Preserving Local Food Traditions: A Hybrid Participatory Approach for Stimulating Transgenerational Dialogue

Abstract

Local food traditions are an essential part of culture and society, reflecting a community’s history, values, and beliefs. Elders play a major role in passing on local food knowledge to younger generations, ensuring local food traditions and cultural identity do not disappear over time. To preserve these traditions, it is essential to engage older and younger generations of a community in a transgenerational dialogue. From this perspective, the study utilizes a hybrid participatory approach, composed of design thinking and learning-by-doing. Results of the case study underline the effectiveness of the approach in stimulating both the transfer of knowledge, as well as the involvement of younger generations, in the preservation of local food traditions.