An exchange with Crazy Bake, the bakery that improves the lives of the mentally ill! 海上青焙坊和疯狂烘焙的一次交流:烘焙可以改善精神疾病患者的一生!

An exchange with Crazy Bake, the bakery that improves the lives of the mentally ill!

海上青焙坊和疯狂烘焙的一次交流:烘焙可以改善精神疾病患者的一生!


At Shanghai Young Bakers, we believe that bread can be a powerful tool of empowerment, and that it can enable those who had been marginalized to find a valuable occupation and become more integrated to society. Many social bakeries all around the world share this belief, among which Crazy Bake in Beijing.

在海上青焙坊,我们坚信面包是一种赋权的强大媒介,烘焙面包可以帮助那些处于社会边缘的人找到一份得体的工作并更好的融入社会。在世界各地,有许多社会面包房都有这个共同的信念,包括在北京的疯狂烘焙。

Crazy Bake is a social enterprise providing people with mental health issues a meaningful occupation…bakery of course!

疯狂烘焙为有精神健康问题的人们提供一个有意义的工作——烘焙。

The organization was created by Yvonne Gerig and Natascha Prigge in 2004, after they got to visit the Beijing Chaoyang District Mental Health Service Center. The facility currently houses and cares for 210 patients, aged from 20 to 80 years old, the majority of whom is diagnosed with schizophrenia and depression.

Yvonne Gerig 和 Natascha Prigge在2004年建立了疯狂烘焙,就在他们参观北京朝阳区精神健康服务中心后。精神健康中心收容并照顾210个病人,年龄从20岁到80岁不等,其中大多数被诊断为精神分裂症和抑郁症。

Despite a qualified and caring medical team, Yvonne and Natascha were appalled by the patients’ living conditions: forbidden to go out of the center without medical staff, no psychotherapy or occupational therapy was available due to a lack of resources. Natascha remembers: “They were just waiting all day for the evening to go to sleep, and then they started again the next day”…a cycle that they would repeat all their life!

尽管有一个合格并富有爱心的医疗团队,Yvonne和Natasch仍为患者的生活条件感到震惊:在没有医务人员陪同下,禁止外出;由于缺乏资源,没有任何心理治疗或职业治疗。Natasch回忆道:“他们整天都在等待晚上去睡觉,然后他们又开始了第二天”……他们将重复这样的循环一生!

The two women thus decided to find occupations for the patients and tailor them to their capacities and motivation. They started with gardening, but were looking for an activity that they could do all year round. Being amateur bakers, they realized that high quality baked goods were rare in Beijing, and became convinced that bakery could be a meaningful occupation as well as a profitable business for the patients!

她们两个因此决定为患者寻找职业,并使这些职业适合他们的能力和初衷。他们最初尝试园艺,但仍然试图找到可以做整年的活动——成为业余面包师!他们意识到高品质的烘焙食品在北京很少见,而且面包师可以变成一个有意义的职业,对病人而言也是一个有利可图的商机。

10 years after, the little bakery that they set up in the center is buzzing with activity 5 days a week, and even more during the holiday season! The bread baked by the Crazy Bake team is mostly sold to the expatriate community of Beijing, through home delivery and school bazaars for instance. All proceeds are reinvested in the center, and the patients decide themselves how to use these funds. From the purchase of washing machines to air conditioners or group outings, the bakery has considerably improved their quality of life!

10年后,他们设立在市中心的小面包店,每周充斥着5天的活动,而在节假期间活动更甚!通过送货上门和学校集贸市场,由疯狂烘焙团队制作的面包大多售给在北京的外籍人士。所有的收益归于中心,患者自行决定如何使用这些资金。从购买的洗衣机到空调或团体出游,面包店已大大改善了他们的生活质量!

Inspired by this success, we decided to visit Crazy Bake to get to know each other better and share our experiences. From November 20th to 23rd, Wang Li, SYB bakery trainer, and I spent 3 unforgettable days with the Crazy Bakers!

我们被他们的成功所鼓舞,决定前往疯狂烘焙,以便更好地相互了解和分享我们的经验。11月20日至23日,汪莉,SYB培训师和我与疯狂烘焙一起度过了难忘的3天。

When we arrived the first morning, we discovered 8 bakers busily preparing the orders’ of the day! We met with San, a former cook turned baker and who is now in charge of the Crazy Bake production and deliveries. He was trained by Natascha and Yvonne, and then taught the recipes to the 7 residents working with him.

当我们第一天早上到达时,发现8位面包师正忙碌地准备着当天的订单!我们见了San,他曾是厨师,后转为烘焙师,现在负责疯狂烘焙的生产和递送。Natascha和Yvonne负责对他的培训,然后把食谱教授给和他一起工作和居住的7位病人。

We were immediately impressed by how focused the bakers were: at 9am, a striking quantity of bread was already ready for delivery! “How did you bake that many products in only a few hours?” asked Wang Li in awe.

