The Chickpea Sisters

The Chickpea Sisters are a group of refugee and migrant women from south west London who meet every week to chat, eat, and share recipes from around the world. The cooking group is not only a social hub; the women share their culinary delights with the local community, catering for a large range of events.

Chickpea Sisters developed out of a refugee and migrant women’s cooking project initiated by CARAS, a charity supporting refugee families and individuals living in south-west London. Women who had been involved in different CARAS projects in the past had often cooked for the charity’s events including fundraising dinners, family fun days, trips and picnics. Many of the women expressed an interest in taking their culinary talents forward and developing their cooking skills into an income generating activity. Based on this, CARAS set up a cooking project that served as a training ground for the development of a catering business using a social enterprise model.

Refugee and migrant women come to the UK with many useful skills and talents, yet are often unsuccessful in securing stable employment. Many have qualifications and previous work experience that are not recognised in the UK. This, coupled with a language barrier and loss of confidence means that many are not enabled to realise their full potential.

The Chickpea Sisters aim to empower refugee and migrant women by providing them with an opportunity to:

1. Develop business skills and gain experience in the catering industry.

2. Earn money doing something they love.

3. Build a support network and become full members of the community.

KEY ISSUES WE TACKLE

Isolation and Lack of Community Spirit: Despite being home to a staggering 8. 674 million people, London can be a very lonely place. This sense of isolation is particularly strong among migrants and especially refugees and asylum seekers, who face the daunting task of establishing new support networks in an alien environment.

This project offers women an opportunity to make new friends from their local community, women who have experienced similar challenges to settling into a new life in London. The women's mutual love of cooking provides them with a reason to come together each week. Although they come from different backgrounds and speak a variety of languages they share a common language of food. By sharing their culinary knowledge with one another, the women are able to form relationships integral to developing a sense of belonging in the UK.

Mental Wellbeing: The trauma of the refugee experience and stresses of the migration process combined with a lack of social networks, economic deprivation, loss of cultural identity, and racial discrimination often lead to poor mental health. 50% of all asylum seekers in the UK have mental health needs and over 20% have acute mental health problems.

In addition to alleviating the women’s isolation through group sessions, cooking has a therapeutic quality to it. Firstly, the simple act of being closer to nature by using fresh produce can have a tremendous impact on an individual's general wellbeing.

Secondly, the sense of accomplishment that comes with having planned, prepared, and presented a meal can be hugely rewarding as well as satisfying our innate desire to please and care for others. Finally, sharing and garnering appreciation for recipes with which they inextricably associate with home provides the women with the cathartic opportunity to express an affinity with their culture and tradition.

Economic Disempowerment: refugees and migrants struggle to find employment appropriate to their qualifications and experience. They often find it difficult to find any employment at all. Different studies have put refugee unemployment between 36% and 90% , with refugee women’s unemployment rates being significantly higher than mens.

By providing participants with the opportunity to improve their English language skills, offering them various qualifications and training, and giving them the resources needed to set up a business, the project increases the participants’ employability. The experience gained from setting up and running a catering enterprise will not only provide direct financial rewards but also increase the women’s chances of finding other work.

The Chickpea Sisters are a group of refugee and migrant women from south west London who meet every week to chat, eat, and share recipes from around the world. The cooking group is not only a social hub; the women share their culinary delights with the local community, catering for a large range of events.

Chickpea Sisters developed out of a refugee and migrant women’s cooking project initiated by CARAS, a charity supporting refugee families and individuals living in south-west London. Women who had been involved in different CARAS projects in the past had often cooked for the charity’s events including fundraising dinners, family fun days, trips and picnics. Many of the women expressed an interest in taking their culinary talents forward and developing their cooking skills into an income generating activity. Based on this, CARAS set up a cooking project that served as a training ground for the development of a catering business using a social enterprise model.

Refugee and migrant women come to the UK with many useful skills and talents, yet are often unsuccessful in securing stable employment. Many have qualifications and previous work experience that are not recognised in the UK. This, coupled with a language barrier and loss of confidence means that many are not enabled to realise their full potential.

The Chickpea Sisters aim to empower refugee and migrant women by providing them with an opportunity to:

1. Develop business skills and gain experience in the catering industry.

2. Earn money doing something they love.

3. Build a support network and become full members of the community.

KEY ISSUES WE TACKLE

Isolation and Lack of Community Spirit: Despite being home to a staggering 8. 674 million people, London can be a very lonely place. This sense of isolation is particularly strong among migrants and especially refugees and asylum seekers, who face the daunting task of establishing new support networks in an alien environment.

This project offers women an opportunity to make new friends from their local community, women who have experienced similar challenges to settling into a new life in London. The women's mutual love of cooking provides them with a reason to come together each week. Although they come from different backgrounds and speak a variety of languages they share a common language of food. By sharing their culinary knowledge with one another, the women are able to form relationships integral to developing a sense of belonging in the UK.

Mental Wellbeing: The trauma of the refugee experience and stresses of the migration process combined with a lack of social networks, economic deprivation, loss of cultural identity, and racial discrimination often lead to poor mental health. 50% of all asylum seekers in the UK have mental health needs and over 20% have acute mental health problems.

In addition to alleviating the women’s isolation through group sessions, cooking has a therapeutic quality to it. Firstly, the simple act of being closer to nature by using fresh produce can have a tremendous impact on an individual's general wellbeing.

Secondly, the sense of accomplishment that comes with having planned, prepared, and presented a meal can be hugely rewarding as well as satisfying our innate desire to please and care for others. Finally, sharing and garnering appreciation for recipes with which they inextricably associate with home provides the women with the cathartic opportunity to express an affinity with their culture and tradition.

Economic Disempowerment: refugees and migrants struggle to find employment appropriate to their qualifications and experience. They often find it difficult to find any employment at all. Different studies have put refugee unemployment between 36% and 90% , with refugee women’s unemployment rates being significantly higher than mens.

By providing participants with the opportunity to improve their English language skills, offering them various qualifications and training, and giving them the resources needed to set up a business, the project increases the participants’ employability. The experience gained from setting up and running a catering enterprise will not only provide direct financial rewards but also increase the women’s chances of finding other work.