Film Documentary: Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta (My Village, My Lobster)
May 13th, 2009
Late last year I participated in a cooking class at the Culinary Institute of America focused on using local Hudson Valley foods. Part of the class
focused on a topic I didn’t know too much about, food politics. It’s really an understanding of where the food we eat comes from and who the people
are that make it possible. Even in the United States workers are put into life threatening situations to produce the food we enjoy so much.
After the class food politics was a topic I wanted to write about more but 6 months have now passed since the class. This week that opportunity
presented itself unexpectedly. I learned that an old friend of mine from high school, Josh Wolff, is currently directing a documentary focused on
lobster divers in Nicaragua. Josh grew up and went to college in the Hudson Valley and also traveled to Japan as part of his education. Currently
he’s teaching in New York City and also directing the documentary Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta (My Village, My Lobster). I am moderately active on
Facebook and if your inbox looks anything like mine you receive a lot of notifications to play games or take a “which 80’s show are you” test. So I
had overlooked an invitation to join the Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta group. Once I clicked on it I realized it was an important and interesting topic.
Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta films the life and struggles of a community of lobster divers in Nicaragua that are fighting for economic and cultural
survival. Lobster diving is the primary occupation in this village and competition is fierce between divers. Conditions are dangerous to say the
least and on top of that the government is looking to shut them down completely. The last segment of the hour-long documentary is scheduled to
begin shooting in 3 months. The crew is working with a limited budget so if you are able to help with a donation it would be greatly appreciated. A
link is included below to watch a trailer as well as make a contribution. You can also join the Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta on facebook by searching for the
group.
View the Trailer
Make a Donation
So why is this important to us? 95% of the spiny lobsters harvested make their way to the United States. As food enthusiasts we need to know not
only where our food comes from but how it gets to our table. Food workers around the world need more support and awareness is a great first step.
By now I’m sure many people have seen at least an episode of Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel which chronicles the lives of crab
fisherman in the Bering Sea. Once you’ve watched 10 minutes of the show you immediately understand why crab costs what it does and realize
that it should probably cost more. People lose their lives to bring us the food we love. We can’t take that for granted and we need to continue to
educate ourselves about the process. Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta intends to do just that.
May 13th, 2009
Late last year I participated in a cooking class at the Culinary Institute of America focused on using local Hudson Valley foods. Part of the class
focused on a topic I didn’t know too much about, food politics. It’s really an understanding of where the food we eat comes from and who the people
are that make it possible. Even in the United States workers are put into life threatening situations to produce the food we enjoy so much.
After the class food politics was a topic I wanted to write about more but 6 months have now passed since the class. This week that opportunity
presented itself unexpectedly. I learned that an old friend of mine from high school, Josh Wolff, is currently directing a documentary focused on
lobster divers in Nicaragua. Josh grew up and went to college in the Hudson Valley and also traveled to Japan as part of his education. Currently
he’s teaching in New York City and also directing the documentary Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta (My Village, My Lobster). I am moderately active on
Facebook and if your inbox looks anything like mine you receive a lot of notifications to play games or take a “which 80’s show are you” test. So I
had overlooked an invitation to join the Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta group. Once I clicked on it I realized it was an important and interesting topic.
Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta films the life and struggles of a community of lobster divers in Nicaragua that are fighting for economic and cultural
survival. Lobster diving is the primary occupation in this village and competition is fierce between divers. Conditions are dangerous to say the
least and on top of that the government is looking to shut them down completely. The last segment of the hour-long documentary is scheduled to
begin shooting in 3 months. The crew is working with a limited budget so if you are able to help with a donation it would be greatly appreciated. A
link is included below to watch a trailer as well as make a contribution. You can also join the Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta on facebook by searching for the
group.
View the Trailer
Make a Donation
So why is this important to us? 95% of the spiny lobsters harvested make their way to the United States. As food enthusiasts we need to know not
only where our food comes from but how it gets to our table. Food workers around the world need more support and awareness is a great first step.
By now I’m sure many people have seen at least an episode of Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel which chronicles the lives of crab
fisherman in the Bering Sea. Once you’ve watched 10 minutes of the show you immediately understand why crab costs what it does and realize
that it should probably cost more. People lose their lives to bring us the food we love. We can’t take that for granted and we need to continue to
educate ourselves about the process. Mi Aldea, Mi Langosta intends to do just that.
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