Buen Apetito Kennedy Manqa School

Countries:

Colombia

Start project:

2016

Donors:

Kerk in Actie

Partners:

Fundacion Pequeño Trabajador

In the Kennedy locality of Bogota, disadvantaged youth from socially problematic neighborhoods are trained to be qualified as cooks. They learn to master the healthy traditional and local cuisine. This could lead to small farmers in the area earning more money and receiving a fair price for their products. It may have additional positive impacts on these young people and help them to improve their lives and to find a job as a qualified cook, or even to become a restaurant owner or entrepreneur.

Background

Manq'a Buen Apetito Kennedy is a program derived from a wider country program of Manq'a schools founded by ICCO Cooperation. The entire community may benefit from this training as an increase in the number of cooks may bring a higher demand for organic and local food.

Equally important is the knowledge and best practices, using and promoting local Colombian gastronomic products that are delivered by local small peasants organizations. Fundacion Pequeno Trabajador (FPT) is a local NGO which has been promoting integral human development processes for children, adolescents, and vulnerable groups for the past 28 years. The foundation is located in the Patio Bonito neighborhood, in the district of Kennedy in Bogota, Colombia but it also has a specific impact on the Bosa and Ciudad Bolivar districts. The action stems from pedagogical and entrepreneurial experiences and the exchange of best practices. FPT has benefited approximately 10,000 people with sustainable economic practices and has reached social and economic empowerment.

The project has conducted a baseline mid 2016 to map the start situation. It is of great importance that young people build personal, technical, and entrepreneurial capacities at different levels and in different fields related to their culture.