A group of some 50 refugees
from Ethiopia, Nigeria and Somalia have set up a farming
cooperative in Sardinia, officials said Friday.
The refugees are all former farmers who fled war and land
seizures in their home countries, ending up in Italy.
Their cooperative is named Warwii (Farmland) and they are
growing vegetables, strawberries, and olives on abandoned land
near the northeastern Sardinian village of Muros, population
just over 800, after authorities granted them use of the land
for six years.
"We don't want to go about asking for money or charity,"
Warwii representative Cheikh Diankha told ANSA.
"We know how to work the land and when this possibility was
offered to us we jumped at it".
The coop - which came about thanks to the Movida project
for immigrant integration - also means a chance to learn new
techniques in view of a return home when conditions permit,
Diankha added.
Movida has involved local chambers of commerce and
Coldiretti national farmers' association in its integration
efforts.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
