Traveling to discover - the essence of adventure - is what I seek to capture with this idea.
It all started when I first learned, six years ago, that chilies were from South America, not, as I always assumed, Asia.
After I accepted that fact, which shook my worldview, I searched long and hard for a book that would tell this story. I wanted to know HOW this was possible. After all, there are similar books for Salt, Potatoes, Chocolate, even Apples, all of which I've now read.
And there are many books on Chili Peppers. On cooking them, planting them, identifying them, but every single one of them glosses over what I see as the most important part. The story, of how the chili pepper became such an intricate part of cultures around the world. They also fail to explore why us "chili lovers" use those chilies in such different, fascinating ways. Korean fermented chili paste,gochujang, versus Indonesian sambal, crushed chilies with garlic, or Indian dry red chili powder.
And why did countries like Japan or Spain not adopt chilies, despite their proximity to countries that did, or to trade routes between the old world and the new?
An important story in human history was not being told. I realized there would be only one way to find out.
I would have to write this book myself.
I'm not a detective, but I am a writer, traveler, and explorer, and this project is about world's most popular spice, the chili pepper, native to South America. It spread rapidly around the world in the 16th century, being adopted into cuisines of cultures as diverse as India, Korea, Indonesia, and South Africa.
How this happened has never been told.
This Kickstarter will fund my travel research to write articles, collect data, and, as a final output write a full-length, popular book. I've already designed a to document the project and am doing 2-3 hours of preparatory research each day.
My career goal is to tell stories that connect humanity, and I have been doing this as as a freelance writer. So this project is not just to Kickstart a fascinating idea but my whole career. If I get funding, I hope this book will become the first of many similar, fascinating adventures about the world and human culture. That is why I've dedicated so much time to research, and setup a multimedia , and why you can be sure I'll work hard on finishing this project.
I was a poor traveler once, so I understand if you can't financially support A Spicy Quest. But here are some other things you can do.
- Follow the project on Facebook, Twitter, and on the project site.
- Share your chili pepper story.
- Be sure to spread the word to all your friends.
Who would have thought that at a breakfast in Malaysia would turn into an ambitious project that might define my life? But right now, it is still just an idea. Support this project, and Kickstarta fascinating story and my dream career.
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