面包师的专注给我们留下了深刻的印象:早上9点,一批数量惊人的面包已经准备派送。王莉敬畏地问:“你们如何在仅仅几个小时内做出这么多的产品?”

After a morning of observation, it was time in the afternoon for our bakery chef to become a teacher again! So far Crazy Bake had mostly been producing delicious German breads such as challah, country bread and sunflower bread. After baking these baked goods for many years the bakers were willing to learn new products, hoping that this would attract more social-minded customers of course!

观察了一上午,下午是时候让我们面包大厨,再次成为一名老师!到目前为止,疯狂烘焙基本只制作美味的德国面包,如白面包,乡村烤面包和向日葵面包。烘烤这些面包多年后,面包师们非常愿意学习新的产品,当然希望新面包能吸引更多有社会意识的客户!

Wang Li thus taught San and his team how to bake a new style of whole wheat bread, cereal bread, baguette of course as well as sponge cake that the Crazy Bakers will bake for the patients’ birthdays in the future! She also answered the numerous technical questions of the bakers, who were all eager to know more about the secrets behind the magic they perform!

因为王莉教授San和他的团队一种新的方式关于如何烤全麦面包,麦片面包,法式长棍,还有疯狂烘焙师未来将在病人的生日上制作的海绵蛋糕。她回答了来自烘焙师的无数技术问题,毕竟谁都渴望了解更多烘焙“魔法”背后的秘密。

During our stay we also went to a Christmas bazaar where San and his colleague were animating a gingerbread decoration workshop, and visited the bakers’ biggest pride: the assisted living project.

在这3天期间,我们还去了圣诞集市,San和他的同事正在那里使一个姜饼装饰的作坊栩栩如生,并参观了面包师们最大的骄傲:辅助生活项目。

One of the biggest reward for the bakers’ hard work was indeed in 2007, when they were able to move to a small house 10 minutes away from the hospital. All the long-standing bakers now live here, under the supervision of a medical staff, a huge step to reintegrate into the community!

对面包师辛勤工作的最大奖赏的确发生在2007年,那时他们能够搬至一个离医院只有10分钟路程的小房子。在一个医务人员的监督下,如今所有的长期面包师都住在这里,这真的是重新融入社会的巨大一步!

The program has indeed greatly improved the patients’ self-esteem and autonomy, as highlights Yan Yun, the hospital director: “In the past they used to regard themselves as being completely useless because they were mentally ill. Now they can see that it’s not the case, they’re really making a contribution to society!” One of the bakers proudly adds “Now that I have a job I don’t consider myself as being just a sick person. I’m still ill, but my main identity is to be a baker, not a sick person!” “Before we had absolutely nothing to do, we were just smoking or playing cards all day. It’s so much better to have a job with the income!”, said another baker.

这个项目确实大大提高了患者的自尊和自主性,燕云作为医院院长强调说:“他们曾在过去认为自己是完全没用的,因为他们是精神病患者。如今,他们看到事实并非如此,他们真的能为社会做出贡献!”一位面包师的骄傲地补充道:“现在,我有工作,我不认为自己是仅仅是一个病人。我仍在生病,但我的主要身份是一位面包师,不是一个有病的人!” 另一个说面包师说:“以前我们完全无事可做,只是整天吸烟或打牌。如今能有一份手收入的工作真是太好了!”

Using bakery as a tool of empowerment and to show to the marginalized how valuable they can be: this is a shared belief by Crazy Bake and Shanghai Young Bakers!

利用烘焙作为赋权的工具,并让被边缘化的人群展现有益于社会的价值,这是疯狂烘焙和海上青焙坊共同的信念!

We came back extremely inspired by the courage and persistence of the Crazy Bakers. “I’m so impressed and moved by everything they have achieved, starting without any technical skills and working with so little resources!” said Wang Li.

回来之后,我们深受疯狂烘焙之勇气和毅力的启发。 王莉说:“开始时没有任何技术,利用这么少的资源工作,我真的被他们如今的成就震撼和感染。”

A huge thank you to the Crazy Bake team for their very warm welcome, and congratulations for their amazing work, we hope to see you in Shanghai soon!

真心感谢疯狂烘焙对海上青焙坊的热烈欢迎,并衷心祝贺他们如此惊人的成就,我们真希望能够尽快在上海看到你们!

If you would like to know more about this great organization and how you could help, please visit www.crazybake.com

如果您希望更多的了解这个组织以及如何能够帮助他们,请点击www.crazybake.com