SW?D is a student organisation that is focused on promoting local cuisine, sustainable farming practices as well as exploring various aspects of culinary heritage. Five years of parading local cuisines and healthy food practices of India has given students a competitive insight into various culinary aspects. SW?D has explored individual states of India, signature dishes, prominent ingredients, traditions and sustainability concepts. The beauty of it all lies in the mix of age-old practices that have been handed over from generation to generation and innovation every step of the way. SW?D began with the objective of exploring the rich and diverse culinary history of India and divulging the same. Created by a small group of culinary enthusiasts, SW?D has slowly expanded, recruiting other people with similar interests to join the band wagon. Today we have a community that has been promoting the SW?D philosophy for over five years now. We also promote individuals and organisations who adopt fair, healthy and sustainable practices while providing them with a platform to educate others of the same.

SW?D’s various activities include studying a diverse array of ingredients and their versatile uses, exploring cuisines of various regions, understanding traditional food practices and the stories behind them, promoting healthy and sustainable farming practices, inviting industry experts to share their knowledgeable expertise with us and much more.

For the year including March, 2019 to March, 2020, SW?D successfully organised various events. The first event of the year was a Daawat with the Ulster University which took place on 15 July, 2019. Two other Daawats took place through the year, one with Zurich University (31 January, 2020) and another with the University of Paris Dauphin (4 February, 2020). Daawat, translating to 'feast', is a reference to us hosting international patrons who spend a day along with us cooking a delectable and traditional menu. The experience is a reciprocity of culture.

Khoj, meaning 'search', describes our quest to explore and experience the various cuisines and lifestyles of our country. These new episodes teach us something new about our culture and its ways every single time. Through the year, 6 Khojs were conducted. One to Bhoomika Millets (20 July, 2019). Followed by Anand Donne Biryani (31 August, 2019), Suryawanshi (21 September, 2019), The Konkan (13 November, 2019), Hallimane (15 January, 2020) and an outstation culinary trip to Ambur and Vellore (13 february, 2020).

SW?D Forum included 3 events. A forum with Happy Hens: Mr Manjunath (24 July, 2019), Akshayakalpa: Mr Priyadarshan Banjan (11 September, 2019) and with Vitalise Kombucha: Ms Sharmila Furtado (22 january, 2020). SW?D Forum is a platform where various experts from the industry are invited to hold a session with us. Through this session they share their acquired knowledge and the current scenario of their various fields of expertise.

SW?D also inaugurated its newest initiative – SW?DAM in this year. This is an initiative that includes a masterclass conducted by home cooks, friends and family to showcase their traditional recipes. Two SW?DAM sessions were organized. One on 17 January 2020, conducted by Mrs Subhashini. And the other on 28 January, 2020, conducted by Mrs Arathy Suresh.

SW?D also organised a stall for World Nature’s Day on 29 January, 2019. The theme of the stall focused on spreading awareness on water conservation which is a topic that currently calls for attention. Safar – A Journey with Edible Discards for the first years students of the Department of Hotel Management was organised on 27 August, 2019. Safar is an event intended to study various aspects of culinary, be it an ingredient or theme, where students try out practical methods of its uses. A farm visit to Madhavi Farms on 10 September, 2019 was done. SW?D Market, the flagship event of the team, was held on 6 and 7, December,  2019. This is a platform where various vendors of artisanal and organic food as well as food-related products are given a platform to showcase their products. SW?D also had a stall serving authentic food in the department-organised fest – Arome. This was held on 6, 7 and 8 February, 2020. Besides this, the next edition of the SW?D Chronicles were edited and designed.

In all, 19 events were conducted by the team, including 3 daawats, 6 khojs, 3 SW?D Forums, 2 SW?DAMs and 5 other events. A list of the events in chronological order is as follows: