On 10 February, let’s celebrate International Pulses Day together!
We invite you to explore “the taste of pulses” with us and rediscover the beauty of their extraordinary diversity.
How can you join the initiative?
Participation is very simple and open to everyone: citizens, schools, associations, local authorities, and restaurateurs.
From February 7th to 15th, you can take action in two ways:
1- by sending us your original recipe (with a photo or a short video)
2- by notifying us of an event or initiative you are organizing for the occasion.
All the proposals, ideas, and stories we receive will be published on our website, and the most original ones will be shared on INCREASE social media to create a great collective narrative.
A small thank you present
Instead of the usual contest, we have chosen to reward the imagination and commitment of everyone.
To thank you for your contribution, you will immediately receive an exclusive brochure via email curated by our team, containing pulse-based recipes from around the world.
In addition, all your inventions will be collected in a final E-book available for the entire community!
Put yourself to the test and help us celebrate biodiversity: we can’t wait to discover what’s cooking in your pot!
How to participate:
IF YOU ARE A PRIVATE CITIZEN
- If you have one or more pulse-based meals from February 7th to 15th with family and friends, you can describe your celebration in detail (when, with how many people, and which pulse-based dishes will be consumed, etc.), describing the recipes and perhaps, if known, the pulse varieties used, their origin, and their characteristics.
IF YOU ARE THE MANAGER OF A VENUE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
(restaurants, bars, trattorias, etc…)
If you offer a pulse-based menu for the days from February 7th to 15th, let us know where your venue is located and send us information about the pulse menus offered. For venues, it will be necessary to provide the full address and telephone/email contacts (and website, if any), which we will publish on the dedicated webpage to allow bookings by interested citizens. Recipes and pulse varieties used can be described through text, images, and videos and shared through the website and social media.
IF YOU REPRESENT A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE ENTITY. (associations, canteens, schools, or event organizers for World Pulses Day)
You can share events and initiatives, possibly providing information to participate in events open to the public. Recipes and pulse varieties used can be described through text, images, and videos and shared through the website and social media.
FOR EVERYONE: HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTEST
“THE TASTE OF PULSES”
By clicking the JOIN button, you can register your participation in the celebration; during registration, you can also decide to make your initiative visible on our site, whether private or open to all.
On the JOIN AND PROPOSALS page, you can see all international participants and all available events, including yours!
Furthermore
it is also possible to send us a post with photos, description, and recipe of your preparation in the PUBLISH A RECIPE section.
Participate in the contest by telling us why it is important for you to promote pulses and their diversity made of many local varieties, how it is possible to preserve and enhance their diversity, and how to promote their consumption and cultivation.
Legumes, grown on our territory in numerous species and varieties, are a very important basis for a balanced and healthy diet. They are a great source of vegetable proteins and micronutrients with a low environmental impact. Beans in particular, because of their water efficiency and due to their nitrogen-fixing capacity in the soil, are particularly advantageous in the cultivation phase, as they are an excellent ally in regenerating and maintaining a healthy soil. Let us not forget that fertile soil is the indispensable ingredient for the production of the food that feeds us.
That’s why the slogan chosen by FAO for this year is:
#Pulses: bringing diversity to agrifood systems
#Love pulses for a healthy diet and planet
Pulses are an integral part of the traditional diet; beans, chickpeas, lentils, fava beans, peas, lupins and chickling peas are present in the traditional cuisines of many regions. They are an easy and long-lasting food in its dried seed nature, and thanks to the genetic diversity it still retains today, varieties have developed that can adapt to cultivation in different microclimates.
Therefore, we invite you to dust off your favorite local legume recipe and tell us about a dish of your local gastronomy that you appreciate and why not, even experiment with recipes proposed by other participants!
THE CONTEST:
We invite you to soak your favorite legume, host friends and relatives for dinner, cook it according to the recipe that works best for you and finally enjoy it.
But before you consume the whole dish, remember to photograph it and then share your recipe with the entire INCREASE community!
Your post will be published on our social pages and can be read and voted on by everyone.
Don’t forget to add your preparation tips, preferences and invite your friends to this challenge as well.
If you are a restaurateur, canteens, associations, schools we invite you for the occasion to include at least one dish made with beans or other legumes in your menu and propose to your customers to enjoy with us the good and healthy of local legumes. Remember to share your recipe with the whole community by publishing the post and your location on our website; this way it will be easier to find you. If you wish during registration you can agree to show your name in the list of participants.
The celebration is active in many states, so search for international participation by typing #WorldPulsesDay and #LovePulses and you will find the different initiatives.
During the three days, prizes will be awarded for the recipes most voted for on social media and those considered most interesting by our panel of experts: so let’s get ‘like’.
The opportunities are not over!
The INCREASE project proposes you to become a citizen scientist. By participating in INCREASE’s Citizen Science Experiment
you can contribute to the enhancement of agrobiodiversity and support research!
By downloading the free INCREASE CSA App and registering, you will be able to cultivate some of the thousand bean varieties distributed by the project; moreover, by documenting their growth and collecting and exchanging the collected seeds with other citizens, you will contribute to the valorisation and decentralised conservation of genetic resources.
Register your participation in the 6th round of INCREASE’s Citizen Science Experiment until 28 February 2026!
If you have already participated in previous editions, you can confirm your membership for this new round as well, participate with your seeds and exchange seeds with other citizens.
FOR MORE DETAILS CLICK HERE
