The Timor-Leste Food Lab
by Rotary Down Under magazine, June 2020 issue
FOUNDED by Australian Rotary Peace Fellow Mark Notaras and wife Alva Lim, the Timor-Leste Food Lab is shaping the future of food and agriculture in the Asia-Pacific by embracing the region’s profound food diversity and bio-cultural history.
The Dili-based social enterprise has trained and mentored teams of young Timorese hospitality and tourism champions, who are innovating with their own heritage foods and unique coffees.
“We are passionate about good, clean and fair food for all,” Mark said.
“We currently mentor 16 Timorese youth. We ask them to think differently; to be guided by the equatorial seasons and the knowledge of their ancestors. To become plant-forward champions who celebrate the seasonality of flavours. To advocate for native and heritage ingredients.”
Through its flagship restaurant Agora Food Studio, the Food Lab is having a significant impact on the Timorese economy and environment.
Since 2016, more than 37,000 nourishing meals have been served, approximately $115,000 has been invested in the Timorese agricultural economy, 1159 litres of Timorese virgin coconut oil and 24,375kg of organic compost has been used, while 22,123 plastic bottles and 11,534 plastic straws have been avoided.
Most recently, the restaurant’s chefs assisted the World Food Programme (WFP) to promote healthy, local foods for Timorese adolescents through its ‘Our Food is Our Identity’ campaign.
“In achieving this social good we have drawn strength from our partnership with Rotary,” Mark said.
“I was privileged to be selected as a Rotary Peacebuilding Fellow to study at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand in 2013. This professional training helped link my background in peacebuilding with my appreciation of delicious and nutritious food.
“The skills and interests I developed inspired my wife and I to embark on the ambitious venture of unveiling the country’s gastronomic stories. Mediation skills and the art of working collaboratively in crosscultural contexts have since been the backbone of our young team’s success and collective growth.”
With the Food Lab team now established hospitality professionals and the Agora Food Studio firmly on Dili’s culinary map, Rotary has further supported skills development.
“Our young coffee-grower-cumbarista champion (fifth in the 2018 Timor-Leste competition), Cesaltina ‘Alu’ Tilman, was sponsored through the Rotary New Generations Vocational Training Selection in 2019,” Mark said.
“Alu attended a professional placement at the Cairns Sheridan Hotel, Qld, where she learned skills in guest reception and housekeeping. She surprised her Cairn’s colleagues when they discovered her professional barista skills – after which they asked her to teach them how to make a super coffee!”
With her English (or should we say ‘Australian’) significantly improved, Alu was promoted to General Manager of Agora Food Studio and is currently responsible for 15 staff.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to the Rotary community, especially the Rotary Club of Dili, for supporting both of our placements,” Mark said.
The Timor-Leste Food Lab is seeking further exchanges with Rotary partners in Australia as soon as the COVID-19 situation allows. For more information, email timorlestefoodlab@gmail.com
The original article can be seen here.