Felix moves for gaia: Cooking for Guatemala
Part 1
On June 3rd this year, the Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupted, leaving surrounding areas covered in lava and ash. According to authorities, the eruption caused the death of over 100 people, and an even higher number of people is still missing. It is probable that this estimation is way too low. Since many people fled their hometown and are unable to return due to the devastating effects of the disaster, close to 4000 people currently reside in temporary shelters.
Félix, a French chef who had been traveling the area of the volcano days before it erupted, was in El Salvador when he heard the news. He immediately traveled back to Antigua Guatemala, in the department of Sacatepéquez, and has since been making use of his expertise in order to help those affected by the natural disaster.
Félix partnered up with several locals and travelers to organize events such as dinners and workshops for people in the shelters. Since he lacks the necessary financial means, he started off collecting vegetables and other food products that markets and supermarkets are unable to sell. This approach, however, was time and energy consuming. But it was a start.
The following days, he collected some money to buy food and utilities to bring to different shelters and joined the shelters’ staff to help wherever help was needed. “Yesterday, for example, when we first arrived in the camp, we didn’t get proper directions immediately so we just settled in the middle of the camp outside, started playing guitar, diabolo, football, and singing with the children from the shelter. We soon got in contact with the ones responsible for the shelter”, Félix says. These new contacts help him to effectively and efficiently organize the project he aims to initiate and execute to help those affected by the eruption.
“Basically, the project is built around three concepts: food, helping, and informing/sharing. The first step of the project is to collect information about needs and opportunities. We already know that fresh food, dry food and basic cooking materials need to be handed out. Secondly, we need to inform others — backpackers, locals — about our experiences and help them to find the camps. We also need to inform our own friends and family back home about the situation here, in order to raise awareness and possibly ask them to provide financial support. Thirdly, and this is very important, we need to create a group of volunteers, an atmosphere of willingness to help others, and find efficient means of transportation to execute projects together. We need to find other people who are willing to use their knowledge, expertise, and efforts to get involved in this project in the short term. Fourthly, from a project-specific perspective, we need to get going and create meals. Right now, we are waiting for the correct strategic decisions and the money to buy the right equipment. We are still collecting as much food as we can in the mean time to donate to people in the shelters, but we aim to collect enough donations to be able to really provide people with proper meals. We are also working on ways of collecting money other than direct donations, such as organizing pop up events or charity dinners of which the financial return can be used as input for the project… As you can imagine, what our actions can mean to the people here very much depends on the inputs we achieve to collect.” Félix’ actions are very much appreciated by residents of the shelters, he adds.
Regarding the resources needed in order to really set off, housing with a real kitchen is Félix’ priority. He needs to be able to stock and produce food and have a meeting place for people to organize the project. Such a place would also stimulate a positive atmosphere if it could be used as a general meeting place for both locals and collaborating travelers. To get the project going, he is in need of kitchen utensils and money to buy fresh and dried food. Ideally, he tells us, he would “buy a bus, which could be used to go to other places to collect more donations in the form of food products, to transport groups of (helping) people and to do catering on site”. These resources would help him to produce more food in a shorter time span and would allow him not to be dependent on public transport to help others. It would also help him to organize clear communication around the project, which will probably lead to easier establishment of contact with others who are in the area and are looking for a way to help.
Félix gives multiple updates a day about the project and his experiences through www.instagram.com/felixcooksforguatemala. For those who want to help, awareness for his project can be raised by following and sharing his Instagram posts. Donations can be made through https://bunq.me/felixcooksforguatemala. For those traveling or living in the area and willing to help Félix develop the project, Félix’ phone number can be found in the Instagram’s bio.
Updates on Félix’ experiences and the progress of his project will follow soon!
