The waltz |
Case Study, July 2022 |
The travel pass of a young artisan
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International exchange isn't just for academics!Young people go abroad to work on their skills.
Their number sets a new record this year. They are craftsmen and -women, artisans and specialists, who "waltz" to extend their apprenticeship. Because if you're really good, you long to be better.Starting in the late Middle Ages, many European countries required young men to take to the road after they had finished their apprenticeship. For three years, they usually worked their way through a number of different workshops and establishments. This was a highly practical way to spread both new ideas and improve on traditional skills, it boosted innovative thinking in craftsmanship and served as an eye-opener. After this time, these men would be masters of their trade. In German, this was called "auf die Walz gehen". The Australian song and unofficial national anthem "Waltzing Mathilda" uses the same term for "wandering the land". The journeyman years - learn more here! |
2022. The year when the pandemic was over. More or less. Will history eventually agree?
It's certainly the year when waltzing apprentices became a powerful movement in our community!
Here are two ambitious young people from the German-speaking world whose stories must be told:
Here are two ambitious young people from the German-speaking world whose stories must be told:
Isabella, 22, Innsbruck.
She's waltzing the world's food.
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Isabella had planned this for 2020.
Now, finally, her time has come. Her parents run a pub and a restaurant in the mountains of Tyrol. That's where she learned to cook. Later, she did a four-year apprenticeship in a well known hotel in Sölden, the famous ski resort. Today, she could be a top-rated chef in any restaurant of her choice. But that's not what she wants. Isabella has just started job number three out of the seventeen on her agenda. In every place, she will stay between eight and twelve weeks. The deal with every one of them: teach and be taught in exchange for some pocket money, food and a place to stay. |
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Isabella is waltzing the world's food. Her mission:
A new kind of Fusion Cuisine, with the knowledge and the spirit of mothers from all over the world. It's the cuisine
of mothers and grandmothers who bring daily joy to the table, feeding many hungry mouths with modest means.
For the next three years, she is going to learn what she has set her heart on: traditional home cooking, on a global scale.
Simple, low-budget food. In German: "Traditionelle Hausmannskost". From all continents.
With ingredients that are widely available. No artificial components whatsoever. Straightforward, plain, delicious food.
That's what she wants. She wants to learn it, practice it to perfection, bring it home and offer the world's home cooking
in her family restaurant. The plan is, after sufficient experience, to write a cook book one day. Preferably a classic-to-be.
Simple, low-budget food. In German: "Traditionelle Hausmannskost". From all continents.
With ingredients that are widely available. No artificial components whatsoever. Straightforward, plain, delicious food.
That's what she wants. She wants to learn it, practice it to perfection, bring it home and offer the world's home cooking
in her family restaurant. The plan is, after sufficient experience, to write a cook book one day. Preferably a classic-to-be.
Vienna. Pescara. Marseille. Barcelona. Casablanca. Kélo. Istanbul. Jerusalem. Chennai. Phnom Penh.
Singapore. Shanghai. Yokohama. San Diego. Lima. Montevideo. Copenhagen. 17 places. In this order.
Jens, 20, Koblenz. He'll make sure shit doesn't
do too much damage when it happens.
Jens left school because he wanted to build beautiful furniture. His parents were not happy at first, but they helped
him find a place and begin an apprenticeship. Three years later, he was a fully trained joiner and cabinetmaker.
Yet, much as he enjoyed working with wood, he felt that he wanted more purpose in life.
him find a place and begin an apprenticeship. Three years later, he was a fully trained joiner and cabinetmaker.
Yet, much as he enjoyed working with wood, he felt that he wanted more purpose in life.
And then the waters swept away
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Jens got in touch with Frank, who already had established a tribe of his own, dedicated to disaster management.
Today, he's busy planning the next two years: Jens will follow Frank's path, starting with two special mentors, both
of them Global Native parents who work for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
His grandparents, who decided not to rebuild their house, have moved to Koblenz. The flood had totally changed their lives. In future, Jens will be amongst those who work fervently to prevent such disastrous outcomes. His personal waltz will teach him how.
Today, he's busy planning the next two years: Jens will follow Frank's path, starting with two special mentors, both
of them Global Native parents who work for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
His grandparents, who decided not to rebuild their house, have moved to Koblenz. The flood had totally changed their lives. In future, Jens will be amongst those who work fervently to prevent such disastrous outcomes. His personal waltz will teach him how.
