With the help of a grant from Good Food Battle Creek, the Generation E
Institute was able to approach the city’s Burmese community in a way
that not only taught American culture, but gave the teenagers a way to
express their Burmese upbringing.
On
Thursday, April Jones, coordinator of the Generation E Institute, sat
at a table at the Springfield Farmer’s Market intently listening to a
group of teenagers talk about their business plans. After a successful
food stand at the International Summer Fest And Black Arts Festival and
five summer sessions of cooking, the group was given the task to write a
proposal for a food business.
The
ideas ranged from selling sweet snacks to full-course meals. Lal Mawi,
16, said he wanted to create Bubble Gumz, a bubblegum business that
would include American and Burmese flavors for all age groups. And he
made sure to say his business would take cash only.
“The goal is to satisfy people and make benefits,” he said. “It can be everywhere.”
Jones
said she wasn’t sure she could handle the spicy gum flavors. During her
time with the students her taste buds have gone on a roller coaster of
experiences.
“It’s been a fun process to watch these young people,” said Jones. “We are learning and teaching each other.”
Jones
said she and the group have discussed the similarities and differences
in cooking traditional Burmese food and American food. She said one of
their favorite American treats over the summer was chocolate chip
cookies.
“There
are no fridges and stoves in Burma,” said Jones. She said the teens had
never had American chocolate chip cookies and have come to love the
semi-sweet chocolate flavor.
“What
a wonderful way for young people to feel welcome to the community,”
said Cheryl Peters, executive director of Generation E. “We want to
learn about their culture and they want to learn about ours.”
For
the first time at Summer Fest the group made a profit for the Burma
Center. After receiving donations from the Asian Market, Jennifer
Thuahzathang wrote a budget plan and helped the young people run “Little
Burma” at the festival. The group prepared 200 servings — fried corn,
fried onions, and samosas — to be sold at $2 each and for the first time
charged for a cup of lemonade. Thuahzathang said they ran out of food
in the first two hours and had to make more. “Little Burma” made a $700
profit within four hours.
“This was our fourth or fifth year at Summer Fest, but it was the
best year,” Thuahzathang said. “It was my first time working with
teenagers. Now I feel like a teenager again.”
Saw Tial created her business from what she learned at Summer Fest.
She introduced her would-be downtown restaurant as Samazing.
The
14-year-old said she would sell samosas, a fried pastry with spiced
vegetables and meat. “I saw at the festival people like to try new
stuff,” she said. “They saw it was a different culture and they wanted
to try it.”
Cutie
Cakes creator, Esther Sang, wanted to create an organic cupcake stand
for the Farmer’s Market. She envisioned mini and bite-sized organic
cupcakes for adults and children. She too, wanted the influence of
Burmese herbs from the four Burmese gardens in the area in her product.
But
it was Tluamg Sum who incorporated both American and Burmese styles
into one complete business. The 15-year-old created a summer-time ice
and winter-time sweet coffee stand that he would put in Lakeview Square
Mall.
“When I go
outside it makes me really thirsty,” he said. “A lot of people (in
Burma) don’t have refrigerators so people make businesses with ice.”
After
he moved to Michigan with his family, Sum said he no longer desired the
cool ice eight months out of the year, so the sweet coffee would help
make a profit.
source: BattleCreekEnquirer
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