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Description
The project focuses on the potential of 50 people in vulnerable situations, namely survivors of domestic violence, migrants, and Roma people, helping them to build autonomous processes. The main methodological tools are empowerment and training, which will allow overcoming situations of dependence and (re)constructing pathways in autonomy; the creation of collective networks to break isolation; and the crossing of different people breaking with the stigmatisation associated with each group. The project will also promote the training of these target groups with skills related to everyday know-how, which can be relevant to their individual and collective autonomy, which may enable the future creation of micro-enterprises and, at the same time, facilitate the insertion of each participant in the community since their involvement in collective workshops will allow to develop stronger relational ties.
Summary of project results
Survivors of domestic violence live in isolation and with limited economic resources and can find in the project a positive contribution to their family budget as well as access to a social space that facilitates their integration into the community. Migrants, although they don''t live in isolation, have relational spaces dominated by socialising only with other migrants and live in a situation of economic vulnerability. As for the Roma community to be involved in the project, they live in a poor social housing neighbourhood in Tortosendo (Bairro do Cabeço). The fact that CooLabora is a partner of the municipality in mediating with the Roma community and that it develops activities for children and young people in this neighbourhood facilitates dialogue with this population. The partnership is appropriate because CooLabora runs two victim support offices and the Troca a Tod@s network, Santa Casa da Misericórdia has a CLAIM and the University of Beira Interior works with migrants, especially from the PALOP countries.
On the other hand, CooLabora has a local products shop and a network of producers, Troca-aTod@s, which has existed since 2014 and is made up of people with very relevant operational know-how, who will be monitored in the Local Autonomy Workshops, in a win-win strategy. There is also the possibility that participants in the workshops, in addition to gaining autonomy, will also sell some products in the context of the Troca-a-Tod@s Fairs, which operate with a social currency and have a status similar to that of a fair. It is therefore possible for producers without a formally established economic activity to take part, thus being able to sell some homemade services or products.
Th organization drew up an online questionnaire on google forms which allowed them to collect pre-diagnostic data on people who might be interested in the workshops, contacts, the most relevant topics, timetables and suggestions. They asked respondents which workshops they would be most interested in taking part in and there were significant expressions of interest in all of them, with a maximum of 24 and a minimum of 11 interested parties. Of the 37 respondents, 70% were interested in repairing furniture, followed by upcycling clothes and creating organic gardens, both with 60%; cosmetics and handmade soap making with 57%; making homemade preserves with 54%.
canning with 54% and yoga with 51%. Repairing domestic appliances and gardening received 47% of expressions of interest. Other topics were also proposed by respondents, namely healthy eating, weaving, macramé, etc. They asked why they don''t usually produce or repair goods. The majority, i.e. 77 %, considered a lack of knowledge to be the main difficulty, followed by not having the right tools, considered relevant by 31 % of respondents, and a lack of time, mentioned by 25.7 %. In the open question about the reasons that motivated respondents to take an interest in the workshops, issues related to individual autonomy, the opportunity to learn, access to a social space and ecological concerns stood out.
The MALA - Tools for Autonomy project aimed to promote training in skills linked to everyday knowledge relevant to the individual and collective autonomy of people in situations of vulnerability and to facilitate their inclusion in community networks.
25 themed workshops were held in 3 different spaces (133 people reached, 45 of whom took part in more than 10 hours of workshops during the project period), 907 hours of training, in total.
As part of the project, two Troca-a-Tod@s fairs were also held. The first had 35 producers and 9 workshops to share knowledge. The second Troca-a-Tod@s fair had 38 producers and 8 workshops.
Five ‘Learn to Do’ videos were produced (each with 500 to 700 views) and a final video-documentary with the project''s narrative and main results.
Regarding the organisation capacity building activities, the organisational diagnosis was updated, financial and treasury management tools were created, the Strategic Plan was revised, a map of CooLabora''s partnerships was created and a team building event was held.
The MALA project was aimed at people in situations of vulnerability and aimed to promote their empowerment with skills linked to everyday know-how that are relevant to individual and collective autonomy; to the possible future creation of micro-businesses; and to breaking social isolation.
The project reached 133 people in vulnerable situations, many of them living in isolation, such as survivors of domestic violence, the elderly and young students from other countries.
The social recognition of the participants and their inclusion in community networks has been largely achieved and even after the project the group continues to meet and participate in the activities of Coolabora.
One of the most positive results has been the recognition of the importance of know-how as a creator of autonomy, the involvement of this group in other activities, particularly trade fairs, and the motivation to continue participating in other activities promoted by the organisation.