Editorial

“With hearts broken into thousands of fragments, it will be difficult to build true social peace.” 

Peace is normally associated with the absence of wars or armed conflicts, and while it is so, true peace goes beyond that and has multidimensional components. The opening phrase is from Evangelii Gaudium written by Pope Francis, and it has helped me to identify the value of the person’s protagonism within these peace processes. 

People with political and economic power have to make significant and important decisions, but our role cannot be passive. Undoubtedly, much can be done to avoid conflicts in our home, community, city, and country. In addition to ambitions for power and political and economic interests, conflicts arise from injustice, lack of solidarity, lies, and lack of freedom; so what can we do from within our own square inch of influence? How can we create positive change without delegating responsibilities to others? 

Recently, a Brazilian friend reminded me of a beautiful African proverb that says: “No matter the question, the answer is always the community”. And this does not exempt the responsibility of personal leadership but rather opens up a very powerful dimension where our work is aimed at building the common good in a concrete way. We are called to work together in a more supportive way, to promote freedom, justice and truth in our relationships so that, little by little, we can be a factor of unity for so many “hearts broken into thousands of fragments” and thus build peace. 

Alejandro Marius
Third day of Personal Growth 

On March 22, the third Personal Growth Conference facilitated by psychology students of the Metropolitan University (Unimet) was held under the supervision of Professor Carmen Rosa Anzola, aimed at TyP graduates and the general public. It was carried out in the spaces of KPMG Venezuela and consisted of three dynamic micro-workshops: procrastination, laugh factory, and fit neurons. The 26 participants had the opportunity to be part of this experience and learn lessons for their personal growth. 

Maira González gave three online workshops 

The Gastronomic Entrepreneur, Maira González (@cakesmairagonzalez), managed to carry out three online workshops via WhatsApp with great acceptance and receptivity on the part of the Larense town. These workshops were about preparing symphony and sweet cakes, as well as Chinese food.

Darling Rendon managed an advertising campaign for Bioderma Venezuela 

The Beauty Entrepreneur graduated from the VIII cohort, Darling Rendon, currently has a digital advertising agency called Nova’s Agency in which she carries out strategies for entrepreneurs and brands in social networks. Thanks to her skills in the area of digital marketing and the trade of beauty, the graduate was hired by the Bioderma Venezuela brand to plan and manage their advertising campaigns on Instagram. The advertising reached three cities: Caracas, Maracay, and Valencia, as well as other main areas in the country. Darling was also part of an eight-week intensive training at Levone Academy, an aesthetics and beauty academy.

The UMAMI kitchen is now a training space 

The Gastronomic Entrepreneur graduated from the I cohort, María Laura Molina, has given permission for the kitchen of her venture UMAMI RestaurArte to become a training space for the diploma in gastronomy dictated by a local school in Bailadores. María Laura continues to grow and create alliances to promote her company.

Afrodita Pino participated in Merida fair 

The graduate of the II cohort of the Diploma in Chocolate Entrepreneurship, Afrodita Pino, was present at an entrepreneurs’ fair in Mérida, an event that helped her create alliances and publicize her venture called Dolce Melitta.

Carmen Pinto continues to expand her business 

The graduate of the II cohort of the Diploma in Chocolate Entrepreneurship, Carmen Pinto (@mikuticum), is selling her chocolates wholesale and retail in different shops in Mérida, and she already offers trademarks to her customers.

Cocoa workshop by Livia Dávila 

The graduate of the II cohort of the Diploma in Chocolate Entrepreneurship, Livia Dávila, gave a Bean to Bar workshop in Ejido, Mérida. This graduate, in addition to promoting her company Chocolates del Valle (@chocolatesandrea_delvalle), is training people in the cocoa transformation process.

Maira Cárdenas invited women from Aconvida to a training day 

The graduate of the Cuidadores360 Diploma, Maira Cárdenas, director of Aconvida, a foundation dedicated to supporting women with cancer, participated and invited a group of Aconvida women to the third Personal Growth Day. It was an opportunity to participate in an activity of growth and learning facilitated by psychology students from Unimet.

