Mohamed Ali is Parallelo‘s adorable young tailor. He is an artisan, an entrepreneur, and also a refugee.
You’ve never heard of Parallelo? It’s a creative and inclusive workshop in Castellanza (province of Varese), founded in 2017 by a group of friends. We think it’s a wonderful project, sustainable, as well as socially useful.
Objective: to give new life to an asset confiscated from the Mafia and to promote the working and social inclusion of vulnerable people – regardless of sex, gender, race or ethnicity.
Motto: useful and sustainable craft products made by runaways… from every Parallelo. And Mohamed is just one of those runaways, who works miracles with his sewing machine and creates backpacks and aprons with salvaged fabrics and leather. Superpowers: tenacity, humanity and creativity!
Arriving from Gambia in 2014, he began his adventure at Parallelo even before it was officially open, as a student first and as a teacher later. “I love it here, helping people has always been my dream. This is a good opportunity for my students, I have high hopes for their future.”
Thanks to the workshops and services offered by the store, the kids are also able to form new relationships with people living in the area. At Parallelo, Mohamed has found economic independence and a job with meaning, and great social impact. That’s why he fully embraced its philosophy, so much so that he became a partner at the end of last year.
Well done Mohamed!