Socio-economic development and the creation of jobs in the areas and countries in which Enel operates: for the Enel Group this amounts to putting into practice the eighth Sustainable Development Goal SDG #8 outlined by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda. An objective to which Enel Cuore makes a solid contribution through the experimental call for proposals, Terre Colte 2017, supported by the Fondazione CON IL SUD, the aim of which is to identify projects which, by making full use of the productive capacity of southern Italian land, are capable of offering new job opportunities to young people as well as social and labour inclusion for the disadvantaged. The call for proposals has made 3 million euros available – a third of which provided by Enel Cuore – enabling nine projects to be established and financed, selected from those put forward by non-profit organisations from the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Apulia, Sardinia and Sicily. The projects were chosen on the basis of their potential to revitalise agricultural traditions and create job opportunities for disadvantaged people or talented youngsters who may look to move away from the area. Currently in the implementation phase, these nine projects are breathing new life back into approximately 100 hectares of uncultivated or abandoned land. Land that will return to being cultivated and to producing ancient grains, broad beans, almonds, oregano, saffron and goji berries, as well as for rearing buffaloes, goats and donkeys for dairy production. Land that generates value and which, through work in the fields, pastures and on teaching farms, and thanks to the product processing and sales activities, provides employment for around 180 people from disadvantaged backgrounds who are in need of redemption and trust: people with physical and mental disabilities, former detainees, recovered drug addicts, female victims of abuse, unemployed youngsters and migrants. A model of socio-economic development and job creation that is made a reality through the reappropriation of abandoned land: a way of giving even the landscape back its dignity, making it not only productive but also welcoming, safe and harmonious, reflecting the effort of those women and men who are working its land. Discover all the projects financed as part of the Terre Colte call for proposals.
