“From Australia to Sicily, I bought a house here for one euro. Now I prepare free meals for those isolated: this is my social kitchen”

Danny McCubbin He is Australian and lived for 23 years London. For about two years, he moved to Sicily, to Musumeli, in the province of Caltanissetta. Here are the foundations of the social kitchen good kitchen. “Before the outbreak of the epidemic, I was doing a web search: I wanted to find a way to move to southern Italy, right in Sicily,” the 57-year-old says in English. “I’ve always loved this land, it’s moving to me HelloI like the story you breathe, and the sense of authenticity that I find here is hard to find in other parts of the world.” While searching online, he read about the opportunity to buy a house for 1 euro: a solution adopted by several municipalities in the Sicilian hinterland to relaunch their increasingly deserted areas He buys the house and moves to the city at the foot of Castello Manfredi.

For those who buy a property for 1 euro, there are specific obligations including support for all expenses of preparing the deed of sale (notary, registration, transfer, stacking). Danny clears them all, renovates the house and even makes a plan to open one social cooking. In his life he works as a blogger and runs the social networks of American companies: a job he continues to do at Musumeli. However, on Wednesdays and Sundays for lunch, he raises the shutters of his kitchen and — thanks to the help of the village boys and the generosity of the residents, who bring him many products from the nearby countryside — Danny cooks for those in Covid. isolation or for the poor in the country. The local boys help him: they are all ready to lend a hand. When we ask them why they are there they reply “Because there is nothing to do here – Salvatore answers – we like to make ourselves useful. This place has become a hangout for all of us. We are learning English and Danny is learning Italian”.

Even the mayor of Musumeli Giuseppe Catania He is excited about the initiative: “Now everyone here knows Danny – says the mayor – that he is a MusumelisPractically everyone participated in his project, from the women who often come to help in the kitchen, to the farmers who bring their produce to charity, and above all, it has provided a place for young people to gather, who make themselves useful here. There are those who want to be a chef when they grow up, there are those who experiment in the kitchen, there are those who help to keep it clean and there are those who accompany Danny to deliver meals. There are not many people with economic problems here, but it is encouraging to know that there is someone who takes care of the community and strengthens relationships.”

In front of the social kitchen there is a sign with the sign phone number To call on those in a difficult situation or isolated from Covid. Laura, who is in charge of the secretariat, takes all the requests – specifying the last name and number of meals to be prepared – and then passes the orders to the kitchen. There are those who personally go for meals – 12:30 on time – and those who wait for Danny’s arrival. They recognize him from his white car: house by house, he smiles and exchanges a few words with the insecure Italian.