From mushrooms to sea kelp: Two female foragers in South Africa and Japan tell Datshiane Navanayagam about how picking wild food has helped them to feel more connected to their natural surroundings.

Emily Smith is from the UK and lives in rural Japan. She moved there to explore her Japanese heritage and says she felt a deep and calming connection to her natural surroundings. She spends her days learning all she can about edible plants and mushrooms from books, the internet and, most importantly, her elderly neighbours. She is currently working on a project about Japan’s seventy-two micro seasons.

Roushanna Gray is a wild food forager, based in Cape Point, South Africa. She’s passionate about teaching people how to source food for free. She takes groups into forests to forage mushrooms, berries, greens and edible weeds, and to tidal pools for seaweed and kelp. Roushanna teaches her international guests about how they can use their senses, as well as the seasons, to find the most nutritious food.

Produced by Mora Morrison

(Image: (L) Emily Smith, credit Joshua Atkins. (R) Roushanna Gray courtesy Roushanna Gray.)