Grogue: The Cape Verdean Way of Life

This research aims to understand the economic and cultural value and importance of grogue, a sugarcane-based craft spirit produced in Cabo Verde, West Africa, for more than four centuries. Interviews were conducted on the main grogue producing islands of Santiago and Santo Antão in January and May 2024, respectively. This poster uses a subset of the interview data to answer the questions: What is grogue, and why is it important to the people of Cabo Verde? According to the 2015 grogue law, grogue is the typical and exclusive name given to sugarcane spirit produced in Cabo Verde obtained from the distillation of naturally fermented must from sugarcane, which contains peculiar sensory characteristics. But beyond this legal definition, what does it mean to the people who produce and consume it? Through a thematic analysis of a subset of responses to 4 questions from 10 interviews (5 from each island), themes of economic importance, individual interests, national pride, and cultural heritage appeared from the data. Locally produced spirits are easily integrated into community celebrations and significant life events, provide livelihood opportunities, and shorten commodity chains that lessen environmental impacts. In resource poor countries such as Cabo Verde, local production enhances self-reliance and promotes human security.