For the best experience with monocle. Started in to cater to Oslovians hungry for freshly grown fruit and vegetables, Kooperativet connects consumers with farms around the city. Favoured by those without the time or space to grow their own, the organic produce is available for collection twice a month via a subscription service. One week this may include crisp lettuce or juicy red peppers, another firm carrots or leeks. Although Kooperativet initially capped its membership at , it has grown to its current number of 1, Since the start of April the suburb of Saint-Paul in Paris has seemed all the friendlier thanks to a convivial new start-up.
The inspiration of Charles Edouard Vincent, Lulu Dans ma Rue is a modern take on a hotel concierge service, manned by a small but helpful community of volunteers who are happy to shine shoes, look after keys, walk dogs or press shirts; we call them the Lulus. Inside its pretty JCDecaux-designed kiosk, Sebastien Juin is busy filling an order book and fielding questions from curious passers-by.
As well as providing handy services, the scheme recruits helpers called Lulus from all over and with various skillsets, while charging a 15 per cent fee for connecting them with customers. Out of the current Lulus, 90 per cent are locals, from students in need of pocket money to retirees. After pondering his heavy workload, Vincent decided to pursue a more fulfilling career and joined the Emmaus Association charity. While working at the organisation he launched the homelessness charity Emmaus Defi but at the back of his mind he was always planning the launch of Lulu Dans ma Rue.
Small spaces and high rents are serious barriers to entry for businesses in Hong Kong but Sania Yau β the CEO of year-old psychiatric rehabilitation association New Life β is addressing the problem with Farm Fresh Its three shops sell organic produce and provide employment to rehabilitate members of society who may otherwise struggle. Most of the staff here are enrolled as part of a rehabilitation programme for a particular form of mental illness.
Our role is to supplement the traditional structure with employment opportunities. Farm Fresh , the face of the organisation, combines a pragmatic business model with an altruistic social mission. It gives us more confidence that social enterprises can also be competitive, which is contrary to the public perception. It looks like your browser has JavaScript turned off. JavaScript is required for this feature to work.
