Social economy

ViaProfi is a heartfelt project we created for our friends at Profi. We set out to build an interactive map of local producers in Romania so that together we can support local communities and businesses. By 2025 we will be present in all counties of the country (13 are missing for now). Through this platform, consumers can easily discover producers in their area and choose to buy fresh and authentic products directly from the source.

building.a.home is a social and inclusive housing project, conceived for and developed together with UnLoc / Hope Empowerment Foundation. The project transforms reclaimed and refurbished shipping containers into small modular dwellings, adapted and equipped to cover all the needs of a home. The idea came out of a desire to make a difference in the arduous process of deinstitutionalization of adults with disabilities and to provide an alternative to living in segregated state institutions. The current beneficiaries are people with an institutionalized background, neglected and struggling on the verge of poverty. Three residents have already started independent living in the building.a.home. The project aims to grow and be replicated both in Timisoara and in other cities, being a prototype of alternative housing that responds to the needs of people at risk, on the verge of poverty, migrants, students and other social groups.

Rezidența Antreprenorială UniCredit este o inițiativă dragă nouă, menită să sprijine tinerii antreprenori și startup-urile creative. Până acum am implementat proiectul în Timișoara, Iași, Cluj, Oradea și, în 2026, Brașov, oferind sesiuni de mentorat, consultanță personalizată și un spațiu fizic pentru un pop-up dorind să fim alături de cei care își urmează visurile și aduc un plus de valoare comunităților în care activează. Credem cu tărie că fiecare idee are potențialul de a face o diferență, iar misiunea noastră este să oferim suportul și încurajarea necesare pentru ca acest lucru să se întâmple. Toată vara 2026 vom ajunge la Brașov, alături de partenerii noștri Iceberg, Primăria Brașov & Cattia. Detalii și formular de înscriere.

ONE.shirt is a social enterprise dedicated to integrating and supporting vulnerable individuals in the labor market. Through a zero-waste workshop, ONE.shirt develops practical and manual skills among these individuals by repurposing unwanted textiles, thereby reducing their negative environmental impact. The workshop promotes a sustainable approach to the fashion industry by transforming textile waste into unique, high-quality garments. Complementing this mission, the accessory brand WAESTE wear expands the sustainability concept by creating products from production scraps and unwanted textiles. This brand capitalizes on leftover materials from the production process, turning them into innovative and sustainable accessories that perfectly align with ONE.shirt's zero-waste philosophy. Together, ONE.shirt and WAESTE wear represent a blend of social inclusion and ecological responsibility, supporting the circular economy and inspiring positive change in communities and the textile industry. These initiatives demonstrate that a sustainable future is achievable through creativity, solidarity, and respect for the environment.

The pandemic has fundamentally changed us on all levels. It changed us on a personal level, it changed the way we relate to the world, to information, to people. It changed our businesses. It has changed our priorities. It has changed the way we think and relate to the idea of community. As a consequence of these changes, the pandemic has also highlighted a significant problem: the growing need for meeting spaces, individual work spaces and adaptable operating models. Our response to this problem was building.a.community. This project serves as a living laboratory and model of sustainability, providing a flexible space for creative entrepreneurs and social innovators. Utilizing recycled shipping containers and natural materials, buidling.a.community creates an environment conducive to collaboration and community activities, responding in this way to the needs and problems faced by the Timisoara community.

AMBASADA is a social economy structure founded by the PLAI Cultural Center in 2015, with the aim of supporting local communities focused on positive impact in the creative and non-profit sectors. As an independent cultural center, AMBASADA is the first of its kind in Romania and part of the international network TransEurope Halles. Recently, it also became the founder of a new entrepreneurial structure, Faber, which continues the mission of preserving and valuing the local industrial heritage. In 2020, as part of the Cultural and Creative Spaces and Cities project, AMBASADA launched a community garden in the Azur yard. Responding to feedback from its active community, it later transformed this space into a hybrid work and meeting area: building.a.community.

PLAI Festival is more than just a music festival. In fact, it represents an innovative project for civic and cultural education, wrapped in the form of an artistic event. Since its inauguration in 2006 at the Banat Village Museum in Timișoara, the festival has grown organically, based on a community of volunteers dedicated to positive social change. Music serves as a pretext to promote and infuse values such as volunteerism, sustainability, and collaboration into the community. PLAI has become a meeting and celebration space for cultural diversity, supported by a vast network of non-profit organizations and creative entities, and continues to be a source of inspiration for participants of all ages to get involved and contribute to the well-being of the community.