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SUVOTSUVOT OSpicing Up

VocationalTraining

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december 2012

SUVOT

After a long and hard working year, Christmas and New Year season finally arrives!

2012 is ending, but we have the feeling that this has been a very fruitful year, full of good new experiences, new friends and new knowledge. SUVOT course is running and participants are more and more engaged with it each day. In this issue you will read about their view first-hand but also about the view of the trainers, a fundamental part of the course.

SUVOT team wishes you a very happy New Year 2013!!!

F u n d a c i ó n I N T R A S

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O z a r a

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Te a t r G r o d z k i

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C J D F r e c h e n

w w w . c j d - b b w - f r e c h e n . d e Suvot TEAM

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Interviewer: Good morning Mª Ángeles, do you like SUVOT course?

Mª Ángeles: I am very happy with it; I enjoy preparing meals and sharing them with my residence mates. It is very enjoyable.

Interviewer: Is there something you do not like about SUVOT?

Mª Ángeles: I don’t like coming on Saturday mornings, as I like sleeping very much! Also, simulation methodology part is difficult for me to understand some times.

Interviewer: From your point of view, what is the best part of SUVOT?

Mª Ángeles: I like eating the meals that we prepare. I enjoy sharing with my friend what we do in kitchen.

Interviewer: Mª Ángeles, if you could change anything about SUVOT, what would it be?

Mª Ángeles: I would like to make easy recipes more often, every other day for example.

SUVOT COURSE IN SPAIN: INTERVIEW TO ALBERTO BORJA CHOLLA, A SUVOT PARTICIPANT

Interviewer: Hi Alberto, can you tell us a little bit about SUVOT activities?

Alberto: It is a good course, very amusing. I like very much attending to the course on Mondays because we practise cooking, prepare the meal and cutting onions. I also like attending on Wednesdays, when we make simulation exercises.

Interviewer: What is the think that you like less?

Alberto: It is difficult for me to do the simulation exercises that the trainers propose us, but I like them anyway.

Interviewer: What is the think that you like more?

Alberto: Cutting food! I like preparing good meals, the other day we prepared pizza. I like SUVOT very much.

1. What do the trainees think about SUVOT?

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Interviewer: Alberto, if you could change anything about SUVOT, what would it be?

Alberto: Nothing, I like everything about the course.

Interviewer: Tell us about the simulation methodology part, what is the thing you enjoy the most?

Alberto: The theatrical games we do in group.

SUVOT COURSE IN SLOVENIA

Interviewer: Hi Milena, how would you describe the project to somebody who does not know about it?

Milena: In this project we get acquainted with cooking basics. We learn new recipes and traditional dishes from other countries. The SUVOT project gives us the possibility of personal development, gaining self-esteem and courage in the kitchen.

Interviewer: What do you like most about the project?

Milena: I like most the teamwork. But I also like learning about tasting new flavours – spices which I did not have the courage to add to food till now.

Interviewer: What do you like least, what would you change?

Milena: I would not change anything. I like the project as it is.

Interviewer: Do you think the project is useful? If so, why?

Milena: The project is very useful. I have more self-esteem when I am cooking. I stand behind what I cook and I am proud of it. The simulation methodology part of it is at the first sight easy and meaningless. But if you consider each activity separately and you think about it, then you can find out that through all the different activities you practice patterns from everyday life. When you are conscious about these patterns, you can change them, if you need to do so.

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SUVOT COURSE IN GERMANY, INTERVIEW TO JULIA A SUVOT TRAINEE

The SUVOT course in CJD is running since August and the group settled down, there is a routine and the participants know how the project works. We asked Julia, a trainee participating in the course, how she likes it.

Interviewer: Hi Julia, thanks for taking the time and having this interview with me!

Julia: You´re welcome!

Interviewer: Can you tell me a little about SUVOT?

Julia: Sure, SUVOT is an international project. There are four countries involved: Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Germany. SUVOT consists of two parts: The team training and the cooking part.

Interviewer: Can you tell me a little more about these parts?

Julia: Once a week we meet with a trainer and talk about ourselves, our wishes and problems, our teamwork or we do relaxation exercises… it always depends on the situation. We often play games which make it easier to focus on ourselves. It supports our cooperation; we learn many things about each other and about how we communicate. About two times a week we meet for theoretical and practical knowledge about cooking. We prepare national dishes of all partner countries and also learn more about these countries and their culture.

Interviewer: What could you get out of participating in SUVOT until now?

