From Barconi to BarConi ice cream shop.
They arrived in Sicily from Gambia, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, their stories are difficult but in Palermo they found a safe place, starting a career almost a year ago, from Barconi, the moltevolti social ice cream parlor and pastry shop, a social enterprise in the heart of the Ballarò district.
Malick, Leslie and Christine are in their early twenties and
since the opening of Barconi they have embarked on a path of empowerment, training and apprenticeship which aims to acquire the skills to learn how to manage an ice cream and pastry shop.
A social project that aims to integrate young Palermitans with migrant men and women from Central Africa and the Maghreb.
"
For me the word 'Barconi' is associated with very bad memories, with my trip to the Mediterranean -
says
Alagie Malick, who takes care of the ice cream parlor together with Leslie and Christine
-
yet this word today means hope.
I was 16 when I set out on the road and it took me five months to reach Pozzallo, it was very hard.
But today I'm in charge of an ice cream parlor and this too gives me hope".
A year of study, dedication and passion which, despite some difficulties, proved to be extremely positive for the whole team: "I learned many new things - continues Malick - and I was entrusted with an important role: that of manager.
I learned how to serve ice cream, manage the till, and much more, but the thing that has always struck me is the trust that has been placed in us right from the start.
Migrants are often seen only as people to be helped, not as people who can do something
and who have value.
I hope that one day Barconi can open all over the world.
Who knows, maybe one day we will open our ice cream parlor in Palermo or in our countries, in Ghana, in Mali, or in the Ivory Coast or wherever we would like". On Saturday
1st April, after a brief seasonal closure, Barconi will reopen its doors
.
To enrich the offer, in addition to the ice cream, there will also be a small production of sweets, cakes and leavened breakfast products by the chef of Moltivolti Antonio Campo and the pastry chef Mara Gorgone.
Barconi is a bar-ice cream parlor and a social enterprise project realized thanks to the support of the Fred Foundation based in the Netherlands and the Swiss Haiku Lugano Foundation, which makes use of the technical support of Antonio Cappadonia, one of the best known master ice cream makers in Italy, winner of countless awards and recognitions that has recently developed its format of artisanal ice cream parlors in Palermo.
The restaurant aims to become a meeting point for tourists, patrons of the market and inhabitants of the neighborhood to enjoy an excellent homemade ice cream in a special corner of Ballarò, Mediterranean square, a place rescued from neglect,
