The Society for Urban and Rural Empowerment (SURE) has inaugurated the first Mei-ramew Café for indigenous cuisine at Mupyut village, West Jaiñtia Hills.
Mupyut is located on National Highway 40 (E) from Jowai to Dawki via Amlarem and is also on the way to the famous Krangshuri waterfall and other tourist spots. The café owner, Teiri Kyndait, has been trained in serving indigenous food, especially from produce local to the immediate area.
SURE helped Kyndait gain experience of other Mei-ramew cafes and received additional training in cleanliness while SURE helped remodel and beautify her eatery. SURE expects to open another Mei-ramew café in Chamcham village, another prominent tourist destination in East Jaiñtia Hills.
Speaking at the opening, the Secretary of the Dorbar Chnong Mupyut, Chanki Kyndait, lamented that the young generation has lost touch with indigenous food and are disconnected from nature. He hoped that Kyndait’s café will help revive the indigenous food system. He also said that we not only need to promote indigenous food but also need to protect the Earth, which provides us food and our other needs.
SURE Secretary HH Mohrmen said that a linked initiative has seen the forming of Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) groups, which is a system in which peers guarantee each other to engage in chemical-free or organic farming only. The PGS groups were also provided with seed money to start their ‘Farm on Wheels’ enterprises in which the groups sell their chemical-free produce directly to consumers. Two PGS groups from Mynso and another from Mulum in West Jaiñtia hills have already started their ‘farm on wheels’ business.
