Cici in Sicily -- Cook the Farm 2020

Hi everyone!

As most of you may know I have a deep love for cooking and have for as long as I can remember - starting back as a teenager my late grandmother, Sharon, would pull me into the kitchen with her to prep and cook for our family.  At the time, I didn't realize it would cultivate such an emotional connection to food and the special art of making it for others.

After cooking as a personal passion for the past 10 years, I have recently been accepted to  a two month long culinary course in the heart of rural Sicily beginning in January of 2020. I am hoping to use this experience as a way to further my knowledge in the kitchen, but to also connect to my heritage, my roots, and the values my grandmother instilled in me before her passing. She used to always joke that she would send me off to live with the Nuns on a mountain top in Italy, and it's funny to share that one of my housing options is a convent, with the Nuns, on an island in Italy :) (Not joking...) 

The program is called "Cook The Farm" and lessons such as traditional cheese making, wine cultivating, butchering, bread baking and pasta making, food systems & exploration of landscapes and traditions are taught and explored.

The goal of the program is to provide students with a comprehensive appreciation for food production and it's origin, that leads to a critical perspective on food, empowering awareness of self and our surroundings. 

Food is a direct sense of nostalgia and childhood to me. When I'm working with it, I feel at home. If I've fed you - you've maybe felt at home as well. 

I am humble,  and therefore asking for assistance for something like this feels hard and vulnerable, however, in order to go, I would need it. I know I will return with knowledge and inspiration that not only applies to my personal enjoyment, but my professional world as well. 

The expenses I am in need of covering are the tuition for the program, housing, transportation & day to day living expenses, while still covering my at home expenses in Los Angeles while I am in school.

(Tuition - $11,000)
(Flight to and from Italy - approx $2,000)
(Food, transportation, rent + bills at home - approx $2,000)

I'm hoping if you have something extra to share and feel compelled or able to assist me with affording this opportunity, I would be eternally grateful. I would be leaving work during this time to take this chance and would truly be in need of financial support from my family and friends.

Thank you so much for reading.  I appreciate any help you're able to offer. I hope I get to feed you one day.

xoxox
Chelsea