ORSA MAGGIORE

Orsa Maggiore is a type A/B social cooperative founded in 1995 in Soccavo (NA). Orsa Maggiore combines the management of socio-health and educational services with commercial and productive activities aimed at fostering the employment inclusion of disadvantaged people.
The cooperative was born in a neighbourhood in northern Naples, established by a group of women with the goal of contributing to their community by promoting rights and providing services for vulnerable people and families, engaging children, young people, women and families across educational, professional, formative and participatory dimensions.
Over more than 30 years, the cooperative has been able to respond to the transformations that have shaped its society and territory, particularly male violence against women and children, migration and poverty in its many forms.
Orsa Maggiore represents the framework of a complex, multi-layered territory, where people from disadvantaged groups, including women, single mothers, young people who have dropped out and people with disabilities, become not only beneficiaries but also active agents of interventions aimed at their empowerment.
The support from Restart Italia is directed at developing L’Orsa Maggiore Bar Bistrot & Factory, an employment inclusion hub for people with vulnerabilities, with a particular focus on women. The project draws on the cooperative’s experience of working closely with people from disadvantaged backgrounds, including young people with disabilities, single mothers, NEETs and school dropouts, to foster their empowerment and support their social and professional integration. The hub includes a bar bistrot, a tailoring workshop and a graphic design and printing studio.