Professional ice cream making courses in prison to offer a concrete possibility of redemption: the national project “IT IS SUSTAINED in prison” promoted by Soroptimist International of Italy which sees the partnership renewed with Fabbri 1905. First stop at Milan San Vittorenext steps of the training path: the female sections of the prisons of Genoa, Vigevano, Milan Bollate, Mantua and Bologna. For Fabbri 1905, a new step in its commitment to equal opportunities and female entrepreneurship.

The project was born in 2017 with the aim of promoting reintegration into society through
the acquisition of skills that can be used in a practical way on the job market, such as those in ice cream making, which are particularly appreciated not only for their employment potential, but also for the use of ice cream in the daily menus of prisons. Those who learn a trade have a much better chance of making it once they leave prison.: according to a recent report by the Cnel, only 2% of prisoners who have had the opportunity to find a professional position return to committing crimes, compared to an average of nearly 70%. In the case of women, work represents a further opportunity for “freedom”, for emancipation from marginal conditions, which often represent a cage even outside prison.

The first stage of the professional training course in artisanal ice cream making, held by Pink Pinascoowner of an ice cream shop in Genoa and for 8 years “ambassador” of Fabbri 1905 and trainer of the international professional school Fabbri Masterclass, left Milan last June, atICAM – San Vittore Reduced Custody Prisonwhere mother prisoners live with their children (up to 6 years old). They attended the course five young mothersall foreigners, who during the three days of training learned the theoretical and practical foundations of the profession, with one-to-one demonstrations to make ice cream, from the preparation of white bases, fruit bases, vanilla, variegated, hazelnut, sorbets, up to the presentation and portioning of ice creams with cones and cups. At the end of the course the participants received a Fabbri Master Class certificateusable in the restaurant and ice cream sector, always open to new hires, including seasonal ones.

The commitment in the ice cream shop does not end with the course: thanks to the professional machine donated by the two Soroptimist Club from Milanthe inmates will now prepare ice cream for their children, giving them a moment of happiness and lightheartedness. But the dream is another: “our desire – said Paola Pizzaferri, Soroptimist Representative and Coordinator of the national project – would be to sell ice cream outside the prison, to all the Milanese, taking advantage of the central position of the ICAM and creating a small sales point open to the public. We will work on it in the coming months. The Project has in fact its strong point in the Institutional Protocol signed with the Department of Penitentiary Administration of the Ministry of Justice (DAP), which has as its ultimate goal that of offering a path of empowerment, growth and self-sufficiency to women in prison, who can only find freedom of choice in work and economic autonomy once they leave prison”.

Meanwhile, the tour of ice cream courses to train new professionals continues: the second stage took place from July 15, at the Pontedecimo Prison in Genoa; then, from July 22, it will be the turn of the Vigevano Prison; two appointments in October: from the 7th at the Milan Bollate Prison and from the 28th at the Mantua Prison; finally, the school year will close from November 11th at the Bologna Prison.