Rafaela Runque continues to update her chocolate knowledge 

The graduate of the I cohort of the Venezuela Tierra de Cacao project, Rafaela Runque (@rafaela.chocoarte), after a process of updating her knowledge, received her professional validation in chocolate making from the master chocolatiers of the Culinary Association of Venezuela. In the training, 15 courses were presented in which topics such as the reinforcement of quality in chocolate, formulation of chocolates and short- and medium-duration fillings, and the art of color in chocolate, among others, were presented.

Zuzie Alvarez added new products to her business 

The graduate of Gastronomic Entrepreneurs in alliance with the NGO CESAL, Zuzie Alvarez, managed to incorporate new products into her business (@zuziecucina) to offer them for sale. Among them are Neapolitan and Bolognese artisan sauces, as well as vegetarian lasagnas and gnocchi. 

Daniela Rivero learned about finance in the course of Empresas Polar 

The Gastronomic Entrepreneur, Daniela Rivero (@dananapasteleria), continues to train and this time she took a healthy finance course, facilitated by Empresas Polar with the aim of taking her personal finances and business finances to another level.

Heritza Sánchez reached a commercial agreement for her business

The Gastronomic Entrepreneur, Heritza Sánchez (@divinasmonadas), continues to expand and has reached a commercial alliance with the owners of the Santo Niño Bakery, located in the center of the city of Barquisimeto. Since March, the entrepreneur has brought her cakes to be sold in the establishment. 

Ana María Toro received recognition in Women’s Month

The Chocolate Entrepreneur in Guatire, Ana María Toro, was awarded recognition by the Zamora Autonomous Institute for Women in honor of her participation in cultural and gastronomic movements, and in the representation of women with disabilities. 

María Elena Bejarano started her business “Bocaditos del Cielo” 

The graduate of the V cohort of Entrepreneurship and Nutrition El Tocuyo, María Elena Bejarano, started her entrepreneurship Bocaditos del Cielo. Her business, which started selling vanilla cookies, now has her own name and logo. She has incorporated into her catalog cookies of different flavors and other products with local ingredients such as portions of ripe plantain cake, and carrot cake, among others. María Elena says that her main reason for starting a business was her family, and the need to support the health of her father in times of the pandemic.

Mariana Valdez continues to train 

The graduate of the I cohort of the Gastronomic Entrepreneurs program, Mariana Valdez, continues to specialize in her trade. In March, she took a course in basic pastry, cake structure, and decoration.

Elba Torres exhibited at the Barquisimetana coffee fair 

The graduate of the Gastronomic Entrepreneurs program, Elba Torres (@eventro520), who is well known because of her relationship with coffee, managed to participate in the Barquisimeto Smells like Coffee fair organized by Cortubar. She presented her conference “Coffee at all times” to the visitors, while she participated in the promotional stand of Café Grano Rojo.

Heidy Sevilla approved her graduation thesis

The graduate of the II virtual cohort of the Venezuela Tierra de Cacao project, Heidy Sevilla (@chocoachamoscacaos), presented and approved her thesis to opt for the Culinary Arts Master’s certification at the Aragua Nucleus of the University of Carabobo. It was titled “Versatility of cocoa in Venezuelan cuisine, use of nibs, cocoa husks, and chocolate”, with which she also presented a six-course menu for four expert judges.

Rocío Betancourt’s workshop was a success 

The Gastronomic Entrepreneur Rocío Betancourt facilitated a customer service workshop as a competitive advantage for the staff of the Encanto Restaurant, located in the Andrés Eloy Blanco Municipality of Lara state. With this, she managed to capture the attention of other restaurants in the area who have expressed their interest to receive said training from her.

Alexandra Molina added a new product to her menu 

The graduate of the II cohort of the Venezuela Tierra de Cacao project, Alexandra Molina (@mocinas_eventos), began to offer her clientele espresso coffee as part of the refreshment of her brand and thanks to new methods she learned using her coffee machine. This new product was very well received among her frequent customers. 

Gloria Rattia instructed in a barber shop 

The Training of Trainers participant within the framework of the Beauty for a Future program, Gloria Rattia, participated as a trainer in a basic barbershop and professional barbershop workshop for students from the community of Los Jabillos in Aragua state.