How to combine emerging jobs and social inclusion – through Urban Agriculture

The parisian pilot keeps acting in favor of urban agriculture and social inclusion.
Knowledge, heritage and the renewal of industrial ressources are at the core of the Centrinno and it get obvious that one of the most impactful initiatives, for society change making, is probably to provide multidisciplinary trainings.
To go further in this direction our team developed a specific training program, called “Agriculture XYZ”. The first edition (2021) was such a success that we had no reason to stop this beautiful and impactful initiative. So we decided to launch its second edition. This article outlines the project.

Agriculture XYZ, in a nutshell

Agriculture XYZ is a 4 months training program, dedicated to urban agriculture. To those who are unemployed, the formation is entirely free and thus, fully accessible to any kind of situation. During this period students, aged from 20 to 60, will visit inspiring sites, meet emerging actors, join workshops, learn technical skills, develop individual project and transition into an internship right away.

2022 : First edition

The first edition was a great success, 20 students joined the program !
The content was divided in 4 key stages, which succeeded one another :

– 1# Core curriculum : immersion and introduction (discovering the ecosystem, basic permaculture practices…)
– 2# Modular blocks. Students had to pick 2 focus options among : Urban gardening on small surfaces, Arboriculture, food transformation, robotic & logistics, fair and organic parc management.
– 3# Individual projects
– 4# Internship

The final results were quite impressive :

– 12 found a job after the program
– 95% were satisfied with the program
– 89% of the students believe the learned skilled will be useful in their next professional experiences
– 0 abandon

Our recipe

Two elements justify this quite successful experience: The knowledge expertise and the legal infrastructure.

Indeed, in order to properly develop this project, mastering the knowledge and having a good legal infrastructure were two necessary requirements.

Our partner, Vergers Urbains, is an experienced non profit association dedicated to urban gardening and social inclusion. They were the official educational coordinator to this program. Therefore, we merged our networks to make it come to life. Nonetheless, we owe its fulfilment to Vergers Urbains expertise, knowledge and human resources.

FCGP is labelled “Qualilopi”, thus meaning that we abide the national agreement and are able to host and to deliver certificated training programs. This opportunity enabled us to create a partnership with Pôle Emploi (the national unemployment office) and to offer this program free of charge. It was also a good way to source the students.

2023 : here we go again

The second edition is currently (already) on tracks !
It just started, in early March. We will keep you updated here.
If you want to know more, or if you want to collaborate on a similar initiative do not hesitate to reach us at: [email protected]

Wishing you all the Best,

Keep it green! ?