Julia: Well, I had a lot of fun and I enjoy learning things about other European countries. I love good food, of which we had lots It´s also great to have a good time with the group and inviting guests to try our dishes. As I want to work in the area of cooking and housekeeping it is good to know some international dishes. This makes me special compared to other applicants who don´t have this experience. I also think that we as a group have to learn more about ourselves. Dealing with problems and conflicts are areas, which we don´t consciously train intensively in vocational trainings. But if we don´t learn it this it could become a problem later on. If I find a good job, but am not able to solve conflicts in an adequate way it might be a reason to be thrown out of the company! SUVOT combines professional cooking contents with social skills training, which is exactly what I need to be prepared well for the labor market.

Interviewer: So you think SUVOT can improve your skills to access the labor market and be constantly employed?

Julia: Yes definitely! As I said, I gain additional skills and will have a special contribution in my application: International experience. I definitely think that SUVOT improves my chances!

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Interviewer: Can you tell me a highlight you had in SUVOT so far?

Julia: Well, I think the biggest highlight we had was the day when we prepared Slovenian pork tongue. We were all so excited and - to be honest - quite disgusted, and giggled the whole time. Already days before we talked about eating tongue, which we are not used to. In the beginning the tongue looked just like normal raw meat. We were almost disappointed…. But after being cooked it looked like a real tongue, coming out of a mouth and we made a big thing out of it! It was so funny! We prepared it in Slovenian way with onions and pumpkin seed oil, put it on the table and tried. Nobody wanted to be the first one to try, but then our boldest mate did it. It was a big moment and she was stared at anxiously. She put the piece of tongue in her mouth and – smiled! She liked it and was really into it. This encouraged the rest of us! Unfortunately in the end there were only two of us who liked the tongue, but almost everybody tried and we were very proud of ourselves! The first mate who tried took the leftovers home happily.

Interviewer: That sounds great, like having very good experiences! And at least most trainees tried…

Julia: Yes it is! I could tell you many stories similar to this one, for example preparing the mushroom soup from Poland! The group members were so suspicious at the beginning. In the end everybody was into it! But I think it would be too much?

Interviewer: Yes you are right. I think we have to come to an end. Thank you so much for sharing these experiences with us!

Julia: You´re welcome!

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2. Vocational training for people with disabilities – what do the trainers say?

We are now half way through our one year pilot workshops in Spain, Germany and Slovenia which test our innovative vocational training in cooking for people with mental illness, learning disabilities or/and behavioural disorders programme. Why is SUVOT’s training so innovative? Apart from attending cooking sessions three times a week, participants in all three countries take part in simulation methodology training – sociodrama and theatre exercises which help them to acquire personal and social skills needed at work. The simulation methodology was created by the Polish partner – Grodzki Theatre Association from Bielsko-Biała.

In Spain, Germany and Slovenia, where the pilot workshops take place, participants are making good progress and the trainers are pleased with the results. In Spain trainees usually work in groups, but sometimes they try cooking on their own. Most of them have really improved their skills. Sometimes they even surprise the trainer with their achievements: “I never imagined that they could prepare such a delicious béchamel sauce! “ – says Cristina Garcia de Tiedra, the Spanish trainer from Fundacion INTRAS. “They enjoyed very much to see how simple things allow us to prepare very different dishes. Our sentence for today has been: cook with love and you will see the results.”

Trainees in Slovenia, who work in two groups in different locations, have started showing more initiative during cooking sessions, for example they wanted to prepare their own menu, so the trainer let them. The result was very good! “Participants really enjoy cooking on their own now” – comments Samo Kramberger, the Slovenian trainer from OZARA. “The advancement of their cooking skills is starting to show”.

In Germany the group has become very open about what they like and don’t like during team work. Sometimes perhaps too open… In such situations it is really helpful to have sociodrama and theatre exercises through which trainees work on difficult feelings. “Today it came out that the group is really sensitive” – explains the German trainer Odilia from CJD. “It is good to have the simulation methodology trainer working on exactly this area.” She underlines the fact that participants feel comfortable now to say what they really feel, which is genuinely good. Sometimes the participants use the simulation methodology session to recover a little bit from the hard work during the training in cooking. “Afterwards they go out in a better mood than they came” – mentions Ruth, the trainer. “The communication between the participants has increased by the movement games and they have much joy”.

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You will find updated information about SUVOT project in:

http://suvot.intras.es

and also in our facebook page

http://es-es.facebook.com/pages/Suvot-Project/166486543372824

Contact:

“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission (Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo Da Vinci sub-programme) of the European Union“. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

Anja Rozman, the Slovenian trainer underlines the therapeutic effect of the sociodrama and theatre exercises: “Through these activities the participants learned about their fears, dilemmas and frustrations”. By acting out different situations, trainees learn how to find new solutions and possibilities for solving problems. The Spanish trainer, Veronica Estrada, emphasizes how group games and exercises integrate the members. “Each session is more profitable and relaxed that the last one. Group cohesion is growing everyday; also the respect and support that participants show to one another”.