Sharing, resilience and greatness in the little things: lessons learned from the art of fermentation
We are not alone.
We are part of a whole: of a universe, of a planet, of a continent, of a country, of a city, of a community, of a family. It is positive to gain perspective. When I sink into unsolved problems, it helps me and calms me to realize that they are actually insignificant and fleeting; In addition to the fact that ‘everything has a solution’ – as my post-it says.
It is good to realize that we encompass two antagonistic ideas: greatness and smallness. On the scale of the universe we are very small, but we also have a big impact – just like microorganisms.
Fermentation taught me a lot. In addition to learning how to make kombucha, I learned to recognize and connect with the rhythm of Nature, to respect its symbiotic balance. I ended up seeing myself in microscopic cells and feeling like them. Until I started fermenting, in my mother’s kitchen, I didn’t have a real notion of microscopic life or life on a human scale, by the way.
Whoever ferments, knows. Those who ferment know what it is to be at the mercy of others, in the hands of the universe, by allowing invisible beings to do much of the work and trusting that the result will be delicious.
This is not always the case. Last summer we threw down the drain about 1000L of kombucha that “cooked” due to the heat wave that devastated Porto when we went on vacation. The limited edition of Blueberry didn’t come out the first time, nor the second, it was the third.
Fermenting is hard, as is life when we are an active part of it. But my only certainty is sharing and mutual help, without which I would not have survived so much “bad luck”. No microorganism lives in isolation, neither do we. That Kombucha is not even a thought! That’s why we create partnerships, events and ideas with third parties – because it’s more fun and more interesting, to honor our microscopic origins and ferment together.
That Kitchenette is an example of all this. Several distinct forces, united, cooking to make ourselves and others happy. Basically, to honor mother nature for all the delights and strength she gives us.
Ferment yourselves!
