Pope Francis in Sardinia. Primavera 83

“Remove from the centre the law of income and profits and put the human person and the common good there instead,” said the Pope in a peremptory statement before a crowd of thousands of unemployed people during his recent visit to Sardinia. It is the “young unemployed, people on unemployment assistance, the poor, entrepreneurs and traders who are struggling to survive.”  These are the ones who must be kept most at heart.

In this alarming context of uncertainty in which the Pope did not hesitate to strongly affirm that “there is no dignity without work,” he was presented with several testimonials in response to his plea. One was that of the Cooperativa Primavera 83 (Spring 83 Cooperative) that began from the initiative of the Councillor of Social Services for the Commune of Cagliari, who wished to use the financing of a Regional Law to provide jobs for a group of teenagers with social problems, by entrusting them with the care of some school gardens.

Maria Grazia Patrizi spoke for Sardinian business owners: “We created a cooperative which took its first steps with cohesion and consistency our only capital. We were young. With passion and courage we overcame so many failures, always beginning again. In 1993, our training and professionalism led us to win an environmental protection prize that was given by the city of Cagliari. In 1994 Primavera 83 presented a proposal for the restoration of a public garden in the Sant’Eliaquarter, a fishing village that had become one of the most degraded areas of the city. Many thought the investment would be a waste of money, but today this garden is one of the most beautiful in the city. It is often used with pride by the citizens, for wedding photos.”

In 1999, the owners and workers at Primavera 83 who were involved in the maintenance of the natural landscape of Oristano, decided on an innovative way of drawing up their work contract. They decided to give away part of their holiday pay so that one of their colleagues could provide for her son who was suffering from a chronic illness without losing any days of pay.

In 2008, to celebrate 25 years in operation, the cooperative gave the commune of Cagliari a garden area on the roundabout in front of the cemetery. It is dedicated to some shareholders of Primavera 83 who died of AIDS in the 1990’s.

“Now, after 30 years in operation,” continues Maria Grazia Patrizi, “this cooperative that adheres to the Economy of Communion employs 110 workers and works for the protection of the local environment in other municipalities of the Province as well, with a turnover of more than € 3 million. We compare on the market to some of the most important businesses of the region in this sector. Collaboration agreements with local social service agencies allow us to hire for more than a third of our workers people who are at risk, such as the disabled and those suffering from mental illness, prisoners and drug addicts. For us the social cooperative is a business enterprise which, through solidarity, meets the criteria of the market: professionalism, quality and efficiency, enhancement and empowerment of the potential of all, both members and employees. In this time of crisis we fell that this exercise of trying to include people who don’t seem to meet the requirements for effectiveness and efficiency, has turned into a boon for the society as a whole, transforming funding for the unemployed that will be a mainstay for the development of Sardinia.”

One of the many responses to the “courage” that the Pope asked of  unemployed Sardinians, a “courage that comes from within and urges to do all you can (. . .) to face this historic challenge with solidarity (. . . ) and intelligence.