Sugar Feast

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Celebrating the end of Ramadan together with garden members and the neighbourhood to foster intercultural exchange.

“Plan in advance. It is a lot of work. Try a smaller event to start with. Include music or games.”

Description of the activity

After Ramadan, the intercultural garden group had organised a sugar feast to celebrate the end of fasting and to have a cultural experience. The event was open to garden members and the wider community. Traditional food was made available, but also meals were prepared from the produce grown served in the garden. Traditional dances were performed and games played. A life band presented Arabic songs which included songs from people’s home countries and childhood. These songs were a kind of highlight of the event. The greatest challenges to the activity are weather conditions, actual attendance of people and the organisation as the party was open to the wider community and not only an internal event.

Competences

The leading person/ team need to have excellent organisation and planning skills, cultural knowledge (background knowledge on Ramadan). Depending on the size of the event and the extent the public is involved, their event must be approved by local authorities, electricity and water need to be organized. Cultural and background knowledge on Ramadan is necessary to avoid cultural/ religious clashes. The lead person/ team need to have skills to facilitate intercultural exchanges and make sure that people circulate.

Steps for the implementation of the activity

Set a date. Organise and plan half a year in advance the event. This includes getting permissions from authorities and arranging working groups who carry out individual parts of the party. For instance, teams should be arranged for food and games. Book a live band.

Closer to the event taking place, invite guests, for instance partnering organisations. Send out the agenda. Use a variety of channels to spread the word including emails, flyers, social media and word of mouth. Inform immediate neighbours about the event and their potential willingness to contribute or make them aware of noise.

Ask volunteers/ members to prepare traditional food. Potentially prepare a list of food to make sure that cultural food restrictions are considered. Provide cultural and multi-language explanation for the dishes

Arrange garden for the party, check equipment and facilities.

Enjoy the party, eat, chat, dance, sing and circulate.

Materials and methods

The activity is suitable for different sizes of group, this depends on the available space, capacity and budget.

Infrastructure:
For this activity you need the garden as the space for the party. You need tables and benches where people can sit and talk, and food can be placed. You potentially need storage facilities or materials to cover food.

Materials and human resources:
You need an organising team, that plans and carries out the event. They will manage helpers and the contributors, and coordinate tasks.

Time/Workload:
The event needs to be organised 6 months in advanced. The actual party takes a day of time.

Costs:
As the garden is the facility there is no rent paid for the location. Members prepare homemade traditional food, so for food there is no cost involved. Drinks need to be purchased and provided. A small fee can be asked for drinks. Electricity and the performing band need to be paid as well as materials for games and activities.

Learning outcomes for the participants

The participating members have an opportunity to present their culture or to understand a different culture through food, music, dance and explanation. Participating members get to know the wider community, practice their language skills and extend their network.

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