Thanks to the community crowdfunding program “Inclusive restarts” ideated and implemented by the Community Foundation, the Al Kharub social cooperative of Agrigento is building its own carpentry laboratory for the construction of beekeeping equipment: a laboratory to safeguard the Sicilian black bee and, at the same time, reduce social inequalities through the employment of people living in a situation of fragility.
The carpentry laboratory will be built in a space of the Municipality of Agrigento granted on free loan to the social cooperative. This place, undergoing renovation and adaptation thanks to the support of the community crowdfunding program, is located in the Villaseta district, a particularly complex part of the city of Agrigento at risk of social exclusion. Together with a network that involves various organizations, Al Kharub is building a space of legality and meeting for the young people of the district.
At this stage, the activities are continuing with a training and job placement in the agri-food chain of unaccompanied foreign minors. This activity has already seen the inclusion in training of two young people, one of whom, already a beekeeper in his country of origin, has already started to take care bees in the field.
So, with the #ApeOperosa project and thanks to the support of the community crowdfunding program, the social cooperative Al Kharub is building its small carpentry laboratory for the construction of frames, hives, diaphragms, feeders and anything else that can make the bees and offer job opportunities to people living in a fragile situation. In addition, it is also redeveloping and revitalizing a community space in the district of Villaseta.
Al Kharub is a social cooperative born in Agrigento in 2011. Its mission is the creation of inclusive and open communities. It creates work inclusion activities through two main projects, carried out directly by the cooperative: beekeeping and restaurant.
The gastronomy business, started in 2014, is carried out with the Ginger-people & food restaurant, located in the historic center of Agrigento. The beekeeping activity is aimed at the protection of the Sicilian black bee within the Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.