Healthy food classes and training in Medellin

Hola! After months of drought, the rain has finally come down with force in Medellín. This inevitably resulted in extreme water leaks in our interior patio roof that was due for repairs. So we got that done this month between rainfalls, with lots of adventures along the way as the temporary plastic cover broke under the pressure of water overnight, filling the house with water. But we now have a new roof intact, elevated with new windows to help with air circulation in the house (which was also a complaint from clients during large events). Let's hope we've solved both problems with one big job!

Last month we had 19 visitors from Mercy College in Florida, United States visit to install our biodigester, the first of its kind in Colombia! Once up and running, this 'dragon' will work like a stomach, digesting food waste and converting it into 2 precious elements for our community project: 2 hours of daily free methane gas that we can use to prepare food, plus a bucket of organic liquid fertilizer that we can use in the gardens and in our future vertical hydroponic garden! I'll share more photos of these once they are up and running. The biodigester had its first methane flame last week, and we are slowly introducing food for it to digest until we eventually get up to speed and are leaving no waste behind.

We also finally got our beautiful old window scraped, sealed and hung on the front terrace wall full of flowers with the help of Diego, and with him and Tatiana we also installed a drip irrigation system in the window, the vertical garden next to it, and in fruit plant beds that will climb up the rooftop stairs creating a beautiful, luscious barrier and ambience for the space.

Thanks for your continued support, and talk soon!

Brian

Hola and happy new year! As 2023 ended, so did our long-time participant/colleague Daniel's contract in the restaurant he had been working in. That job wasn't providing a level of satisfaction and mental health that Daniel requires, so he made the brave decision to forfeit the security of a job contract, and do what he really wanted to do for years: join Vía Cocina on a more permanent, regular basis.

So with Daniel's commitment here, we have started up our once a week lunch service at local prices, so that community members can enjoy flavours from different countries without spending more than they would on a traditional lunch. So far we've done Italian, Colombian from the Caribbean coast, and Peruvian cuisine, and it has been a great success! The proceeds go directly to Daniel, and I am subsidizing the purchase of ingredients with funds from other activities and donations. And so Daniel has a level of financial security here, I have guaranteed him payment for 30 lunches each week, so that he has the equivalent of a Colombian minimum wage guaranteed here working a day or two per week, and doesn't need to look for a job elsewhere that will pay the same for much more work and less time for his family and other activities.

To complement the funds from lunches, I also have Daniel helping to prep our spaces for more activities, painting and organizing things we've had outstanding for months or even years. And we are working on more activities to generate income for him and confidence in his ability to develop his entrepreneurial skills with us. More on that in a future update!

Thanks and talk to you soon!

Brian