From Hand to Hand: The cooperative that clears out homes and provides work for disadvantaged people.

A concrete contribution to combating the waste that accumulates in our homes. And a job opportunity for those who can't find one.

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Clear out homes where forgotten and unused items accumulate, create a business based on second-hand goods, and provide jobs for disadvantaged people.

Di Mano in Mano isn't just a website offering an endless supply of cheap used items for all budgets. It's also not just a cooperative. Founded in 1999, it began by clearing out houses and basements, and over time has become a small universe of work and opportunities centered around the fight against waste and the recovery of used items that we often abandon, distracted by the passing of time.mind, in our homes.

The activity of From Hand to Hand, The cooperative, which today has 64 members and 46 employees, all paid the same wages, operates along three main lines. The first is the original one: a free apartment or office clearance service, with 100 vans available to those who request the cooperative's assistance. The second area is purchasing: if a customer wishes to sell an item, from furniture to paintings, from furnishings to dinnerware and cutlery, they can contact Di Mano in Mano's experts, obtain an appraisal, and, if successful, proceed with the sale. The third area, developed more recently, is restoration of antiques and modern antiques.

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The story of Di Mano in Mano begins with a slogan: And since its inception in 1999, the cooperative has always remained faithful to this motto. It has enabled the recovery and valorization of many objects, not wasting them, but above all caring for the people who have found, through the cooperative's activities, the opportunity to rebuild their lives and not waste them. Every year, new young people are recruited, almost always disadvantaged people, including immigrants seeking employment and housing, and since its inception, the cooperative has awarded 700 scholarships to enable recipients to learn a trade and then find work. To effectively assist the most vulnerable, the cooperative collaborates with Milan's Social Services, Caritas, the Ministry of Justice, and various local associations.

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The highlights of the cooperative's catalogue are generally furniture and objects of vintage decorBut they're not the only ones. In just one year, 2021, the cooperative's employees have recovered (and in some cases restored) 20,000 books, which they then resold in one of the cooperative's Milan stores. The cooperative's most important store is located in the Certosa area of ​​Milan: it's called , with over 5,000 square meters of warehouse space and 2.000 items always on display. Alternatively, there's a constantly updated catalog for online purchases.

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