{"id":105246,"date":"2024-12-14T11:03:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T11:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/12\/14\/madaraka-festival-celebrates-10th-edition-with-focus-on-omena-sustainability\/"},"modified":"2024-12-14T11:03:01","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T11:03:01","slug":"madaraka-festival-celebrates-10th-edition-with-focus-on-omena-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/madaraka-festival-celebrates-10th-edition-with-focus-on-omena-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"Madaraka Festival celebrates 10th Edition with focus on Omena sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>KISUMU, Kenya, Dec 14 \u2014 The 10th edition of the Madaraka Festival 2024 is underway in the lakeside city of Kisumu, with a focus on the rearing and sustainability of <em>omena<\/em> (silver cyprinid).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Event organizer Simon Javan Okello says this year\u2019s theme is an \u201c<em>omena<\/em> celebration for a better future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Okello explained that the <em>Omena<\/em> Summit brings together various stakeholders, including fishermen, fishmongers, and others, to discuss strategies for sustaining the small fish population in Lake Victoria.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a platform to discuss <em>omena<\/em> and how to sustainably manage this delicacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, Lake Victoria faces a significant shortage of <em>omena<\/em>, with stocks declining over the past few years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must highlight the challenges facing <em>omena<\/em> traders and the communities that rely on it for sustenance,\u201d Okello added.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at Tom Mboya College in Kisumu on Saturday, ahead of the festival\u2019s opening, Okello said the discussions will address issues such as lake pollution and strategies for nurturing its resources.<\/p>\n<p>He emphasized that <em>omena<\/em> plays a crucial role in nutrition, underscoring the importance of conservation and initiating open debates on its sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe festival will feature various activities, including performances by local artists, showcasing <em>omena<\/em> dishes, and raising awareness about combating hunger in the lakeside region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Okello also announced a partnership with private health institutions to provide <em>omena<\/em> to families seeking medical attention at facilities in Mbita, Homa Bay County.<\/p>\n<p>While often considered a \u201cpoor man\u2019s dish,\u201d Okello highlighted the economic value of <em>omena<\/em> and its significant health benefits.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that part of the proceeds generated from the festival would be reinvested to support the <em>omena<\/em> value chain for the benefit of local communities.<\/p>\n<p>The Madaraka Festival is an African music event that has been held in 13 cities worldwide, promoting African culture and addressing pressing community issues.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KISUMU, Kenya, Dec 14 \u2014 The 10th edition of the Madaraka Festival 2024 is underway in the lakeside city of Kisumu, with a focus on the rearing and sustainability of omena (silver cyprinid). Event organizer Simon Javan Okello says this year\u2019s theme is an \u201comena celebration for a better future.\u201d Okello explained that the Omena [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105246\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}