Why does it exist and

WHAT IS COCINA EN COMUNIDAD

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Riverside operates day by day as a conscious community of shared living that welcomes visitors from all over the world and connects them with ecotourism experiences, creating income for the local community and increasing awareness of sustainable tourism practices.

With the aim of deepening the proposal of sustainable and conscious tourism and addressing the issues of the local peasant economic model currently associated with Riverside Ecoliving, we are committed to impacting at least 28 families from the communities near Riverside Ecoliving located in the town of Jericó (Antioquia, Colombia) by learning together about organic production and nutrition in order to work towards achieving the goals of “Sustainable Communities and Cities,” “Mental Health,” “Zero Poverty,” “Gender Equality,” “Zero Hunger,” and “Responsible Production and Consumption,” as stated in the UN’s proposed program for sustainable development.

These 28 families are already united suppliers with whom we work closely to expand their product offerings, innovation, and integration into sales networks. This training process is part of building community. A community that already functions with existing initiatives that have impacted different entrepreneurs. The coffee farmer from Jericó no longer just sells coffee, but has added value to the producer by promoting a tourism proposal around this product. In the same way, the goal is to diversify the products of women farmers.

Therefore, this training is fostered and based on an exchange between the different members of the community, tourists, local actors, farmers, with language courses and training programs focused on organic production and culinary techniques. It is essential to strengthen this connection for the growth of the region, rescuing foods that are part of local wisdom and allowing the development of a microlocal, sustainable, and attractive gastronomic proposal.

This will be achieved with financial support, on the one hand, by strengthening the local economic fabric through an innovative tourism proposal that is directly connected to a taste experience involving local food producers. Three main benefits involving local actors are highlighted. First, peasant families will see an increase in family income through direct sales and the creation of new cash flows. Second, the construction of a network of local suppliers of organic food will be deepened, with solidary or community marketing (organisation of bazaars). Third, Riverside Ecoliving will provide space for collective work and educational workshops for community development.

Three fundamental activities that will be carried out throughout the project:

Once the spaces for the coffee bar kitchen, coworking classroom, and garden are optimized, educational activities with innovation methodologies will take place. We want to not only unite the local community to improve their productive units and increase their income but also to have a cultural exchange with international professionals who are currently the basis of our business in terms of financial sustainability. Among the activities, the “Cocina en Comunidad” event is proposed, where unique gastronomic experiences are achieved through the transformation of local foods.

This product has been validated with a price of $100,000 per person for the local community of Jericó and $150,000 for other visitors. We start with welcome drinks such as cold infusion herbal teas and specialty coffee, then we take a tour of our Regenerative Garden to learn where our food comes from, have a regional appetiser, starter, main course, cocktail, dessert, and chocolate with the bill at the end. All of this is aimed at using 80% of the ingredients from our garden and community in a 5-star restaurant style. All of this takes place in the countryside, with tables in the garden itself, accompanied by the farmers who produce our food, both during the transformation process for learning and during the service for interaction.

Another event led by experts is the invitation to Riverside’s mastermind, which has also been validated with entrepreneurial digital nomads (two versions have been held). The challenge is to use the community’s talent to help an entrepreneur improve their business in record time, with skills such as software development, service and graphic design, content generation, and sales.

COWORKING

COFFE TIME

GARDEN

BAR

It follows a format similar to a “hackathon” or “Startup Weekend” but is focused on existing ventures. We want the event to take place every week, with two times a month dedicated solely to helping entrepreneurs from the region. This achieves knowledge transfer and cultural exchange, rapidly enriching the participants’ skills. We use innovation methodologies such as “lean Startup” to achieve accelerated results.