Goel

Goel

“It is not enough to be born.
It is to be born again that we were born.
Every day”

– (Pablo Neruda) –

LOCRIDE IS A LAND OF PHILOSOPHY, IT IS AN EPIC LAND OF RELIGION AND OF ART.

LOCRIDE IS ALSO A LAND OF THE MAFIA, OR RATHER THE ‘NDRANGHETA.

LOCRIDE IS A LAND THAT NEEDS ETHICAL ALTERNATIVES IN ORDER TO BE BORN AGAIN.

In 2003 the GOEL cooperative group was founded in Locride. It is a community of people, business and social cooperatives that is working to redeem Calabria through a strategy that aims to bring about a real change and that sees social enterprise as the main instrument for producing this change.

Fighting against the ‘Ndrangheta is very difficult.

The ‘Ndrangheta controls the area not only through fear and violence but also by satisfying the concrete needs of the citizens, families and the businesses. GOEL’s challenge is to make the “ethical” alternative strong and authoritative, and to show that ethics are not only “right” but above all “effective” and “successful”. In order to delegitimise the ‘Ndrangheta, GOEL does not only act as an organisation that is engaged in social welfare but also an active business entity that can produce economic growth and offer the area new jobs.

The following are some of the most relevant examples of businesses that have been launched in the area:

CANGIARI: the first ethical high fashion brand, which uses the precious organic fabrics produced by traditional Calabrian hand weaving.

GOEL BIO: the first social cooperative consisting of organic farms that are against the ‘Ndrangheta.

I VIAGGI DEL GOEL: a tour operator that is specialised in responsible tourism, which encourages tourists to connect and be involved with local Calabrian communities.

GOEL CONSULTING & COMMUNICATION: offers consulting services to companies for the development of ethical products, through a CSR manufacturing ethical products for the development of competitive market strategies.

Over the years, the GOEL Consortium has continued to grow and has become increasingly diversified. Today it consists of organisations working in fields from the health sector to social development and it also manages several ethical businesses in the area.

The GOEL Consortium consists of:

  • 10 social enterprises;
  • 2 cooperatives (not social);
  • 2 volunteering associations;
  • 1 local foundation;
  • 28 profit making companies and farms;
  • many professionals and volunteers involved individually.

THE INTERVENTION

OF THE FONDAZIONE
CHARLEMAGNE

The relationship between the Fondazione Charlemagne and GOEL started in 2014 and is still thriving. The first project we supported was GOEL BIO. The activities aimed to look for and train new partners as well as the secretarial and commercial support they needed.

In 2016 we took on a new challenge, by actively supporting another cooperative Group, Made in Goel, that was set up in 2009. This Group manages the Cangiari brand, the first high end eco-ethical fashion brand in Italy, and the social cooperatives engaged in the manufacturing and marketing Cangiari products. The project is providing work for the unemployed skilled workers of the clothing business and has re-launched the companies in this sector that were having the greatest difficulties. The project therefore created a manufacturing system for decently paid third party orders that guarantee good employment prospects for women. This involved retraining the staff of 10 workshops that were identified, in order to provide them with the skills and manufacturing capacities they needed.

Since 2017 the Group’s needs have changed. The efforts that were initially directed towards developing individual projects, now have different aims, that is the addition of new managerial figures. This is a very important step that we decided to take together in order to ensure increasingly high quality business development in the area.

We believe that a small healthy and active minority can bring about a change in the whole area.

If someone asked us, “What motivated you to support
the GOEL project?” we would be sure of our answer:
the strength and courage to make the change happen that
we saw in the eyes of the people of Locride was certainly
an essential element for us. We believe first of all in people
and then in projects.

Concetta Campi (Study and Assessment office)

RESULTS

201 WORKERS

hired employees

350 HECTARES

cultivated with organic products

1795 TOURISTS

welcomed by GOEL Viaggi