a tuber, calulú, which is a type of fern sprout, breadfruit, banana, plantain, heart of palm, and squash, among others.
Alexander Arosemena, photographer and documentary filmmaker, described for La Prensa the joyful exchange that took place on that day: “Calalú al ajillo, calalú in coconut milk, hearts of palm boiled in coconut milk, fresh hearts of palm ceviche, caramelized charcoal octopus and breadfruit in temptation were just some of the delicacies that were prepared.”
The chef's final recommendation was to ask the group to use local ingredients that they would also feel proud to share their traditions with, such as wearing their naguas (dresses).
