Building to rebuild one’s self

The project and its aims

The aim of the Entropie project is to offer “supported independent production” courses to people described as members of “severely excluded groups”. These people, who are in socially difficult positions with little hope for gaining employment, are put up in an apartment (through Totem, a partner of the project) following a period of drifting. Very often, the smallness of the accommodation offered to these people and the trouble they have taking control of their new living spaces hamper efforts to make the solution long-lasting.

In this context, workshops are offered to enable the people to make furniture they need for themselves, thus helping to improve their living conditions and create an uplifting and suitable living environment.

These courses, each lasting 40 hours, give people an opportunity to educate themselves in eco-design and woodwork. By acquiring technical and methodological skills in a supervised workshop, they improve their prospects of gaining fresh footholds in society and the working world.

With this in mind, the association forges partnerships with various local bodies for the collection of material. The idea is to design practical, durable and ingenious furniture by encouraging creativity and originality so as to demonstrate that re-employment can be both environmentally-friendly and a source of inspiration that can add genuine value to the items produced.

Lastly, since the process of “social reintegration” also entails changing the ways other people view these people in difficulty, the Entropie project intends to promote the creations made at the workshops to the general public at local level. An exhibition of works will be held, showcasing the quality of the output and the paths of the participants in order to encourage similar approaches to preparing people for re-employment.