P’orto of Lampedusa is a funding instrument created by TERRA Onlus. They allowed the creation of a network of experiential and emotional exchange between people with disabilities, farmers, producers and citizens of the island of Lampedusa.
Since 2014, Terra Onlus has carried on the initiative of P’orto di Lampedusa, which proposes to create community gardens on the island of Lampedusa following the method of natural agriculture, enhancing the island wealth through the creation of places for education, work and experimentation and by offering a common space for social aggregation.
The gardens will therefore have a twofold value: social and environmental. On the one hand, the intention is to strengthen the connective tissue of the Lampedusa community where the agricultural vocation now exhausted. In this complex social context, the need to re-launch new capacities for involvement and social inclusion initiatives for people with disabilities. In fact, the project envisages the creation of an experiential and emotional exchange network between people with disabilities, farmers, producers and citizens of the island of Lampedusa, the activation of “good practices”, new jobs for young people and the exchange of skills and knowledge.
The creation of community gardens represented a success in several ways in terms of employment and economy. It created a new market, and thus work positions, and also supported the Lampedusa and also supported Lampedusa food market by representing a new and cheap source of supply for shops and restaurants on the island. Furthermore, the P’orto di Lampedusa initiative also represented a boost for the touristic market of the island. Indeed, it offers the possibility for tourists to have discount during their holiday if they help in the social gardens’ management. This option has a twofold effect because tourists can learn while helping the local community.
P’orto di Lampedusa permitted to involve young people with the creation of touristic camps to allow the training of people, the development of a network of a new type of sustainable tourism and a new type of agricultural work.
The gardens need continuous monitoring to allow the market to function as well. These gardens are used to collect fruit and vegetables to sell and to use in restaurants and farmhouses on the island, to create a km0 market and the development of the island of Lampedusa.
This is like rediscovery for new generation and for NEETs of a re-use of public ground, with the creation of green activity and the promotion of a km0 market: from producer to consumer, all in the same place.
Today’s NEETs and future young professionals will thus have the possibility to learn how to work in a productive garden, learn the basic principle of trading and also set up a remunerative touristic flow around the learning experience that is offered by the P’Orto di Lampedusa initiative.
Find out more on: http://www.terraonlus.it/porto-lampedusa/