Page 15 - Gears and Ears June 2014

Gears and Ears

June 2014 Journal of the Rotary Club of Lake Buena Vista Page 15

FROM ROTARY INTERNATIONAL

Rotary project creates cookbook for the visually impaired

A participant receives instruction chopping ingredients during
a cooking course for the visually impaired in Izmir, Turkey.
Photo Credit: Figen Ertas

The cookbook, “Good Smells From the Kitchen,” has enabled many members of the Library of Turkey for the Visually
Disabled to enter the kitchen with new confidence. “For the first time I made lentil meatballs,” says Sûheyla Karayalçin, a
book recipient. “I had never done it before. I let others taste it, it was nice. I am very excited to have a special recipe book for
us [people with visual impairments].” The activity is part of a project by Rotary members in western Turkey, who have
partnered with the library to produce the country’s first cookbook for the visually impaired, printed in Braille and recorded on
audio CD. Several dozen copies of the book have rolled off the library’s presses and have been recorded in the library’s
studio, and given free to library members. Additional copies are printed as Rotary members secure funding and line up new
sponsors.

Günes Ertaº says fellow Rotary club members came up with the idea after they had helped the library purchase Braille
machines and other equipment through Rotary grants. Ertaº’s wife, Fßgen, collected more than 100 recipes. “We asked for
recipes from Rotary spouses living in the areas from Canakkale to Fethiye,” Fßgen says. “We asked them to empathize with
persons with visual impairments before sending recipes. There would not be any sentences like ‘add flour until the mixture
comes together’; the recipes would be precise. We did not want to have measures in grams. Instead we asked for adjustable
measures like tea cups and spoons.”

A committee made up of a food engineer, a dietitian, several recipe contributors, and library users tested each recipe before
selecting 100. Bursa chef Omur Akkor cooked each recipe with his eyes closed and made further adjustments. “I came across
an interesting description to dice a carrot in the book,” says Karayalçin. “It says slice like a backgammon dice since not
everybody may know what a cube is, but everybody knows the size of a backgammon dice. I usually do not spend much time
in the kitchen, but thanks to this book I am more interested in cooking.”

The recipes are divided into categories including soups, salads, starters, vegetables, main dishes, desserts, pastry, and bread.
While the cookbooks were coming off the library’s printers, Rotary spouses recorded the recipes for the audio version in a
recording studio.

Four cooking courses were held in Izmir and Bursa to give library members a chance to practice the recipes. They were each
given a free copy of the book and cooking utensils. Another course was organized by Rotary spouses in Balikeshir in
December for children with visual impairments and their mothers. The cookbook won first place among all Turkish entries in
the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in the categories of Best Innovative Cookbook and Best Charity Cookbook. It now
advances to the world finals in Bejing. Günes says he and his wife plan to attend the award ceremony in May.

Excerpted frm an article by By Arnold R. Grahl , Rotary News, 16-May-2014

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL FEATURES PAGE