Lazzarelle: the association that employs former inmates in the coffee roasting plant.

Sofia was an inmate in the women's prison in Pozzuoli, in the province of Naples, when every morning she savored the sweet aroma of coffee. "Where does it come from?" she asked the prison guards. "From a small coffee roasting workshop here in the prison," was the reply. And then Sofia, accustomed to smelling only the smell of iron, contacted the two founders of Lazzarelle Cooperative, Imma Carpiniello and Paola Pizzo asked if they could add her to the team working at the artisanal coffee roasting facility inside the women's prison in Pozzuoli. The response was positive, and today Sofia is part of a team of 70 workers who prepare coffee for the Lazzarelle cooperative. There, she met, among others, NatashaAfter starting work at the coffee roasting plant, he was able to find external work at the bistro run by the cooperative in the center of Naples. At the same time, he resumed his university studies. Recounting his experience, he emphasized that the difference was not just finding a job, but being able to build skills and credibility. before  of the end of the sentence: "The end of the sentence would have come anyway and I would have gotten out, but without a job what prospects would I have found?"

The main activities of the Lazzarelle cooperative include:

• Job placement: offers training and employment to female prisoners, former prisoners, victims of violence, migrants, and other vulnerable people, using work as a tool for autonomy and inclusion. 
• Artisan coffee production: selects and roasts quality coffee, also collaborating with fair trade cooperatives to source raw materials. 
• Restaurant and catering activities: runs a bistro in Naples, in the Galleria Principe di Napoli, a social catering service and an artisanal pastry shop, creating further training and employment opportunities. 
• Training courses and social projects: creates professional courses (for example in cooking, hospitality, and digital skills), collaborates with schools, and participates in national and European projects dedicated to workplace inclusion. 

Over time, the cooperative's activities have expanded significantly and now include, in addition to prisoners, immigrant women, who are identified through other associations that specifically work with migrants.

Today the association's website demonstrates the existence of a very rich catalogue of products and initiatives such as the  “E ja' facimmo 'o ccafè” campaign, On the first anniversary of the suspension of activities inside the Pozzuoli prison, the cooperative launched a commercial featuring actors Lino Musella and Marisa Laurito. The campaign showcases the project's continuity despite the prison's evacuation due to the bradyseism of the Campi Flegrei and reiterates the message of work as a tool for freedom and inclusion.

The project is a candidate for the 2026 Non Sprecare Award, in the Associations section. To submit your projects, follow the instructions provided. here.

Image source: Coop Lazzarelle/Facebook

The projects competing for the 2026 edition of the Non sprecare Award:

• "Museum of Damage": A traveling project showcasing the waste we leave behind in the sea.
• "Enel & Caivano": a project to bring students from suburban schools closer to the workforce.
• Nourishing Biodiversity: Using art to introduce children to food sustainability