EMMAUS WORKSHOP
The main goal is to develop creative skills and offer a way for young people with disabilities to start an artisanal activity, always keeping in mind a person’s individual value. The goal of our project is to become a real social enterprise, to be self-sufficient, and to support the work of Emmaus.
Start of the project: 2020 (reactivation of work in Italy in March 2022)
Donor: International Renaissance Foundation, Emilia-Romagna region, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region
Partners: Polimi School of Management, L’Artigiano in Fiera, LEDHA – League for the Defense of the Rights of People with Disabilities, Tessitura Raponi, GiGroup Training Hub
Areas of work
At the workshop, young girls with disabilities are trained to master basic sewing skills: pattern making and selection of materials, cutting, machine and hand sewing, beading, design and decoration of fabrics
Our team of craftswomen, under the guidance of a technologist, creates their unique product lines for sale at exhibitions and events and develops products for individual orders for private clients (holiday decor, themed sets, etc.)
The girls actively participate in public events, organize workshops for children and adults to promote the idea of social entrepreneurship, draw public attention to the issues of inclusion, and highlight the dramatic experience of Ukrainians during the war.
The workshop seeks to strengthen partnerships with the Italian business community and develop corporate cooperation by developing branded products for Italian companies and educational institutions
The idea of the Emmaus Workshop was born during the first lockdown as a continuation of a career guidance course attended by Yulia Zolotareva, a participant in the Flying House project. Our team organized an accompanying course for Yulia to acquire skills in making handmade products (brooches, accessories).
A year after the project started, amid the quarantine, Emmaus joined Yulia with other girls to design and create their own product line. This broadened their horizons not only in terms of learning but also as a job opportunity at a social enterprise.
Since the beginning of March 2022, when the girls and part of the Emmaus team found temporary shelter in Italy, the Workshop has resumed its activities and has continued to work continuously since then, also participating in large-scale events to demonstrate and sell their products, promote Ukrainian culture and the history of our time.
The Workshop is currently based at the POLIMI School of Management in Milan. The cooperation has already borne its first fruits – the development of a collection of branded products of the School.