Trash’ure Taarten in Nijmegen sells delicious cakes made from fruit and vegetables that would otherwise have been discarded. The people who bake the treats – some of which are available by post – come from migrant backgrounds. They gain work experience and build up social contacts in the bakery while learning Dutch. In 2022 Trash’ure Taarten won the Starter met Impact competition and netted a Nijmegen Innovation Award.
New opportunities
For those who’ve been granted a residence permit but don’t yet speak Dutch, it’s difficult to settle in and find a job in the Netherlands. Refugees in the Nijmegen region spend an average of four and a half years on benefits. If they do manage to find a job, it’s often temporary, voluntary, below their capability, and for too few hours. Thus, they remain dependent on benefits. Long-term underemployment makes it difficult to work at one’s proper level later. Trash’ure Taarten gives people an opportunity to do a meaningful job and build up their social contacts. The bakery prioritises self-sufficiency. Ingredients are patiently explained and recipes are gone through step by step until fi nally the cakes are decorated. To master baking, you have to practise everything.
More than just a job
The bakery is more than just a training centre; team members are personally involved in activities. They have lunch together every day and go on group outings, such as a trip to the bakery trade fair. And alongside on-the-job training, Trash’ure Taarten offers support by, for example, going with staff members to the doctor or helping them to look for housing or apply for their next job.
