Displaced Tastes is a collaborative research project run by the Rift Valley Institute and the Catholic University of South Sudan as part of the X-Border LocalResearch Network. The project examines how experiences of conflict, regional displacement and mobility, and the shift to an increasingly market-oriented and import-dependent economy have changed what people in South Sudan grow andeat.

In the second conversation with researchers from the Displaced Tastes project, Magnus Taylor—RVI’s Publications Manager—talks to Luga Aquila about his work on the cultural and economic significance of cassava for the Pujulu people of Central Equatoria, South Sudan. In particular, Luga explains the significance of Yoyoji-yojaja, a form of cassava cultivated by young men as a means to develop bride-wealth, which enables them to get married.

Listen to Magnus’s earlier conversation with Elizabeth Nyibol, ‘Migrating with Seeds’, here.