By IANS,
Shimla : The first ever two-day food festival that ended Saturday in Himachal Pradesh’s scenic Sangla valley bordering Tibet attracted hundreds of tribals and tourists.
The event was organised by the Himalayan Research Group (HRG) and the Sangla Valley Sustainable Development Society (SVSDS), two NGOs based in the Sangla valley, located some 250 km from here.
The festival was sponsored by the Switzerland-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture.
“Our attempt has been to promote household tourism and to show visitors our unique way of life, which not only helps preserve our heritage but also provide other means of livelihood,” said Vidya Karan Negi, chief of SVSDS.
“We hope the food festival has made a start in popularising the unique cuisine and culture of the Sangla valley and enabled locals to popularise traditional agriculture crops by organic means,” said Negi.
The community lunch prepared by the tribal women, trained in modern hospitality by the Palampur Agriculture University, was most popular, said the organisers.
Tribals dressed in traditional attire danced and sang folk songs. Many foreigners also attended the festival.