Terra Madre Asia Pacific Celebrates the Heart of the Slow Food Movement in Bacolod City Lagoon

Terra Madre Asia Pacific is now underway in Bacolod City. The gathering runs from November 19 to 23, 2025 at the Provincial Capitol Lagoon, bringing together farmers, fishers, chefs, Indigenous communities, youth groups, and food advocates from across Asia and the Pacific. Delegates from more than twenty five countries have arrived to share their crops, their practices, and the stories behind their food traditions. The lagoon grounds feel warm and active, shaped by steady conversations about culture, sustainability, and community.

A Regional Gathering with Global Roots

Terra Madre Asia Pacific is part of the Slow Food movement, which began in 2004 to support food that is good, clean, and fair. Every two years, the global gathering takes place in Turin, Italy, during Terra Madre Salone del Gusto. Regional events like this edition in Bacolod bring the dialogue closer to local communities. After the success of Terra Madre Visayas in recent years, Bacolod now hosts the first full regional edition for Asia and the Pacific. It is the largest event of its kind, bringing together small-scale farmers, Indigenous leaders, chefs, youth groups, and advocates who work to protect food heritage and the environment.

The theme, "From Soil to Sea: A Slow Food Journey Through Tastes and Traditions," guides the entire event. It highlights how food reflects the land and waters it comes from and how communities protect their heritage through planting, cooking, and sharing. Taste workshops introduce visitors to heirloom rice, native fruits, artisanal cheese, and tablea produced by small farmers. These sessions help guests understand the work behind every ingredient and the importance of crops preserved by local families.

Public talks run throughout the event. Speakers discuss regenerative agriculture, Indigenous food systems, community-based farming, and food justice. These sessions show how food connects people to their land, their identity, and their history.

What Visitors Experience During the Event

Visitors walking through the lagoon grounds find a lively mix of food stalls, workshops, and open discussions. The market area features small-scale producers offering fruit preserves, grains, pastries, and plant-based dishes rooted in local traditions. Chefs serve food created with ingredients grown by farmers they collaborate with, showing how responsible sourcing shapes flavor.

Slow drinks sessions invite guests to taste tablea drinks, local brews, fruit-based beverages, and fermented drinks from different regions. Each drink reflects the community that created it and the landscape that supports it.

Hands-on learning is a central part of the experience. Workshops focus on tablea tasting, coffee appreciation, and fermentation methods used in Filipino cooking. Youth groups join discussions on food security and the preservation of traditional crops. The environment around the lagoon encourages exchange. Delegates rest under shaded areas while producers explain how they grow and protect their ingredients.

Terra Madre and the Community

Hosting Terra Madre Asia Pacific strengthens Bacolod’s role as a center for sustainable gastronomy. Negros Occidental has long supported organic agriculture, and the gathering offers local producers a strong platform among international delegates. The event brings together farmers, chefs, Indigenous leaders, youth advocates, and policymakers who seldom meet in one shared space.

For the Philippines, the gathering highlights the richness of local food heritage and the resilience of its farming communities. Terra Madre becomes a reminder that food carries memory and meaning, and that communities grow stronger when they work together to protect their crops, their land, and their traditions.