The Fabulous Baker Brothers: the journey begins!

Official name of Project: Baker Brothers

Building starts: 17 August!

(just a note/disclaimer/apology of sorts: You have probably received some notice from Google alerting you to this blog-and yes, all my fault because I picked you to be on the list, thinking/hoping you would be interested! If you replied to that 'alert/email', just remember; I didn't get it...please post a comment on this blog, or write to me at francoisdbee@gmail.com , if you want to comment privately! You could, of course, also beg me to take you off the list, but then I'll probably sulk and/or never buy you a present. Again.)

No one has the teeth for another long-winded intro, so I will allow the story to get straight to the point, where Noel and I walk in circled around a heavily-laden old Landrover, wondering if we'll make it to Delft. Noel is the coolest staff member I know at UCT (and not just because his hair is slightly longer than mine). We have been friends for 10 years or more...and I more or less just expected him to be enthusiastic about the project. Smitten he was , immediately. I am a bit disoriented, muttering incessantly and going over the list of materials I think should have been packed. It's a habit of short-attention span folk like me, and it doesn't really help either. Noel chuckles at most of my jokes, as he has been doing faithfully for the last couple of years (I think he sees it as some form of community service..)

We leave. The whole car smells of fresh ciabatta. I have baked  6 loaves to impress the team at Delft. My own sons, however, ate 2 before I left the house. There is also a garbage bin filled with builders sand, trowels, levels, spades, a four pound hammer, a cold chisel, a short wooden beam (for compacting the sand), 4 (big) bags of clay, and 25 clay-bricks for the oven floor (did I really think we'll get there today?). On my to-do list is to write to Gary, of Jenkor bricks near Kommetjie, who kindly donated the bricks. And David and Christie, from Corobric, Durbanville, who gave me 8 bags of clay for free...

 There are numerous half-empty plastic buckets and containers, a spirit level, and of course, a portable battery-powered amp for music while building (the 16 gigs of jazz and R & B on my phone should more than suffice, I thought).

We chat. I force Noel to read out aloud from Kiko Denzer's manual on how to build the clay-oven while I drive. Noel thinks it funny but complies enthusiastically. We figure out the radius issue and before we hit Hindle road we are professional mud oven builders. Enter Delft south: it is busy and bustling with people and activities. We park at Derek's place, and we are immediately met by a bunch of young men. Derek is obviously happy to see me, and we all exchange handshakes. I am glad Noel is with me, he seems to have a natural connection with the brothers. I suddenly wish I had a tattoo or something on my forehead (instead of this vast fleshy landscape which can barely be covered by the average cap) to make me look more hip. The team consists of 9 men, and apart from Derek, they are all quite young. I think Bradly could be the oldest, at 25 years. The carry all the stuff from the Landrover, and stand in a big circle while I make my first pre-building speech. I tell them about the project, the oven we are about to build, my passion for bread. I don't really know if I'm connecting, but I have brought too many things to stop now, so I carry on. I say things like if you think baking is for women only then perhaps you must not be here. No one leaves, but I think it has more to do with fresh ciabattas, jam and cheese that are on display on one of the crates.

I get tired three-quarters through my prepared speech, and Noel looks bored too. We decide to eat bread first, then start working. The ciabattas disappear quickly,  and everyone seems to agree that artisan bread is the way to go. I explain as best as I can the lay-out, foundation and first phase of the construction that awaits us. We find a piece of rope, an old nail, and make a four-and-a-half feet circle as per Kiko's instruction on page 15 (reinforced by Noel's hysterical en route recital). The first clay mix turns out to be a complete guessing game: Kiko's careful guidelines somehow disappear between Bradley, Elveo and Nathan's enthusiastic spade-mixing efforts. I drop a piece of freshly mixed clay from chest-height in a test, just as the book says. It explodes in a 1000 pieces and at least now we know: way less sand. We end up with a mix of 2 buckets clay, and 3 sand. Not ideal, I'm thinking, with crossed fingers, hoping that the 3 bagsI brought along will last. Also, by now the amp has been placed strategically and my first music mix is received with more of less the same reaction as the experimental ball of clay hitting the floor (dry smiles and avoidance of eye contact). I leave with the car and 2 men, to fetch rubble (Kiko calls it urbanite). On my return the amp is playing at full volume, but my music has been (not even discreetly) replaced with another phone.Complete mayhem: thunderous thumping wild sounds of drummers and singers in distress, but the boys are is singing along. First lesson for me...when in Delft, we listen to the music of Delft. I watch how the protective speaker-fabric bounces with every beat and start praying that the battery will die soon. 

