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Atelier Groot Eiland

Atelier Groot Eiland aims to support as many Brussels residents as possible who are seriously distanced from the labour market in their search for work and professional (re)integration. The organisation offers work experience, pre-training, employment support and job coaching in learning workshops in order to further develop the skills of its employees. Local production and sustainability go hand in hand with social entrepreneurship. The initiators of Atelier Groot Eiland are using this approach to tackle the high rate of unemployment and to combat poverty from their home base in Molenbeek.

For more than 30 years, Atelier Groot Eiland has been committed to giving as many people as possible a chance on the labour market. The aim is to increase their opportunity of starting a vocational training course resulting in a qualification and of successfully applying for a paid, decent job, with a view to eventual (re)integration in the regular employment circuit. In addition, Atelier Groot Eiland can also serve as a professional orientation and redynamisation tool for employees. Atelier Groot Eiland focuses on people who are seriously distanced from the labour market, the underprivileged, the long-term unemployed and the low-skilled in Brussels. Potential employees are referred to Atelier Groot Eiland via the VDAB, the Brussels employment service Actiris or the OCMW. After a standard training or work experience programme lasting eight months, they leave the atelier and can move on to a vocational training course that ends in a qualification, a social workplace or the regular labour market. Atelier Groot Eiland also offers employment support for people who cannot, are not yet able to or can no longer be employed in the paid labour market due to medical, mental, psychiatric, social or multiple problems.
The organisation operates from Molenbeek, the commune with the second lowest average income in Belgium. Its aim is to respond directly to the high rates of unemployment and poverty suffered by many Molenbeek families, by offering work experience, by increasing the visibility of the neighbourhood through local tourism, and by representing the Molenbeek population vis-à-vis the municipal administration. Atelier Groot Eiland consists of several projects that work as mini-companies. The Bel Mundo and RestoBEL restaurants, the Bel'O sandwich shop, the Klimop carpentry shop, the Bel Akker urban vegetable gardens and pick-your-own farms, The Food Hub organic shop, the creative workshop and the bakery of ArtiZan, each have their own employees and customers, and thus respond to the needs of different neighbourhoods in Brussels. Atelier Groot Eiland works closely with other partners in the welfare, training and employment sector and therefore benefits from a strong local network.
The team at Atelier Groot Eiland offers a sustainable learning environment. They combine ecology, short-chain and organic food production with the social economy and community involvement. In addition, they focus on the importance of solidarity and social neighbourhood dynamics, accessibility and affordability, both for employees and customers. This enables Atelier Groot Eiland to offer an alternative future for the urban labour market.

theme
making industry, learning, biodiversity, circularity, food, care
innovative aspects
organisational form, solidarity, good citizenship, cultural change, financing
scale
district, municipality


Atelier Groot Eiland in 1 minute
articleAtelier Groot Eiland in 1 minute
Atelier Groot Eiland offers work experience, pre-training, employment care and job coaching in apprenticeships to further develop the skills of its employees.


Atelier Groot Eiland in 1 minute


photo: bxl1, 2019

Reportage - Atelier Groot Eiland
videoReportage - Atelier Groot Eiland
Atelier Groot Eiland consists of several projects that work as mini-companies: the restaurants Bel Mundo and RestoBEL, the sandwich shop Bel'O, the carpentry Klimop, the city gardens and pick-your-own farms of Bel Akker, the bio shop The Food Hub, the creative workshop and the bakery of ArtiZan.


Reportage - Atelier Groot Eiland

Atelier Groot Eiland consists of several projects that work as mini-companies: the restaurants Bel Mundo and RestoBEL, the sandwich shop Bel'O, the carpentry Klimop, the city gardens and pick-your-own farms of Bel Akker, the bio shop The Food Hub, the creative workshop and the bakery of ArtiZan.



photo: Mammouth Media, 2019

Atelier Groot Eiland - Good Food ambassador
videoAtelier Groot Eiland - Good Food ambassador
The team at Atelier Groot Eiland offers a sustainable learning environment. They combine ecology, short-chain and organic food production with social economy and community involvement.


Atelier Groot Eiland - Good Food ambassador

The team at Atelier Groot Eiland offers a sustainable learning environment. They combine ecology, short-chain and organic food production with social economy and community involvement.



photo: Leefmilieu Brussel | Bruxelles Environnement, 2020

Atelier Groot Eiland: more than growing food in the city
articleAtelier Groot Eiland: more than growing food in the city
"The organisation started out in the early 1980s as a community centre where people came for a coffee or to cook for each other. Then it started receiving visitors and catering. The number of employees grew, studios were set up and the focus shifted to education."


Atelier Groot Eiland: more than growing food in the city


photo: Voedsel Anders Vlaanderen, 2020

Atelier Groot Eiland, the island at work
articleAtelier Groot Eiland, the island at work
"After carpentry and the hotel and catering industry ("two sectors in Brussels where there is a supply and where people, even those with little education, can find work at any time"), Atelier Groot Eiland is embarking on urban agriculture on a larger scale."


Atelier Groot Eiland, the island at work


photo: Anne Lebessi | La Libre