top of page

EATWELL

Intergretated ethnographies of food systems and health in Bhutan.

About

EATWELL is a radically interdisciplinary research project that examines food systems in Bhutan in their entanglements with culture, society, environment, nutrition, the gut microbiome and health, whereby we examine the entanglements of the society and environment with the gut ecology via food systems and nutrition. We develop an integrated approach to food systems since our health depends on the health of food, the biosocial environment and gut ecology; an approach in line with the concepts of Planetary Health and One Health, yet enriched by culture-sensitivity in our notion of more-than-human health. The project consists of two main parts. In the first part, we conduct an anthropological research of the food system across different locations in Bhutan, studying how the different activities of obtaining food—cultivating, foraging, herding, processing, cooking—unfold throughout daily life as affected by cultural, cosmological, economic and environmental aspects and as shaping the food habits. In the second part, we examine how these food-related activities and habits affect nutrient intake and the gut microbiome in some of the sites. In this way we can better understand the intricate and complex interplay between culture, environment, food systems, nutrition, and the gut microbiome. The comparative set-up enables us to discern partial connections between the different sites for part 1 in the following Dzongkhags: Samdrup Jongkhar, Zhemgang, Bumthang (stopped early due to attrition), Punakha (only Layap seasonal migrants, Gaza, Haa, and the capital Thimphu (only migrants from Haa). In part 2, we focus on Gasa (Laya), Zhemgang (Buli) and 1st and 2nd generation migrants from the former in Thimphu. This project thus aims in a radical interdisciplinary to enrich the sustainable-food-systems-for-health agenda by engaging it in a conversation with Bhutanese cultural perspectives and praxis, to ultimately develop culture-sensitive approaches to food systems and more-than-human health as replicated and adapted in different contexts.

Research activities

Interactive map of Bhutan.
Click on an area to read more about our fieldwork.

Research is being conducted in these 7 districts.

In the next phase nutrition and microbiome research will be carried out in 2 of these districts.

Food System(s) in Bhutan

Interactive tool to learn more about the food systems in Bhutan in a specific area.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Ornament_home-blog_01.jpg

Blogs

bottom of page