Growing Pains, Growing Gains
成长的烦恼和收获
“All things considered, I’ve had a decent childhood, compared to others from a similar socioeconomic background” muses Chen Hongtao, striking up a jovial conversation at a bakery café. In an age where many people leave their hometown to work in other cities, his parents stayed and tended the family farm, ensuring that they were there for Chen and his older sister. “Even though we were really poor,” he continues, “we were all living together, and that made my childhood better.”
“总的来讲，跟差不多经济条件的家庭相比，我的童年算挺幸福的！“陈洪涛在烘焙咖啡厅回忆起童年，打开了话匣子。在这个时代，大部分都选择背井离乡去大城市打工，而他的父母决定留在家里务农，同时陪伴洪涛姐弟成长。他说：”虽然我们真的很穷，但是我们一家人团圆在一起，让我的童年比很多同龄人幸福。”
Today, Hong works with three fellow SYB graduates at Village 127, a social bakery café on Nanjing West Road that is owned by Chiheng Foundation. Confident and relaxed, in the kitchen Chen is like a fish in water, completely in his element. “I’ve been interested in all things kitchen-related ever since I was little,” he effuses. In fact, he enjoyed cooking so much that he once considered working in the food and beverage industry, specialising in either Chinese or Western cuisine.
如今，陈洪涛与另外三位海上青焙坊的毕业生在Village 127工作。Village 127是智行基金会在南京西路开的一间社会烘焙咖啡厅。在这儿的厨房工作，洪涛如鱼得水，展现出他轻松和自信的一面。“从小我就对锅碗瓢盆这些厨房家伙感兴趣。”说起烘焙就滔滔不绝。出于对烹饪的深深热爱，洪涛曾认真考虑过在餐饮行业工作，专门做西餐或者中餐。
So when Chen was informed about the SYB programme by Chi Heng Foundation, he immediately applied for the programme. “While I didn’t know much about bakery back then,” he reflects, “I did know that the West has a much more developed baking tradition than China.” In particular, he was drawn to SYB’s joint offerings in French and Chinese-style bakery and pastry training.
所以当洪涛从智金基金会得知海上青焙坊后，他立刻报名参加。洪涛说，“虽然我以前对烘焙了解不多，不过我知道西方比中国有更长久的烘焙传统。”对洪涛而言，海上青焙坊的法式及中式烘焙和面点培训别具吸引力。
However, like many programmes in their first year of operation, SYB’s beginnings were far from ideal. The status of the teaching sites and the bakery and pastry teachers were in constant flux in the first few months. “We were splitting time between a Christine’s training centre and a Lesaffre location,” said Chen, “and sometimes, if both locations were unavailable, we would have no practical classes at all!”
和很多项目一样，海上青焙坊第一年的运作远未达到理想状态。开始的几个月没有固定的培训教室，烘焙和面点老师也不稳定。 洪涛说：“当时我们在克莉丝汀（Christine）的培训中心和乐斯福（Lesaffre）轮流上课。如果两个地点都没有空缺的时候，我们就没机会上操作课了！“
And yet, Chen recalls his time at SYB with fondness, choosing to focus on the organisation’s positive aspects instead of its growing pains. “The French founders could have set up this programme back home in France, but they decided to give back to the Chinese community by creating this programme!” Despite a turbulent start to the programme, shuffling between classes at Lesaffre, Christine, and eventually the Caoyang Vocational School, Chen appreciated experience as it enabled him to bond with his SYB classmates as well as better understand the challenges of operating an NGO. And instead of hindering Chen’s development as a baker, the uncertainties in the early months prepared him for the travails of the real world of uncertainty and flux.
不管过程如何，洪涛回顾起在海上青焙坊的时光依然很难忘，他更愿意关注海上青焙坊的积极意义而不是纠结于项目发展初期难以避免的尴尬与困难。他说：“海上焙坊的法国创始人完全可以在法国启动这个项目，但他们决定以此回报中国社会!”尽管项目启动初期颇为不易，要经历了一段时间在乐斯福（Lesaffre）和克莉丝汀（Christine）轮流上课后，最终安定在了曹杨职业学校。洪涛很感激这段经历，因为这些坎坷让他与海上青焙坊的同学们更增进了感情，也亲身体会到运营一家非政府组织所要面临的挑战。项目初始期的这些不确定性并没有阻碍洪涛坚持当烘焙师的发展目标，反而让他更有准备地去面对真实世界的无常与动荡。
As one of the very first beneficiaries of SYB, Chen confesses that the most important lesson he learned was not baking-related at all. Growing up alongside the organisation, Chen appreciates the intricacy of setting up and managing a nonprofit programme. “The programme has been great – after all these years, I am still working in the baking industry.” Now he wants to put into practice the great lesson he learned at SYB: giving back to the community.
身为海上青焙坊最初的一批受益者，洪涛承认他在这里学到最重要的经验其实并非是烘焙技能。能与这个组织一起成长，洪涛经历并理解了创办与运作一个非营利组织的复杂和困难。“这个项目是极有意义的，许多年后的今天，我还在烘焙业工作。”如今，他希望将他在海上青焙坊学到的最重要的一课付诸实践，就是：回馈社会。
At Village 127, Chen strives to cultivate the sense of community present in China’s nascent NGO sector: drawings by young Chi Heng beneficiaries decorate the walls, while baked goods by SYB bakers grace the glass display. Through the glass window behind the counter, the Chen and his colleagues quietly ply their trade, knowing that their work contributes to a greater cause of imparting the spirit of social responsibility to future generations.
在Village 127，洪涛努力在中国萌芽期非营利组织领域根植社会意识:墙上的装饰画来自智行基金会的受益人，玻璃橱里展示着海上青焙坊的烘焙作品。洪涛和他的同事在柜台玻璃窗后默默地忙碌着，以工作承载着他们内心的使命：将这份对社会的责任感代代相传。
Lo-Ching Chow
Social Impact Analyst & Reporter
周乐芹
项目报道和分析
Translated by Lee Kai Xin Augustine
翻译：Lee Kai Xin Augustine
Edited by Siyuan Xu
编辑：徐思远