Fody is a company founded three years ago where people with disabilities or disadvantaged situations find a safe and educational environment to express their potential
Fody is the name of a beautiful little bird from Madagascar with vermilion red plumage and a black mask around its eyes. Despite being small, it creates very large community nests using nature’s waste, to also house other types of birds. And precisely because of its qualities, this special little winged creature, also called the flaming weaver, has become the symbol and name of a company founded three years ago in Pistoia, an innovative benefit start-up that successfully carries forward the values of sustainability and working inclusiveness of people with disabilities. Vilma, Daniele, Francesca, Giada, Eugenio and Serena are just some of the artisans who, after a training course, have learned to give new life to textile waste: cotton, wool, silk and other high quality Italian fibres. Lorenzo Traversari, a young educator from Fody (@fodyfabrics and www.fodyfabrics.com) tells Panorama.it about the wonder of this project.
“We chose this lively Malagasy bird because it represents us completely: we too give new life to waste, in our case textiles, through work inclusion and training courses, aimed at people with disabilities, who are committed to learning a trade, that of the artisan. It is they who create the products (shoppers, backpacks, bags and beach bags) which are then sold. This allows us to carry forward the key principles of Fody.”
Work inclusion and eco-sustainability
“Fody aims to make people understand that what today is considered – and I want to emphasize the quotation marks – “useless”, such as people with disabilities considered unemployable, can actually learn a trade and become a precious active resource. Likewise, textile waste does not necessarily have to be eliminated, but it can be given new value by recycling, also because the fabrics we use are all of high quality, often simply discarded because they haven’t finished the production process.”
How was Fody born?
“Luca Freschi, entrepreneur and business designer, decides to try to create a business that can have a positive impact on society and founds Fody, starting to implement the first small steps. At the beginning the reality made itself known among the various local businesses, but it is not yet on social media, because disability is a very delicate topic to bring to these channels. The right tact and correct skills are needed. For this reason, in February 2024, he contacted me on Instagram (I disseminate information about young people with disabilities) and asks me to join forces to create something more powerful. We are from the same city and after a deep chat we discover that we have the same ideals and share the same goals. Behind Fody there are other people who are committed to carrying forward the project, each with their own share of expertise. An important thing to know is that the training courses are free for the kids, everything is paid for by us, and we provide both the educator and the professional who teaches the trade to children. Now there are about fifteen artisans, but the idea is to bring Fody to other cities too. We really believe in networking, collaborating with people and being able to create something beautiful together. The progressive expansion of the project has generated a lot of interest from various subjects: companies in the textile sector have started to contact us more and more often, and the desire to create jobs for people with problems. This allowed us to make our vision economically sustainable.”
Do you work every day of the week?
“The workshops are held from Monday to Friday and are almost always in time slots. There are those who start only once a week, and then slowly reach three and already reach a good goal. Those who start immediately with four days, however, need more time to learn the task. Each path is individual and based on the abilities and potential of each child. Many resources and a lot of time are needed before arriving at complete autonomous learning of the creation of the product. There are various steps, and many have activated an inclusive internship that allows them to enhance their work through a monthly financial compensation. As soon as autonomy is achieved, there can be hiring.”
Is there a particular story of any guy you would like to share?
“There is a small anecdote, but it is very significant about what we are creating. A boy with Down syndrome, Francesco, came to us with little familiarity with craftsmanship, only to then, after some time, learn to use the sewing machine almost perfectly. When his parents saw him at work, they thanked us with tears in their eyes. The gratitude was mainly for having been able to give him back his trust. When you demonstrate that the child, with any disability, can improve, the flame of hope is rekindled in the parent.”
Another beautiful project of yours consists of making blankets that you give to the homeless and to shelters
“Exactly, it is one of the other great objectives of Fody, indeed, it is the reason why it was initially born. Using textile waste we manufacture blankets to donate them free of charge to the homeless, refugees, kennels and catteries. We collaborate with many local associations, such as the Green Cross for their distribution at a national and international level. Together with the virtuous companies who have decided to support our project, we have already donated over 30,000 covers.”
What is the most powerful message that Fody wants to spread?
“Since we started to show the improvements that a person with a disability can have, many people have written to us saying that we have inspired them, that we have opened their eyes. We are starting to have a new, different awareness, and therefore there is a need to show how much beauty can come into play when we talk about the least fortunate. It is right to demonstrate all the shortcomings in society regarding disability, but it is equally important to give voice to the potential of young people. The best message we want to give is that young people do not they need our pity, we don’t want to convey pietistic content. They don’t want to say: “we need your help because we are disadvantaged!”. They simply want an opportunity to show, despite their disadvantages, the value and great potential they have, and which often, unfortunately, we get used to not seeing.”
