La Ranica

“La Ranica” was created following the reconversion of the old Consumer Cooperative of Ranica, which, in the face of an analysis of the needs present in the area, intends to bet on the construction of work spaces that allow disadvantaged citizens to recover that dimension of social protagonism that is also expressed through a work activity. An occupational therapy workshop was built in 2003 where support activities are carried out for those companies that need contract work.

Mission

The purpose of the Cooperative is the labor recovery of people in difficulty (disabled, marginalized, etc…), through the employment of them in their own work activities. These citizens will benefit from a personalized pathway that will tend to bring latent labor resources into emergence in order to make them available to the community. The cooperative’s intention is to extend the work spaces that will serve to offer employment opportunities to residents of the area and neighboring municipalities.

My point of view

I was still studying in 2014, when I decided to pick up the camera and try and tell this story.

It is a close to home story this one. And not only because I live in the same town, called Ranica, but because my sister used to work there as a professional educator.

It’s 10 years today and it is also the 105th anniversary for the coop. The way I approached this project was to portray each person taking part in the day to day life of the coop, all under the same light and background. For once to give everybody the same treatment and basic starting point. That’s pretty much how the coop works, helping people who have a more fragile situation.