La Vigna is an Italian cooperative (A+B - type A: cooperative provides health, social or educational services and type B: cooperative provides employment opportunities to disadvantaged), established in Reggio Emilia in 1985 with the aim of promoting social inclusion and integration, through hospitality, labour market reintegration and rehabilitation patterns for vulnerable person. As sociale enterprise businesses are driven by a social mission, that puts the interests of people ahead of shareholder gain.

La Vigna is interested in exchanging good practices and developing new innovative project that can add value to the organization in the following fields.

The labour market reintegration of vulnerable person is provided through employment opportunities in the field of waste industry. Among cooperative’s services, this is the most important one, which employs the largest number of workers and investment. More specifically, La Vigna carries out the following activities:

• Private and municipal areas cleaning through hand and mechanical sweeping
• Leaf collection
• Waste disposal
• Disinfestation, rodent control and disinfection treatments.

Moreover, the cooperative provides:

• Information to citizens and firms on recycling waste
• Back and front office services to companies

La Vigna and other NGOs work together to give support for refugees and asylum seekers, included housing.

Over a period of several years the cooperative has been involved in community management and engagement project. Since May 2022, as lead partner, La Vigna manages ENTER project, funded by Manodori foundation, targeting older people with a strong focus on community involvement.

La Vigna offers a wide range of support programs for people with substance abuse and addiction: recovery and harm reduction focused services, family support program. Also, the cooperative delivers support to people experiencing homelessness and housing first program.

Since 2019, La Vigna is involved in fair trade through Meridiano 361 (M361) activities, a social enterprise founded and wholly owned by the cooperative. M361 carries out wholesale and retail business (online shopping and a physical store in Reggio Emilia old town), working directly with farmers, workers and companies that are part of the product supply chains in Madagascar, India, Indonesia, and Ecuador. 

M361 is a member of Equo Garantito and Altromercato, the main Italian fair-trade networks, and takes part to “On Earth” cooperative collection. Within it, M361 designs and develops costume jewellery, handmade by fair trade artisan partners around the world. 

Annual Fair-Trade Festival, organised by M361 and La Vigna, will be held in November 2023 in Reggio Emilia. Alongside a wide range of entertainment events and fair-trade training programme, the event includes numerous exhibition stands with the opportunity to present fair trade products to visitors.

Lastly, La Vigna is also interested in raising awareness of social cooperative, sustainability and corporate sociale responsibility principles.