Integrations come with eating

The idea stems from the characteristic of the widespread reception model whereby on the one hand it manages to make asylum seekers independent in the area, avoiding ghettoisation and indeed, promoting direct contact with the local community. What remains excluded from the principles of widespread hospitality, however, is the importance of knowledge of the territory and traditions through multiple experiences; In fact, Tahomà has identified the sharing of flavors and knowledge of cooking as the most significant for the purposes of sensible social inclusion. This would allow asylum seekers to get closer to the land that hosts them and would lead to the use of raw materials that they did not know how to cook. Belonging to a place is also conquered through aromas, flavors and raw materials. Asylum seekers come from distant countries, where they not only grow different vegetables and fruits, but also with different seasons. Adapting to a new country also means understanding how the cycle of the seasons works and what can be found during each of them. The economic factor is inextricably linked to this; in fact, foreigners use raw materials in their cooking that are often out of season and therefore considerably more expensive, or they only look for raw materials imported from their countries and even in that case necessarily more expensive.

The aim of the project concerns active participation and integration also from the point of view of that part of the local community that would be most involved: the elderly population of the Casentino. In this case, the local elderly women could not only exploit their culinary skills and knowledge to transfer to young foreigners (becoming themselves the vital part of the project), but also take an active part in a completely new aggregative experience, in able to unhinge false stereotypes and build new solidarity relationships.

Through cooking classes held by the ladies, asylum seekers could learn about the raw materials, their use, the benefits that a healthy and ancient cuisine could bring. They would learn new recipes and therefore how to make the most of the seasons, they could learn the history behind the typical local dishes, which are the result of a geopolitical knowledge of the place in question. The elderly ladies will once again be protagonists, handing down the traditions of the Casentino culinary culture, partly regaining possession of that important role of reference that they have had for all past generations, and in another, leaving behind ancient and secret recipes for an infallible enhancement. of every ingredient present in the kitchen.

Specifically, the project aims to promote food education among asylum seekers, and therefore to develop a sensitivity to food recycling and economic savings. It also aims to achieve an adequate development of the sense of belonging to the host territory, an authentic knowledge of traditions and the development of interpersonal relationships capable of strengthening two vulnerable social groups.

The participants are four guests of the Tahomà association who will follow the cooking lessons held by the cooks invited for the project. The selection of participants will follow specific criteria: knowledge of the Italian language, desire to integrate and learn new realities, passion for cooking.

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