‘This is Palestinian falafel, and this is my Palestinian grandmother,’ says TikTok creator
New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) In an effort to raise money for aid causes in Gaza, several creators on the Chinese short-video-making app TikTok are sharing Palestinian family recipes in their videos.
TikTok creator Vegan Bodegacat shared a video, saying, “This is Palestinian falafel, and this is my Palestinian grandmother,” as her grandmother prepares the dish.
“… I’ve been spending my days feeling helpless and hopeless, but it’s better to focus on small changes and contributions we can make, which is why I’ll be donating all the money I make from TikTok over the next few months toward humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza,” she added.
After the falafel video, she shared videos with more recipes, which also went viral, reports TechCrunch.
“The three videos I have of my grandma’s recipes are at over a million views each now. Each one of them has raised about $1,000” Vegan Bodegacat was quoted as saying.
Similarly, a Cuban-American chef who goes by The Unprofessional Chef online started making similar videos, sharing Palestinian recipes to raise money for aid.
“I’ve always cooked food from different cultures, but more importantly, I married into a Palestinian family, and they have a good variety of family recipes and meals that as a family, we’ll centre around at the dinner table,” the Unprofessional Chef was quoted as saying.
“l already have this channel that is monetized, and I already have a following that wants to see unique food. So I thought it was a perfect fit to bring some awareness to the Palestinian culture while being able to do what I can to raise money and donate as well,” he added.
Following the steps of Vegan Bodegacat and the Unprofessional Chef, other kinds of creators also stepped up as well for the cause.
Meanwhile, TikTok has shut down its $1 billion creator fund from December 16.
Creators in the US, UK, Germany and France will no longer be able to monetise their work through the original fund, a TikTok spokesperson told The Verge.
The TikTok’s original fund was launched in 2023 with a three-year commitment. Creators who are part of the fund will be able to roll over to the Creativity Programme, the report mentioned.
–IANS
shs/dan