Noel has taken the lead. He jives and jokes with whomever is within spitting distance, and he has the first two layers of the foundation down before we know it. Trowels and tools are enthusiastically exchanged, loud advice and directions are barked about (the music makes it hard to think, let alone hear anyone. I dread having charged the battery the night before). Still the team seems to be functioning as though we have been working and building together for years (I'm exaggerating of course but the other stuff  is true). We run out of urbanite literally every 15 minutes, and Austin and Elveo join me for the trips to the rubble site a stone's throw from Derek's house. Small kids and neighbours watch bemused as we make several trips. I am now also concerned about my poor back, and start wishing I had chosen the trowel instead. Tonio has joined us (he used to be a cluster leader in my peer mediation project involving schools in the area), and he can hardly contain his enthusiasm. He gets appointed camera-person, and I later discover I have about 10 gigs of photos and video material. I will never have time to even look at it, but I won't tell him, of course.

By lunch time the base is about a foot short of the height I was hoping for, but we are running out of clay (again, I'm not entirely honest here: I was actually hoping that the whole damn thing would have been finished by now but the cruel truth has dawned. We are looking at least, at 3 or 4 sessions of just oven-building). I make another attempt at some sort of farewell speech until next time, but the left-over ciabattas get far more attention. But the construction looks good: rugged and strong, and Noel has added a creative and artistic touch with his positioning of colourful urbanite. We pack and I watch how the young men inspect their work. They walk around it,  as if inspecting a rare archaeological discovery. This makes me feel good. Derek's backyard has changed, all of a sudden. There is a weird looking structure, and about 9 young men not quite sure what to make of it. But somehow I get a sense that they trust the process, and that they will be back next time.

 

I thought about a nice ending for this first part of the building experience. Something like: 'Noel and I drove back in silence'. But nothing could be further from the truth, we chatted like young girls: about the day, how we think it's been incredibly good for us, and we ended up making more plans than we will ever be able to remember. It has been a good day.

 

 

 Noel preparing the team's first ciabatta experience...

 

 Sand...and lots of it...in plentiful abundance close by...

So this is my first posting (ever), and here's winking at the universe who's idea this was in the first place...

(Long-winded but necessary introduction follows...read, or skip, but don't blame anyone if you don't know what the hell is going on two months down the line..)

Introduction (written on 16 August 2012, a day before construction started. So yes, a historical note of sorts)

Some months ago I started experimenting with baking artisan’s breads, in an effort to improve my rather mundane white loaves. I came across some truly inspiring literature (has anyone else been rattled by Cyril Hitz?) on this subject, and was fortunate enough to experience a three-week holiday in Italy and Paris, adding significantly to the interest and enthusiasm for  better bread.

 

During this time, my interest in home-made earth ovens developed with equal enthusiasm. I ordered the much-acclaimed Kiko Denzer method, and studied the author’s step-by-step explanations, musing and guidelines through this ancient technique with a very specific focus, namely to be able to bake at the best possible temperatures, and with a low-cost and energy-saving method. The idea of cob or mud ovens has always appealed to me, from both the artistic creation potential as well as the economical potential within this method.

 

Two other important parallel developments occurred, in some strange idiosyncrasy with the above: my on-going interest with Delft (in particular community members who used to be involved with me in the Delft Schools Peer Mediation Project) and the growth of the ADAPT project at UCT (a diversity/inclusivity initiative that I designed, initially for anti-discrimination advisors on campus, part of policy development and stuff) As facilitator and Project Leader in the latter project, I was constantly trying to inspire and suggest ideas for participants to implement in their so-called ‘follow-up workshops’ (a continuation of the particular working group’s endeavour to show-case practical implementation of ‘intercultural competencies’ explored and achieved at initial Adapt workshop).

