The Carpentry established by Fundação Arte e Cultura, the African branch of Menomadin Foundation, is a social business, based in Luanda, Angola. It was founded out of the need to furnish the Arts and Culture Academy complex, and to do so in an ecological way, that reduces the harm to the environment.
The Challenge
The reality of life in Angola offers very few opportunities for at-risk youth. Welfare frameworks fail to address the many young people who grow up on the streets or in orphanages, and without positive opportunities many of them may deteriorate into drug use and a life of crime.
A Menomadin Foundation impact investment in Angola: professional training for youth at risk in Luanda, the carpentry social business.
The Opportunity
The carpentry run by the Fundação Arte e Cultura in Luanda, Angola, employs local boys who grew up on the streets or in orphanages, as part of the A Better Way project. Working in the carpentry provides them with the professional tools and life skills, which will allow them to acquire a profession and achieve economic independence in the future. The carpentry operates as a social business, with the profits from selling of the products directed towards expanding the Foundation’s philanthropic activities in the field of arts and culture.
The carpentry is a platform for contributing to the community, with the raw materials for products, which are mostly wooden pallets, donated by businesses interested in being socially involved. In addition, the products manufactured in the carpentry are marketed to businesses and individuals who wish to contribute and give back to the community.
