In the framework of the proposed project, the main scope is to develop a Cookbook with the participation of the people with Intellectual Disabilities (SwID) that attend in the Vocational Training Centers (VTCs). The instructors and trainers together with professionals from the fields of catering and agriculture and the SwID will develop cooking and cultivating instructions based on the principles of “task analysis” and “easy to read” forms. SwID have the chance to participate actively in this Erasmus+ project through which they develop their cooking skills in the framework of their training activities inside the VTCs and exploring their autonomy skills. The training activities follow the example of creating work based learning, relative to real situations. The Cookbook will be a guide for VTCs or other educational organizations, that are interested in adding in their curriculum a cooking and gardening workshop that is proved to be effective in imparting the relevant knowledge and developing successfully the skills by being meanwhile, highly engaging for the beneficiaries. Following, this Erasmus+ project will communicate the Cook Book to interested parties from the participating countries by organizing local events. On a European level the results of the project will be distributed through an online training platform and a research database that will catalogue the study and relevant policy recommendations that can be found in the websites of the participant organizations. More specifically, the main objectives of the proposed project are presented below. Project Objectives: • Research recipes from different countries, emphasizing on the similarities and differences in terms of dietary conditions, traditional food, agricultural products, cultural identity and historical course. The recipes will follow the guidelines of a healthy diet and will provide nutritional information. • Research effective and easy to learn cooking methodologies that will be implemented in cooking sessions, based on the existing familiarity of the students with the ‘step by step’ procedure, the ‘task analysis’ method. • Research on the optimal visualization of the recipes for the creation of the Cookbook. • The procedure will be recorded in a Trainers Guide that will explain the different ways of using the tools and kitchen equipment and fresh seasonal food materials, in order to produce highly nutritional and also simple to produce recipes. • The above mentioned steps will be repeated for the creation of the training sessions on how to cultivate an urban vegetable garden. Each partner will create a small-scale garden with agricultural seasonal products that will be used especially at the implementation of the Cook Book recipes. Training sessions will target SwID and Trainers on how to develop and cultivate their own small-scale gardens utilizing free urban spaces such as terraces, small yards inside their organisations, balconies, etc. The training sessions will be designed taking also into account specific factors such as local and seasonal agricultural products, climate conditions, simple cultivation techniques, etc. • Publish the Cook Book in a format accessible for all the people. The main goal team of population is children and teenagers, young people with intellectual disabilities, people with no experience in cooking and gardening, refugees that have trouble understanding the language of the recipient countries. So the COOKBOΟK, will carry/exchange knowledge in the field of nutrition, agriculture and can be used as a tool of integration of the culture of minorities groups in every country. • Development of a Guide for the Trainer demonstrating the new tools especially designed for the training sessions targeting at SwID and the “Train the trainer” seminars. • Production of the intellectual outputs (manual of the trainee-Cookbook, manual of the trainer with “cook and agro” tips , learning outcomes and policy recommendations derived from the research), training package and Cook Book in different languages: English, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese. • Development of a training platform especially designed for the proposed project in the language of the participating organizations for the digital publication of the aforementioned outputs. Project Activities: In order to properly implement the project activities, there are 6 key activities: 1. Research, training and development of a small-scale urban agricultural garden 2. Research, training and development on cooking sessions 3. Design and publish the Cook Book 4. Design and publish the Trainer Manual 5. Communication and dissemination of the Cook Book as a tool that is addressed to all the interested population and contributes in a worldwide designing of activities around nutrition based on healthy eating without discriminations. 6. Train the trainer seminars.
Context and Background: The proposed project was explicitly conceived within MARGARITA during 2013. The core idea was based on the fact that Students with Mental and Intellectual Disabilities (SwMID) demonstrate a great interest in cooking lessons. Also, trainers and educators have concluded on the familiarity that SwMID have with cooking lessons. The proposal approved for funding, under the Horizontal priority ”Transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications” and the VET priorities “Further strengthening key competences”, “Enhancing access to training and qualifications for all”. The 1st evaluation concluded the need to add more activities; (1) training seminars on agricultural activities focusing mainly on how raw materials for cooking are cultivated while introduce them with new curricula; (2) explore the nutrition and calorie value chain of the easy cooking products giving the healthy added value to the final outcome. Objectives: The main objective was to develop a Cookbook with the participation SwMID that attend in the Vocational Training Centers (VTCs). The instructors and trainers together with professionals from the fields of catering and agriculture and the SwID along with other relevant stakeholders, developed cooking and cultivating instructions based on the principles of “task analysis” and “easy to read” forms. To reach the main objective, the following targets had been set; (1) development of a cookbook, using the ‘task analysis’ and “easy to read” methods that contains new recipes from different countries, emphasizing the similarities and differences in terms of dietary conditions, calorie efficient, traditional cuisine, agricultural products, kitchen and cooking equipment, complementarity, cultural identity and historical course; (2) implementation of cooking sessions, based on the existing familiarity of the students with the ‘step by step’ procedure, the ‘task analysis’ and “easy to read” methods based on cooking training seminars; (3) development and demonstration of these new tools especially designed for the training sessions targeting at SwMID and the “Train the trainer” seminars; (4) development of training sessions specifically designed for SwMID on the cultivation techniques of a small scale urban vegetable garden; (5) development and publication of 2 intellectual outputs, easy cooking book and the trainers manual package, both translated into English, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan. Participants’ profile: This project addressed various people with disabilities mostly intellectual. Each partner organization engaged its students with different forms of disability and specifically: (1)VTC MARGARITA engaged with people, aged 14-54, with light and moderate intellectual disabilities who live in the region of Attica; (2) Orchardville worked with adults with learning disabilities and Autism; (3) Fundació Ramon Noguera worked with adults with intellectual disabilities (any kind); (4) E.PSY.ME. worked with people aged 15-45 with learning disabilities and autism who live in the region of Piraeus; (5) MARGARITA, FRN, EPSYME and ARCIL engaged staff with expertise in Vocational Training of people with intellectual disabilities. Activities implemented: The project was divided into 9 activities (A1-A9). A1, A2 activities supported the project throughout the 24 months duration through the implementation of several action as described in project management and implementation section. A3 “Selection of Recipes” was the core preparatory activity and the backbone of A5 and A6 which tested the outcome through the training seminars. The successful implementation of A5 and A6 concluded at Girona, Spain with the implementation of activity A4: “Train the Trainer”. Conclusion of Activities A4, A5, A6 triggered activity A7 which was very important mostly for the dissemination activity while A8 is the core activity of the project for drafting, evaluating and finalizing outputs O1 and O2 of the project. A9 includes the “Multiplier Events” in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. Results: The 1st project achievement was the selection of top 10 recipes based on a multicriteria system that evaluated these recipes considering social, technical, healthy and easy-to-make criteria. The 2nd main achievement of the project was the proper application of the task-analysis and easy-to-real methods on the recipes using only the assistance by the SwMID. These recipes where applied during the 5-day training seminar in the premises of FM at Girona. The 3rd and most important achievement of the project was the successful implementation of the training seminars both in cooking and cultivation. These seminars, as the core activities of the entire project, were successfully demonstrated in the 5-day “Train the Trainer” activity. The 4th main achievement of the project was the implementation of outputs O1 and O2 together with the successful communication and dissemination of the results at the multiplier events.