Shillong, Meghalaya | August 4–5, 2025
The Meghalaya Early Childhood Development (ECD) Mission, in collaboration with The George Institute for Global Health, India, organized a two-day Training Workshop on Diversifying Community Diets on 4th & 5th August, 2025. The initiative aimed to strengthen district-level capacities in leveraging local food systems to improve child nutrition outcomes in Meghalaya.
Purpose of the Workshop
The workshop’s primary goal was to equip frontline community workers (Community Gender Health Activists (CGHAs), Community Health Activists (CHAs), and Self-Help Group (SHG) members with skills to conduct focused discussions with village communities on local food preferences and culturally accepted recipes. Unlike earlier surveys that primarily tracked household health and nutrition indicators, this exercise digs deeper into community food choices, dietary habits, and traditional recipes that can shape sustainable and diversified diets.
Recognizing the trust and rapport these grassroots workers enjoy within their communities, the training emphasized participatory approaches such as Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and community awareness sessions. These methods ensure that interventions are scientifically sound, socially acceptable, and culturally relevant.
Highlights of the Training
The sessions were led by Dr. Suparna Ghosh-Jerath, Program Head (Nutrition), George Institute for Global Health, India, alongside ECD facilitators and District Programme Managers.
Key highlights included:
- Interactive ice-breaking sessions where participants shared traditional foods and local names, underscoring Meghalaya’s dietary diversity.
- Introduction to the 10 food group classification system (cereals, pulses, meats, milk products, green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, roots & tubers, fruits, fats & oils, and sweeteners).
- Practical guidance on “Free Listing with Probing”, teaching participants to not only document food items but also explore their sources, seasonality, preparation methods, and cultural significance.
- Emphasis on documenting wild and foraged foods, mushrooms, indigenous fruits, and local varieties of staples resources often overlooked in conventional nutrition surveys.
- Clear step-by-step processes for field engagement: using pen, notebook, and discussion guides (translated into Khasi and Garo), without the need for technical equipment.
Field-Level Expectations
Each participant will conduct seven food listing discussions across diverse villages ranging from forest-edge communities to market-adjacent villages. This diversity ensures that unique food practices and environmental influences are captured.
Daily supervision by District Programme Managers will ensure quality and track when data saturation is reached (i.e., when the same food items appear repeatedly). Participants will share field notes and photos of their listings via WhatsApp for real-time monitoring.
Why This Matters
Dr. Suparna reminded participants that this effort is not a box-ticking exercise, but an opportunity to build community-owned knowledge systems. By systematically mapping food environments, Meghalaya can design nutrition interventions that are both locally grounded and globally informed.
She stressed:
“Don’t think of it as just making a list. Explore your block, engage deeply, and bring in new and unique data. Your efforts will be truly appreciated when we see the richness of Meghalaya’s food diversity reflected in future nutrition strategies.”
Towards a Food-Secure Meghalaya
This workshop is part of the state’s broader ECD Mission strategy, which emphasizes using local foods and traditional practices as levers for better childhood nutrition. By strengthening community-level engagement and knowledge, Meghalaya is paving the way for sustainable, culturally relevant, and community-driven nutrition solutions.