Anne Diestelkamp
cultural programmer, artistic researcher/ editor and translator
Workshop
masharu
Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2025
Geophagy—the practice of eating earth and earth-like substances, like clay and chalk—is an ancient practice that continues in many cultures. For years, the artist masharu has been collecting edible earth from around the world. They established the Museum of Edible Earth in 2016, which asks: What lies behind earth-eating traditions? Where does edible earth come from? What are its potential benefits and risks? And what kind of relationship are we forming—with the environment and with more-than-human worlds—through the act of eating earth?
On September 21 we gathered for a soil tasting in the garden of the FourSiblings Collective at Buurtwerkplaats Noorderhof. Participants got the chance to taste clay, soil, and human-made compost, and to engage with earth in a rich, multi-sensory experience.