Transhumant Cookery: Fermenting Territories

Carabanchel, Madrid

Fermentando territorios is an artistic and community project that uses food fermentation as a way to reflect on migration. It is led by six Argentine migrant artists and curators through two venues in the Carabanchel neighborhood: Club Atlético Lxs Amores and MORFO Galería.

The initiative, in collaboration with Planta Baja, is part of Cocinas Transhumantes, a project curated by hablarenarte, which is being carried out in three other locations across Spain in collaboration with local stakeholders, artists, and like-minded organizations.

Over the course of four months, fermented beverages (kombucha, live vinegar, carbonated drinks) and tempeh are produced using ingredients sourced from the San Isidro market, local stores, the neighborhood’s community garden, and other locations in the area, through a process consisting of eight sessions that combines internal research sessions with workshops open to the neighborhood.

Fermentando Territorios stands as a call for the right to produce one’s own living food, to know what one eats, to participate in the transformation of matter, and to reclaim whole foods as medicine in the Carabanchel neighborhood.

The project draws on an analogy between fermentation and migration—both transformative processes that leave their mark—and treats the neighborhood as the source of the ingredients, knowledge, and bacterial footprint that set each fermentation process in motion. It is organized around two fundamental concepts: On the one hand, “terroir,” borrowed from the world of wine, which describes how the place of origin—its climate, soil, and microbiota—is imprinted on a product and makes it unique; applied to Carabanchel, the neighborhood functions as the project’s terroir, and each ferment made with its ingredients bears that mark. On the other hand, “son-mat”—a Korean concept used in the production of ferments that means “taste of the hand”—refers to the bacterial imprint that each person leaves on what they ferment with their own hands: the bacteria on their skin, their bodily history, and the place they inhabit.

Fermentation is also, in this project, a means of researching materials for artistic practice. Through each fermentation process, organic materials are sought out and tested: tempeh biomass, bacterial skins obtained from SCOBYs, and natural pigments extracted from the ferments themselves, all of which will be used for artistic purposes.

Program of Events:

Session 01 – August 15th: Shopping at Carabanchel’s markets and gardens with MORFO and C.A.L.A. Joint opening session

In-house session: a space for research and production where the fermentation process is carried out with the technical rigor it requires. The terroir begins here, with what the markets and gardens have to offer and with the hands that select them. At MORFO, the initial tempeh substrate is prepared. At C.A.L.A., the first kombucha mother is started.

Session 02 - October 10, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.—  Kombucha-making and SCOBY workshop. Kombucha Lab led by Sofia Benetti en C.A.L.A. (Club Atlético Lxs Amores - 24 Antonio Vicent Street)

An introduction to kombucha fermentation through theoretical and practical instruction, with the main goal of creating a community kombucha that bears the mark of Carabanchel. This fermentation will be overseen by the fermentation lab in the kitchen of the PIONER+CALA space.

Session 03 - October 17th, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. — Bacterial Leather — Second Kombucha Fermentation: Carbonation and Flavor with Sofia Benetti at C.A.L.A. (Club Atlético Lxs Amores)

In-house session: Mature scobies are harvested, cleaned, and left to dry—the process by which the bacterial cellulose sheet transforms into leather. Sofia determines the drying method based on the properties required for the final pieces: thickness, the tension applied during dehydration, and ambient temperature. Some scobies have been dyed during growth with pigments from the process, and their leather will bear those colors. At the same time, the sodas and kombuchas are bottled.

Session 04 - October 24th, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.— Sewing and Embroidery with Asesina Suárez at MORFO Gallery (3 Esteban de Arteaga Street, Suite 4)
Artist Asesina Suárez will teach participants how to embroider and sew by hand; together, they will create the textile formwork that will hold the tempeh mycelium biomass used to construct the final artwork.

Sessions 05 and 06  - Superfood Double Session -  October 31st, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tempeh as biomass for creating structures and as a superfood for consumption with culinary artist Lisandro Illa at Planta Baja (28 Antonio Vicent Street)

Tempeh Biomass Workshop: to create structures with tempeh and learn about it as a superfood for consumption, with Lisandro Illa.

Participants:

C.A.L.A. Club Atlético Lxs Amores was founded in 2023 in Madrid as an interdisciplinary space dedicated to artistic creation, training, and exhibition. Conceived as a meeting point between the visual, performing, and culinary arts, the Club seeks to create a space for exchange, experimentation, and community, where artistic practice engages with everyday life. C.A.L.A. is a community in the making: a network of artists, cultural managers, and audiences committed to cultural production.The members of C.A.L.A. are: Cala Zavaleta Goñi, Maria Eugenia Amodio, Casiana Flores Pirán, and Sofía Benetti.

MORFO Gallery. Based in Madrid’s Carabanchel district, MORFO is the first gallery project to focus on the intersection of visual art and culinary arts. Co-directors Lisandro Mariano Illa and Asesina Suárez launched the project in 2024 to explore the intersection between these two practices. MORFO breaks down the boundaries separating these two disciplines, creating a space for research, promotion, and exhibition where cooking and food can serve as a theme, material, reference, concept, or even an excuse. MORFO Gallery is comprised of Asesina Suárez and Lisandro Illa.

This workshop is part of Cocinas Transhumantes, a project curated by hablarenarte · 2026, with support from the Ministry of Culture (Grants for Cultural Projects with Significant Social Impact).