My Little Canteen

Hello,

My name is Léa, I’m from France and I’m now living since January 2016 in Thessaloniki where I met M. a berber from Northern Algeria.

During this time with lot of friends we tried to help as mush as possible Peoples stucked in the routes of Europe. We tried to offer shelters by opening squats (Turtle Korner, Albatros) and we also create a self-managed work-shop that provides basic needs, legal advices and a safe space to create and rest ,Agrio Gata.

Now with my lovely boy we have to face the reality of the closure of the borders and find out how we can live here together. If we don’t want to be separate by a camp or any kinds of NGO, we need our own adress that I can provide by my passport.

For that I was giving flyers in the city but now it’s holiday, so I cannot work anymore and I get this idea. What about opening a self-organized cantina?
Where Peoples which dont have the possibility to work because of their legal status could come and help.
A place where all these young boys that are hanging in the streets could meet and share around nice meals from all over Mediterranean sea.
And why not make others discover another kind of gastronomy or to put in relief the similarities we can find in the Greek, Algerian and more generally Balkan’s food. We’d also like to offer a delivery system by bikes and as a typical french, I’ll love to propose macaron combining tastes and flavors from the area (olives, feta, tomatoes, garlic)!

But the more important is that we could work together for something we like.

With M., we loved to cook and welcome people and as we don’t really have other option than staying there for now, my lovely guy needs something to do the all day long!

Regarding the situation, we really believe in this project because we can not simply stay in Greece doing nothing. By creating on our « works », we hope to give people the chance to realize the power inside us and that they can be their own master and continue this social work with young isolated minors that need a place to meet again. In Athena, there is one place like this but in Thessaloniki, nothing like this… yet!

A part of the money recolted will be use to afford a local for the next 6 months to come (around 150 euros max for one month), we still have some kitchen tools but we will need gaz bottles, it’s around 20 euros to refill them but they last so long. Of course, we will need also some specific spicies that we can find in the bazaar of Aristotelous, some paints to create a nice dinning room and printing flyers.

We hope you will believe in this project as much as us and will help us! Of course, you’re also welcome to visit us in Thessaloniki, we’ll be glad to meet around a nice tchoutchouka, hmiss or fasolada.

You can have a look to the advancement of the project on the facebook page here: facebook page in progress (to come soon)

The video has been done by one this fairy that makes the life better here <3