Open Collections

Cooking from the bottom-up: an exploration into the use of Vancouver's community kitchens as an empowerment tool

University of British Columbia

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the effectiveness of community kitchens as an empowerment tool. This thesis observes the ways in which community kitchens empower their participants, how they are being used to foster community development, and the opportunities and constraints in using community kitchens as an empowerment tool. The research questions are addressed in a variety of ways. First, a comprehensive literature review was undertaken to define the meaning of empowerment and community development as used by this thesis. Secondly, a multiple case study approach involving participant observation, key informant interviews and a survey was conducted to examine these questions. A total of seven community kitchens were involved in the case studies. The research suggests that community kitchens do empower participants but at an individual level. Participants learn skills such as cooperation, cooking and socialisation, and are empowered through self-help and by gaining confidence and self-esteem. At a community level, efforts have been made to empower the community and contribute to community building processes but with limited output. In some community kitchens, community development initiatives (such as volunteering to cook for a larger community) are in place but community kitchens as a whole has a minimal effect in creating community. Community kitchens, however, are effective at empowering individuals which is considered the first step to community empowerment.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-06-09

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8911

Planning

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace