Rose Cordial by ACH service users in Chelsea Flower Show
Last year, ACH and Bristol Old Vic worked on an innovative project aimed to help people from a refugee or migrant background design, make, brand and sell their own drink product. This new product was named HOMEMADE, an iced tea syrup to add to still or sparkling water.
After the success of this wonderful project, Fozia Ismail, the artist behind the project idea, organised a new workshop where these women learned and created together a new recipe for a summer drink made of rose petals and other herbs.
Keep reading the find out more...
Last year, ACH and Bristol Old Vic worked on an innovative project aimed to help people from a refugee or migrant background design, make, brand and sell their own drink product. This new product was named HOMEMADE, an iced tea syrup to add to still or sparkling water. The bottles were sold in markets such as the Bath Christmas Market and the Christmas Market at Easton Community Centre, and all profits were equally shared between the project participants, enabling them the opportunity to run through the process of a business venture from idea to profit-making.
After the success of this wonderful project, Fozia Ismail, the artist behind the project idea, organised a new workshop where these women learned and created together a new recipe for a summer drink made of rose petals and other herbs. These workshops took place at the Adventure Playground on Felix Road and with the guidance and support of Fozia and Lucy, the women created 2 different rose cordials that they will showcase at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023, an event organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, where visitors go to see cutting-edge garden design, new plants and find ideas to take home. The rose cordials will be featured in the Choose Love Garden, an NGO that advocates for refugees worldwide. This exciting opportunity will just be the beginning since another batch of 200 bottles of rose cordials will be produced in Co-Exist Community Kitchen and then sold around Bristol again.
We asked them about the workshop and the wonderful recipe they came up with:
“We’ve just made the 2 rose cordials, so we’ve got some lovely flavours, the Chelsea Flower Show Garden by Jane Porter has rose in it, but it also has some lovely herbs, it’s got thyme and mint, so we thought it would be really nice to incorporate this in our drinks. We’ve made 2 different cordials, one with rose, thyme, and lemon and one with hibiscus, lime and mint. They taste quite different but they will be very refreshing summer drinks to pair with ice and some sparkling water, it will be delicious.
Today was amazing, Muneera, Maria and Sherin were amazing, they were just on it, they knew the flavorings, and also just how to manage all the herbs so it’s a real conversation, so it has really been co-created by the women here. They’ve been fantastic. We will be back creating more hopefully for the summer fairs.” -Fozia Ismail.
Maria Mohammed, participant:
“We made the flower cordial today, it was really amazing, we started creating the recipe together with Fozia, then we did a test run with ingredients for 2 different cordials, then we tried it to see if we put the right amount of lemon or sugar… This is the first time I have made this, as well as using a recipe but I found it really good, I have learned a lot today. I have my friends with me, Fozia was really helpful, Lucy was there as well.”
Muneera, one of the women behind the project, comes from Somalia and moved to Bristol 6 years ago. She has enjoyed taking part in this initiative and would love to do it again in the future.
Sherin Ali, Kurdish woman coming from Syria, is an artist based in Bristol and arrived here 11 years ago. She has made cordial drinks before back in Syria and has really enjoyed herself putting her knowledge into action.
This exciting opportunity will just be the beginning, so make sure you keep an eye on ACH’s social media for updates.