 

I was struck by the rich potential that a community such as Delft has to offer in from a skills development and outreach programme that addresses poverty, gender roles, informal employment possibilities. I was in in the process of gathering information for a documentary on peer mediation within gangs, when I was introduced to a group of unemployed men, who gather frequently at a certain house owner’s backyard in Delft South. They lamented (on the video-recorded interviews) about the trap of gangsterism, lack of opportunities in Delft, the crime-ridden and impoverished community, yet offered their willingness to change their realities, should any chance present itself.  On that day, and during the course of these interviews, the project was born: I decided an earth oven had to be build in Derek’s (the owner of this pool house) backyard, and these young men would form the first legion of a new bread-baking team of young unemployed men. They would take part and ownership of the building and construction of the oven, and would attend regular workshops on bread-baking. And not just any breads: artisan and sourdough breads, ciabattas, baguettes, epi’s, etc. The metaphor of hand-made breads has always been a powerful one for me, where the most beautiful culinary and nutritional creation could be shaped and baked with the bare minimum of ingredients. Rising above been trampled and enduring fire to a metamorphosis of much acclaim and admiration rang well and true for me, and I have very little doubt that this concept will be well received.

 

 

From an Adapt/TSO/UCT perspective, the project seems to offer the following:

 

1.     It provides a powerful and on-going example of a University-driven transformation initiative, and as Adapt follow-up workshop.  As such, it lends itself to training potential, skills development, knowledge building with potential benefits not only for the Adapt programme, but also for the community, the participants, and the facilitators involved.

 

2.     From a transformation and outreach on-going ‘ activity it offers room for growth and expansion: GSB, agricultural/archaeology , economy, engineering and sociology staff/students (to name but a few possibilities) may well choose to get involved (from an Adapt follow-up workshop, or otherwise) in order to assist with clay oven spaces, structures, designs and/or with the nutritional layers embedded within this project.

 

3.     It is foreseen that more ovens with be constructed in the Delft area (at least 3 other possibilities have since arisen), as well as request from other impoverished communities (one further request from Eersterivier). Many more volunteers will be needed to respond to these requests, and will create sustainable opportunities for staff/students who want to get involved.

 

4.     It further provides a convincing and appropriate example to some of the questions arising from the debate about the place/role of the University, and in particular its responsibility to respond to communities in crisis.

 

From a community point of view the benefits of the project include:

 

1.     Skills development and creation of informal employment opportunities for young unemployed men (many of them struggling to deal with the scourge of gangsterim, crime and drugs) within communities where this need has reached crisis proportions. Being able to produce a variety of artisan breads is a sought-after skill, and may very well enhance the chances of securing employment, in either formal or informal sector.

 

2.     Responding to immediate poverty and hunger needs: the initial principle works on the basis that for two breads that are baked, one must be given away to someone that needs it. The fuel economy, low-cost construction and maintenance of the cob oven and baking procedures make this a very real and achievable goal: a single firing (between one to two wheelbarrows of alien fire-wood, available for free) will provide the correct and sustainable baking temperature for eight hours of continued baking. This means a n oven with a 1.5m radius, capable of baking 6 breads in a 35 minute cycle will be able to produce 82 breads daily!

 

3.     The opportunity to challenge gender stereotypes, in communities that are notorious (as most) for enforcing patriarchal societal beliefs and rituals (such as that only women cook and bake).

 

4.     The opportunity for a sustainable food chain to be established, with many growth opportunities embedded within this model. In the worst case scenario, where only a couple of breads are eventually distributed, I would like to believe that it still has meaning, even if the scale is smaller  and less ambitious than initially anticipated.

 

Present state/development of Project:

 

Oven construction

 

1.     I have been able to source and collect free clay from a brick factory, which should be enough for two or three ovens.  I will provide building sand, straw and urbanite (rock, pieces of discarded concrete, for the oven basis) as well as clay bricks (22 per floor).

2.     The construction of this first prototype cob oven will be over two days: Phase 1 will be the erection and drying of the basis, and Phase 2, the rest of the oven.

 

Baking workshops will follow as soon as the oven has been ‘cured’ and ready for baking. I will start off with a basic white bread, then sourdough breads and the method of making low-cost ‘starters’, before moving on to artisan breads, pizza’s and croissants.

  

I am tremendously enthusiastic about this project, and I know that a very eager team of 9 young unemployed men (regulars of Derek’s pool house, and hand-picked by him) is waiting for me and my three volunteers tomorrow, and with high expectations. I have met some of them on several occasions in planning all of this. I will do everything in my power not to disappoint them. 

(this picture tells the story of my first meeting with Derek and some of the boys..Derek, in the black jacket, is musing about the possibilities of creating activities for the youngsters with absolutely nothing to do in Delft. Which, of course, is why this idea was born..)

Next time: photos and story of first two building sessions...