"These types of gatherings are something that we have lost over the years, so to reignite that communal flame is a very satisfying and heart-warming thing to be involved with."

Stories from ethnically diverse women of the Şile Villages

Stories from women with foreign origins & Turkish women of Istanbul

Stories from Syrian origin and Turkish women of Balat, Istanbul

Stories from our diverse international online group

Creating space and reason for women to come together to have their stories heard, and to hear the stories of other women.

What is gained from participation in the Cooking Up Dialogue sessions is social interaction, a chance to hear and be heard and the opportunity to share and learn recipes with neighbours.

Together we learn communication skills that empower us in every relationship which means increased happiness in life.

The resulting stories and recipes of the gatherings are compiled into this online story telling recipe book.

Each woman has shared a story of herself and her recipes.

We hope and are happy to assist in the spread of this initiative so it may serve as a guide for local resilience and community building.

During Covid and beyond.

Lock Down meant physical isolation, not social isolation!

Our initial gatherings were face to face, bringing our participants together and enjoying the food and conversation as a convened group. But when Covid resulted in social distancing we made the best of things!

With careful hosting Online Circle creates beautiful connections and meaningful dialogue. Relationships are formed and resilience grows. Skills learned and experience gained within the online Circle community are then shared outside and with local communities.

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Through the forced isolation of Covid we learned that skilled and careful Online facilitation has some advantages. So we continue to bring women together from afar, even worldwide, and we are able to connect people who may otherwise be isolated or separated.

Even when hosting Online Cooking Up Dialogue sessions we fund the recipes which the participants cook in advance. They share the photos with the facilitators and they share the meals that they have prepared with their families at home. Later, during the online session, the Facilitators show the photos while the participants tell the story and the recipe of their dish. Even though we do not get to taste the food together, the online environment seems to allow the tastes and the feelings to be shared effectively between the participants.