Getting together to cook and eat, to share stories and to sing. In Haarlem's old abattoir district, many cultures live side by side. Local residents often meet up to explore what they have in common. It all takes place in The Storytellers' Kitchen.

The Storytellers' Kitchen first came to the abattoir district in 2008. The project was initiated by an art collective, Het Vijfde Kwartier. But creative director Titia Bouwmeester is keen to emphasise "we worked together with residents, schools and the welfare sector. In this district, you can really feel the world changing.

Integration in Holland

Through the centuries, immigrants have come to live in the Netherlands and have assimilated to a great extent.

Portuguese Jews of the 15th century, European-Indonesian migrants who came after World War Two are examples. They learned the Dutch language and customs and passed these on to their children. Not only did they transform themselves, they also changed the society around them, influencing the speech, cuisine and many other aspects of Dutch culture. As this transformation was happening, few took notice.

Today this is very different. As immigrants adapt to Dutch society, the process is being studied as if under a microscope. Academic researchers, politicians and journalists are continuously observing and commenting on integration.

Some paint a negative picture of today's immigrant: preferring the burqa to blue jeans, couscous to cabbage and potatoes. Unwilling or unable to learn Dutch, taking little on board and offering little in return to the culture.

Naturally this is a narrow view, though it's clear the differences between Dutch and immigrant cultures are a source of conflict. Integration can be a painful - and painfully slow - process. As it continues, Radio Netherlands Worldwide explores some of the problems encountered, and the solutions offered, on the path to integration.

These days it's a fragmented district but in the 1960s it was a working class area where everyone knew everyone else. Then immigrants started coming in: first from other provinces like Groningen and Friesland; and later in large numbers from Morocco and Turkey.

The people who lived here often worked for the same company: the abattoir or the rail yard. We asked all these people to tell us their stories."

Old photographs
The stories, illustrated by a wealth of old photographs were exhibited at the local community centre in a show entitled The memory of the abattoir district, now also the name of a related book. "Of course the world has changed.

There are very real differences between people," says Titia Bouwmeester, "but it is important to know each other's stories and learn to understand one another. We want people to see the beauty of the neighbourhood. As artists, we want to make this beauty visible, in the exhibition, in the book and in a forthcoming theatre show."

Rozien Salah, a social worker with a Kurdish background, has also encountered The Storytellers' Kitchen. "The project has changed the life of the district but it has also changed me personally. We've heard stories about something special in everyone's life. And it turns out that our lives are very much alike. Nationalities become irrelevant. You stop pigeonholing people as Turkish, Moroccan or Dutch. You no longer think 'I'm the best'."

Another aspect of The Storytellers' Kitchen centres on songs. Local residents sang their songs to musicians from the art collective. This served as the basis for a concert that the musicians put together, performed by the residents with support from professional players.

Proof of the pudding
The Storytellers' Kitchen seems like an inspiring project. The local authority is investing in it and a range of city organisations and volunteers are also involved. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and so I decided to take a look for myself.

"We're making apple cookies," says Siham, one of the volunteers. "I'm Moroccan and she's Turkish, so we communicate in Dutch. I enjoy cooking here. I learn recipes from the others: Turkish, Dutch, Iraqi. I've learned to make Dutch mashed potato with onion and carrots, but then with halal meat," she smiles.

Siham has got to know a lot of people in the community centre. "I take computer classes here and some of my classmates are Dutch. That's important to me. I think it's important to have more contact with Dutch people, not least to improve my own Dutch. It's a very interesting experience."

Sjanie is a Dutch woman who has lived in the abattoir district for nearly 45 years. She is one of those who contributed a tale from her own life to the Storytellers' Kitchen.

"In our women's centre, we had women from eleven nationalities at the same table. And here we are all mixed in together, men and women too. Some have become my friends. I don't have children of my own but I sometimes call that girl over there my daughter," Sjanie says, pointing to a young woman in a headscarf.