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P R C C
Researchers

15.9.2021

Profile

Nicolás Roldán Rueda

Ecologist, Economist, Cook

Nicolás Roldán Rueda is Colombian of origin, arrived in Mexico about 10 years ago. He trained as an economist, completed a master’s degree and a doctorate in rural development, topics that he has been combining with training as a cook and other personal interests. He has worked on issues around the peasantry, territory, agri-food systems, social and solidarity economies and productive processes, among others. Thanks to Cocina CoLaboratorio he has managed to integrate his taste for cooking, food and education into his academic work.

Nicolás, has accompanied the project since March 2021 mainly in Santo Domingo Tomaltepec, where he has approached some of the traditional cooks of the town and together they have developed various activities and spaces for dialogue and exchange of ideas, emotions, memories and knowledge. Nicolás is currently linked to the Research Group on Cultural Processes and Social Construction of Alternatives of the Department of Society and Culture of El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chetumal unit.

The kitchen is a social place, a com­mon place to gather and connect. It is a place to share not only food, but stories, ideas, aspirations and initiatives. Colaboratory Kitchen is an ongoing mobile and on-site project that brings farmers, scientists, creatives and cooks together around the kitchen table to connect, exchange knowledge and prototype new trans-disciplinary solutions to farming; a test ground for ideas that conciliate land restoration, conservation, food production and better livelihood in farming communities. A response to the lack of connection between disciplines that are key for new alternatives towards more sustain­able and just futures.

The questions at stake are: How do we bridge scientific and local knowledge? What kind of interdisciplinary projects can we create towards a better livelihood and ecological resilience of farmer communities? How can we conserve the environment and its biodiversity in balance with sustainable food production and pair local consumption to global demand?

We create a space for a trans-disciplinary community to grow and take action, by sharing and cooking futures together.

The project was initiated in 2016 as a collaboration between Cascoland and the Forefront Project (WUR, UNAM), a joint effort to design spaces and tools of communication and action towards strengthening socio-ecological bonds, south of the Lacandona Jungle, Chiapas, México. Now a days the scheme is being developed in three rural locations in Mexico: Santo Domingo Tomaltepex, Oaxaca, Xochimilco, Mexico City and Loma Bonita, Chiapas, as a collaboration with UNAM, local organizations and a range of collaborations from professionals in different disciplines.