It was with great joy that, on June 18, we completed the “Delights without Borders – Cooking with Refugees and Immigrants” project, an initiative for professional training, entrepreneurship and income generation in the gastronomy field. The action is part of the Partilha project, of the Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul – Province of Rio de Janeiro.
To carry out the project, ten refugees and immigrants from four countries – Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela – were selected and registered at the Refugee Assistance Center. They participated in four in-person training sessions on May 17, 24, 31, and June 7 at the Assistance Center headquarters.
We chose cooking for this professional training because it is one of the oldest forms of integration and cultural exchange. It is the living expression of certain cultures, brings back fond family memories, and preserves the identity of peoples.
Workshops: The first meeting included an introductory workshop on marketing and entrepreneurship, taught by Sesc. On the same day, participants experienced a brainstorming session on creating a brand and visual identity with a group of ten volunteer designers, who had just graduated from Faculdade Hélio Alonso – FACHA.
On the second day, Sebrae offered a workshop on how to become an Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI) and register a business. Another partner, ATOAR, taught the “Good Practices for Food and Distribution Services” and “Presentation, Assembly, and Decoration of Products” courses.
In the third meeting, a representative from Bradesco Seguros spoke about financial literacy, and in the fourth and final training session, ATOAR returned to talk about preparing a Business Plan.
The project culminated in the delivery of ten food bikes, one for each participant. The bikes were delivered with the personalized visual identity of each brand.
Check out the participants and their respective products:
Arny Meyer, Uruguay
Product: Gluten-free sweets and snacks
Place of Sale: Leme
Follow: @satoricreaciones
Erica Canabal, Colombia
Product: Meals
Place of Sale: Bonsucesso, Rio de Janeiro
Eva Noemi Alberdi, Argentina
Product: Empanadas, alfajores and pies
Place of Sale: São Conrado and Barra beachfront
Follow: @delicias_brasentinas
Guadalupe Montenegro and Federico Fernandez, Argentina
Product: Empanadas
Place of Sale: Leme and Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro
Follow: @elad10os
Helitzabeth Rodriguez, Venezuela
Product: Arepas
Place of Sale: Copacabana
Jesus Rodriguez, Venezuela
Product: Typical snacks from Brazil and Venezuela.
Location of Sale: Copacabana, between Stations 3 and 4
Micaela Brandán and Claudio González, Argentina
Product: Cakes in various typical flavors of Brazil and Argentina, such as tangerine and vanilla with dulce de leche.
Place of Sale: Leme and Copacabana
Rocio Florencia, Argentina
Product: Cookies, cakes and griscinas, typical Argentine cookie
Place of Sale: Canto do Leme
Follow: @dulcezoe.rio
Wilenis Uzcategui, Venezuela
Product: Typical sweets from Venezuela
Place of Sale: Leme and downtown Rio de Janeiro
Zhue Otaiza, Venezuela
Vegan Products: Pão de beijo, jams, preserves and cakes in a jar.
Place of Sale: On the beachfront between Maricá and Itaipuaçu
Follow: @veganescer