BERBERE

“Beyond the markets, where ingredients are sold individually and berbere is sold in bagfuls by the kilo, lies the mesmerizing process of transformation. Often hidden from plain sight, but revealed by the orange dust clouds drifting into the air, these spaces are mostly run by women, deeply entwined with culinary identity from start to finish. They grind the spices, perform the mixing, package it. At home, they cook with it, serve it to their families, and ensure the continuity of one of the most vital aspects of their culture, even if it has become something so staple that it is not thought as so. Berbere exists in a way that makes it be taken for granted: its presence softly unmistakable and comfortable, its absence immediately noticeable and strange.”

As seen in FiftyFour Magazine Issue #12/13