By Natasha Baker | Development Volunteer
Hello supporters! For a while now, we’ve been sharing our Culinary Arts and Therapy: The Kitchen as a Place of Healing project, part of the Sustainable Culinary School, and today we are excited to report out on one of the project’s success stories.
If you recall, The Kitchen as a Place of Healing is a therapeutic program for women of low socioeconomic status that offers job-training skills in the culinary arts and therapy designed to prevent emotional and mental illness. The first group of students consisted of 80 women, many of whom were simultaneously enrolled in a program called Bloom Trail, with partner organization We Are One. Bloom Trail trains 24 women on developing their own businesses in their own communities, in addition to helping build self-esteem and female empowerment.
One of the women who participated in the inaugural class of The Kitchen as a Place of Healing is Mairla, age 25, who lives in the Bom Jardim neighborhood where MSMC is headquartered. Mairla’s culinary arts training focused on chocolate making. After completing the course, Mairla achieved her dream of starting her own business, Izzy Cakes, where she sells online all of the delicious chocolate treats she learned through The Kitchen as a Place of Healing project.
When classes began, Mairla was 9-months pregnant. This brave woman was welcomed with open arms by our program and she spent the rest of her pregnancy in the program and ended the program with her new baby girl on her lap as her “assistant” during classes.
Nowadays, it’s with her business that Mairla is able to provide for herself and her daughter – and it is all thanks to the Sustainable Culinary School that you, donors, keep alive. Participating in the Sustainable Culinary School was life changing for Mairla, and she thanks each and every one of you for helping her achieve her dreams.
There are more women like Mairla who can blossom with your support. Creating financial independence for women like Mairla is where your donations to the Sustainable Culinary School to go. We hope that during these tough times, stories like Mairla’s bring you hope and inspiration. We look forward to sharing more success stories in future reports – all made possible because of your financial investment. Muito obrigada (thank you very much).
In solidarity,
Natasha (Development Volunteer)
Mitakuye Oyasin
Îandé Memé Maranongara
Somos Todos Parentes
We Are All Related
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