By Joselina Rodríguez
The sublime of chocolate could be only matched to the innocence of childhood or the vigour of youth. With the objective of educating youth and adults with exceptional abilities in the chocolate making area to project them into the labour market, it was born the Chocolates Making and Patisserie Programme of Venezuelan Institute for the Comprehensive Child Development (INVEDIN), a civil non-profit organisation founded in 1974 that seeks to improve the quality of life for those who show risks or problems in their comprehensive development.
The initiative was born 3 years ago from a group of professionals and collaborators of INVEDIN, who created a project of a chocolate laboratory with the advice and knowledge of Marlene Berrios, Director of the School of Chocolate and Patisserie KKO Real. Ana María Cogollos, Director of Special Education Centre (CEE) from INVEDIN points out that in this way and with great efforts and the support of several companies, INVEDIN has been able to crystallise this golden dream.
“We decided to work with chocolate since it is a product which sets a worthy example in our country and especially because there was the opportunity to form an alliance with the company KKO Real. This approach has been the best thing that may have happened to us, thanks to the experience and wisdom of the teacher Marlene Berrios, who has trained representatives, teachers, students and the community in the art of making high quality chocolates “she explains.
Today this motivating programme is formed by the managerial staff members of INVEDIN School, its parents and guardians society, Marlene Berrios from KKO Real, as well as close friends to the institution.
“We have a laboratory coordinator, Yadira Burke, who, at the same time, is an INVEDIN Special Education Centre representative. Likewise, an employee, who shows some cognitive disability, is appointed to this Chocolates Making and Patisserie Programme, as part of the labour inclusion, carried out together with KKO Real. To this team there were added: 4 students with cognitive disabilities from the Special Education Centre, 4 collaborating mothers from the school and, 2 members of the teaching staff of the institution”, Ms. Cogollos says.
Chocolates filled with love
The magic that surrounds the Chocolates Making and Patisserie Programme of INVEDIN, not only comes from processing chocolate tablets, but also from the human talent who works to seduce the palate of Venezuelan customers through the preparation of exquisite filled chocolates. In the Chocolate laboratory is precisely where mingles the charm of an interesting team along with the aroma and taste of bitter, white and milk chocolate bars provided by from the Chocolate and Patisserie School KKO Real.
“We have a laboratory where artisanal chocolates are made following all the procedures to obtain high quality products. These chocolates could be filled with amaretto, coconut, orange, lemon, passion fruit, hazelnut, peanut, rum, among other ingredients. “In these spaces there are carefully made candies, lollipops and chocolate bars through the processes of tempering, separating, preparing fillings, decoration and packaging chocolate”, the Director of the EEC in INVEDIN says.
For her, it is important, from this institution, to teach an occupation to people with cognitive disabilities (students and community) in order to provide those means that allow them to earn their livelihood and ensure their own independence.
“Our main goal is to get young people trained in making chocolates and desserts, taking into account their own interests and possibilities, by means of learning techniques and handling tools and materials. Likewise, we seek to foster their independence with the purpose of achieving the apprentices’ labour inclusion to the society, obtaining identity and responsibility values, so necessary in working, production and marketing worlds”, Ms. Cogollos states.
Once the products are finished and packaged by such talented hands in the laboratory, they are sold to the public within the school, INVEDIN staff and also companies like Alfonzo Rivas, Meditron, Renaissance Hotel, Dart of Venezuela, among others, as it is remarked by the spokesperson. Who have also enjoyed the delights of cocoa by-products are those visitors to several bazaars such as: INVEDIN Bazaar, Banplus Bazaar and Banco Exterior bazaar.
“The experience has been quite gratifying, since the public has been surprised at the good quality of chocolates produced by people with exceptional abilities. They congratulate us and tell us how proud they are of having institutions committed to such ambitious projects in order to foster social inclusion of people with special education needs”, Ms. Cogollos points out.
As per this outstanding work, from Vivaelcacao.com, we invite all institutions existing in our country to join initiatives such as INVEDIN and Kko Real one. We are all capable of contributing to prosperity of our community, mainly if we could do it through Venezuelan cocoa. INVEDIN and Kko Real are a perfect example to demonstrate the wide range of possibilities that this seed brings, not only as an alimentary and commercial sector, but also as a source of employment which increasingly adds followers and, above everything, it makes more human those who bet on it.
