Country: Iran

Project duration: August 2017 - July 2020

Funding body: European Commission (CSO Programme)

Partnership: SPASDI - Society for the Protection and Assistance of Socially Disadvantaged Individuals (Applicant), CORC, CURACI and Legacoop (Associates), Halièus

Brief description:

The project aims at strengthening agricultural cooperatives in the province of Bam through the promotion of inclusive processes of sustainable development. The project supports the capacity of cooperatives to respond to the needs and aspirations of rural producers in the Bam area (particularly active in date production), through product enhancement and marketing services and extensive production services.  At the same time, the capacity of cooperatives to participate and guide the creation of local development plans is strengthened, involving public actors and other civil society organizations, in a cross-sector perspective, particularly with tourism and culture in view of the historical and cultural value of the Bam area (the citadel of Bam is a UNESCO site).

The project involves as associates the Organizations of Iranian agricultural cooperatives (CORC and CURACI) together with Legacoop, in order to ensure that the project moves within the framework of strengthening relations between the Italian cooperative movement and the cooperatives of the partner countries.

The project began from the interest raised by the cooperative enterprises of some sectors of Legacoop (particularly tourism and culture) towards the potential opened up by the sector. The project is the result of the work carried out together with the Laboratory in Impresa Cooperativa per la Progettazione Europea at the University of Rome La Sapienza, professor Francesca Ottolenghi, following the collaboration agreement between La Sapienza and Legacoop. The students of the course were involved in writing the project as a practical exercise in project cycle management.

Website: https://spring.spasdi.ir/