Social Cooperative “Kacze bagno”

Best practice example of YOUTH social enterprise/initiative!

https://www.facebook.com/KaczeBagnoMiejsceInicjatywPozytywnych/

The Kacze Bagno Social Cooperative – Place of Positive Initiatives was established in August 2014. Thanks to the participation in the project “Become a social entrepreneur” co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund implemented by the ESWIP Association from Elbląg, we received grants for the creation of a cooperative of legal persons, which is created by the Kacze Bagno Foundation and the Psychoeducational Foundation ASPIRACJE. We managed to rebuild the old garage into a beautiful Ceramics Studio, where workshops of clay molding, turning on a potter’s wheel and traditional bread baking take place. We have traditional clay and straw ovens for firing ceramics and baking bread, and a multi-functional electric and heating stove. The cooperative conducts artistic and development activities for groups (from walking on stilts and playing drums to training in interpersonal skills, social economy and leadership and animation), as well as the production and sale of beautiful furniture from pallets (tables, seats, etc.). We also animate at festivals and parties as colorful clowns, paint children’s faces and perform with a fire theater. The cooperative currently employs 5 people.

Kacze Bagno – The Place of Positive Initiatives is a unique place on earth, which was created out of the heart, it is a space that allows you to discover and pursue your passions! Kacze Bagno is an independent center of education, animation and culture, created in a building after an old barn, where various groups (youth and adults) come to play and learn together. It is a modern and original educational project, based on the assumptions of alternative pedagogy, social animation, sociotherapy and maritime youth education, which consists in shaping the characters, developing personality, organizational and interpersonal skills. It triggers initiatives, inspires, stimulates the imagination, integrates, amuses and teaches. Here, young people and those slightly older feel the satisfaction of a job well done, learn to believe in themselves, experience an adventure. They decide and create themselves, and WE – the crew of the Duck Swamp, accompany them in their activities, supporting their ideas and willingness. After a few hours of work, they put on theater performances, play concerts or dance with fire. They eat their own baked bread, watch a music video or film they have recorded, or dance on stilts. They talk in a circle about their day, what they would like to learn tomorrow, what they like best and what they would like to change. They learn to communicate and work in a team. They live in a group.