The project “Famílies² = participació x alimentació” (Families² = Participation x Nutrition) was started in 2009 at the Centre Obert Compartir of Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. Since then, we have been working closely with the families of our project, with the financial support of Carrefour Market. With the families we learn to share, to live together, to listen to each other, to respect and value each other, as well as to grow together.

The basic idea of ​​the project was to support the educational capabilities of the families of the children who visit the project centre and to promote their social competences for life within the family and society, but also for the development of their personal autonomy.

Once a month, the families are encouraged to become active participants in the project meetings, and engage both individually and collectively, to discuss, reflect, respect other people’s opinions and values, as well as to learn with and from one another. For their participation they receive a small food basket and vouchers, which they can redeem in the supermarket.

Thanks to the positive take up by, and enthusiasm, of the families as well as their potential for self-help, especially from the mothers, we were able to increase the number of projects and turn them into a comprehensive programme, from which further projects developed:

Parents‘ groups

Once or twice a month, the parents interested in participating in the project have the opportunity to attend training sessions on specific topics they have chosen themselves.

Favour Bank

Through the favours the participants themselves carry out for each other the project aims to achieve the following objectives: commitment, community spirit, mutual trust and responsibility.

Saving and Ecology group

In a clear and simple manner, we intend to inform and raise the families‘ awareness about various contemporary environmental issues in which we are immersed, such as pollution and how to take care of our natural resources and nature.

Families became aware of, and learned, healthy living habits as well as how to contribute to the protection of the environment with simple daily actions. Thus, our groups help improve the environmental situation, which has become a real local and global problem.

Requests Co-ordination group

Participants in small groups take responsibility for the selection of products and distribution of the food baskets for the families. The intention is that the groups understand the importance of their actions, food selection and the effect that appropriate execution of the orders can have on other people.

Wool-Workshop

This workshop developed spontaneously due to the interest of the mothers from the family groups to further create space for learning and meeting. Meanwhile, the Wool-Workshop has established itself as an independent project of the Foundation.

The participation rate of the families in the project was almost always above 95%. Previously, two valuable experiences in the Centres (Center Obert Rialles) of Sta. Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona) and El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona) with the same project concept and in collaboration with the Marists Brothers and the association SAÓ-PRAT were made. By the year 2013, the project was also carried out in the Centre Obert Compartir of the El Pinar (Rubí, Barcelona) with two family groups and in collaboration with the Association Compartir of the social group of the Marists. Currently, some of the mothers from these families are participating in the “Wool-Workshop” project, which takes place at the Foundation.

With the valuable collaboration of the Roger Torné Foundation, whose priority is the protection of children and their vulnerability to environmental risks on their health, a cycle of sessions has been given in order to prevent and sensitize families on the theme:

What are children breathing?

The sessions have encouraged the families to think about the importance of air quality, breathing and how to improve the quality of their children’s lives. Furthermore, the participants were given a basket of organic food from the fruit and vegetable gardens of Verdallar. This institution is committed to the integration of socially disadvantaged persons into the labour market and produces, markets and distributes organic products.

See Article of the Roger Torné Foundation

The Foundation is currently working on the publication of the methodology of the project 'Famílies² = participació x alimentació' to make it accessible to a wider audience.