The current interview with a woman of superlatives
It sounds like an exaggeration from Baron Münchhausen. Christine Fleck juggles with numbers in a way that would make some of us dizzy. And in the run up to Christmas she will push these quantities and figures higher still.
DS: Christine, for how many years have you been baking granola in order to support our work in Peru?
Fleck: The first time I sold muesli for Diospi Suyana was back in 2008. Back then I had no idea what would come of my idea. I started with a single pan in my house!
DS: Does not your muesli-production burst the seams of a normal kitchen?
Fleck: Of course. It has been quite a while now that I produce my granola in a bakery in Kirchheimbolanden. Thankfully I can use all the company’s machines and rooms free of charge.
DS: How much money have you raised for Diospi Suyana through your ”Diospi-Granola“?
Fleck: Roughly €70,000.
DS: Which equates to how many bags of muesli?
Fleck: €70,000 divided by €5 makes 14,000 bags.
DS: But to buy all the ingredients must cost you a fortune. Do you deduct that amount from the total amount you plan to give to Diospi Suyana before you transfer the money?
Fleck: No, my main sponsor covers these costs.
DS: And who is it?
Fleck: Horst, my husband. It goes without saying.
DS: Do you have a rough idea of how many hours you have invested in this project in total?
Fleck: Normally I make granola up to four times a month. However, in the high season (which is now) that figure is “somewhat higher”. Every baking process makes enough material for at least 80 bags. I estimate that I spend between 10 and 50 hours a month.
DS: So if we take the mean of 30 hours a month and multiply that by 120 months, we come up with 3,600 hours that you have spent working for Diospi Suyana.
Fleck: That may well be, but I love doing this job.
DS: You are full of verve, but does it not get too much for your husband?
Fleck: Sometime he is a bit grumpy, but he supports me to the hilt.
DS: How long for you plan to continue working in this way?
Fleck: Next year Horst will reduce his working hours, which means I can work even more. There is a mill in our neighbourhood and I plan to ask them whether they would be willing to donate the oats. I am not even thinking about stopping any time soon.
DS: And one final question: How many grandchildren do you have?
Fleck: Six.
DS: Christine, you are simply incredible!
Here the link to the website: https://www.diospi-granola.de/
Dear Granola Friends, I cannot wait to receive your Christmas orders! I have the time set aside and cannot wait to bake granola. And apart from grandchildren that my granola-devouring daughters get once in a while, there is not a lot going on here in Palatine. So, buy granola – for yourselves, your Christmas markets booths, your companies, for the stockings of your loved ones, etc. My advice: not that many deliciously-uncomplicated methods exist through which you can financially support Diospi Suyana.
Christine Fleck
Kahlenbergring 31
D-67292 Kirchheimbolanden
Tel.: +49(0)6352 / 95 79 723
E-Mail: kontakt{at}diospi-granola.de
