1. The RomRecycle Project of Empowerment, Education and Ecological Awareness

RomRecycle Project objectives are empowerment, education and ecological awareness
Specific objectives: To educate the Roma on ecology and recycling.  To give them hands on training in the production of furniture, instruments and art. Project designed to provide a new means of sustainable living and craft.

The target groups are the Roma communities in the EU.  The training and education will be open to all (men, women, children, disabled and elderly).

Main activities: education, workshops and hands on training on ecology, recycling and furniture design and restoration, crafts and instruments.

The purpose of the project is to provide creative experiences which educate and empower the Roma populations by giving them the knowledge, skills and guidance to create products from recycled and found materials. The project would be an innovative way of educating the Roma communities about ecology and sustainability, by teaching them skills which they can later use to better there lives and improve their living conditions.  This project’s purpose is to in short term create socializing between artists, designers, ecologists and the local Roma communities through joint creative actions, then to through education and hands on training teach them new crafts . On the long term, the purpose of the project is to create a new means of earning a living, while providing tangible skills to be competitive in the future ecological age.

The situation of the Roma communities in Croatia, like in most of Europe is quite grim.   The Roma have in many societies been stigmatized and marginalized and unable to integrate due to lack of education and general ignorance of the local populations.  There exists a great amount of discrimination and fear in regards to the Roma.  This attitude towards the community makes it extremely hard for the Roma to find employment, integrate on a social level and be part of the greater communities and active members in the cities and countries in which they live.

The Roma suffer from prejudice, lack of education, substance abuse, dire living conditions and apathy towards their future due to the lack of opportunities provided for them.  They remain mainly at the fringes of society, misunderstood ignored and often persecuted.
The problems to be address by this action are education, integration and self-sustainability through ecology and recycling.  This project is inclusive of every member in the community.