Work is a great opportunity for incarcerated people to regain dignity and value. Not only does it offer a path to personal redemption, but it also allows them to develop skills that open doors to a better future. Working allows them to build a new identity and establish a sense of belonging and self-esteem: in this journey, work is a valuable bridge to a second chance. Since 2003, the social cooperative L'Arcolaio has been acting with the aim of fostering the job placement of inmates within the Cavadonna Prison in Syracuse, through numerous projects based mainly on agribusiness production: it began to do so with a bakery for the production of typical Sicilian organic and gluten-free sweets, sold under the Dolci Evasioni brand, and continued with a social agriculture project for the collection, drying and packaging of herbs processed at the drying workshop in the prison, sold under the Frutti degli Iblei brand. The company's work continues with the project we decided to support, Cavadonna Lab: a new organic agribusiness production laboratory on a piece of land owned adjacent to the prison that will form a new bio sustainable agribusiness hub with bioclimatic indoor comfort, rainwater recovery and processing facilities with minimal environmental and landscape impact. There will be space for educational and training activities, a kitchen, canteen and showroom, for more efficient production, greater product variety and increased revenues. The benefits? Twenty people in criminal execution and two people at the end of their sentences will be hired. In addition, the project will have at least another 25 to 30 inmates experience a path of job placement each year, so that new sociality, new responsibilities and a new path of social inclusion and integration can be born from work. Details Location: Syracuse Association: L'Arcolaio social cooperative society Beneficiaries: 22 inmates hired and 25/30 inmates included in the training program Contribution: 325,000 euros Period: May 2024 - December 2025
