LE MAT – Special Places, Special People, Special ValuesA SOCIAL BRAND to mainstream SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP in TOURISM
by Renate Goergen – President and brand manager LE MAT EUROPEand Daniel Lindgren – Director LE MAT SWEDEN
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
“Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue economic sustainability and social responsibility”Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General
Social co-operatives developed since the 80ties in Italy, than all over Europe, and work in the general interest of the communities for a more sustainable and inclusive development….they create not only jobs in many economic sectors and social and democratic capacities for members and workers and specially for people with lower social opportunities….
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change. Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps….ASHOKA
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
The Le Mat people set up social co-operatives because they are social entrepreneurs, love collective owned and community shared businesses, like a more sustainable and inclusive development, want to do a work they like and have an equal salary, want to be independent and take their own decisions…
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
We wanted to show the world of social entrepreneurs to everybodyWe wanted social entrepreneurship to become more
touchable,visible,
shareable, traceable, open to everybody, we wanted to attract new people,have new friends and clients and show our abilities
AND SOME YEARS AGO SOME OF US HAD A NEW IDEA!!!!!!
And so we opened a Hotel in an abandoned old building owned by a local bank…
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
We discovered to be good in welcoming and including people from abroad
We discovered that Travellers like SPECIAL PLACES, SPECIAL PEOPLE, SPECIAL VALUES
We discovered to be able to tell our stories about social entrepreneurship, active citizenship, empowerment, recovery
IT WAS A HARD BUT EXITING WORK!!!!!!
We learned to be a SPECIAL PLACE and a INNOVATIVE TOURISTIC PRODUCT!!!!!
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
Le Mat's social entrepreneurs like tourism to be something more than spending free time and consuming new adventures, more than a specialized industry. We like tourism as an opportunity to restore communities and landscapes… a tourism able to open minds towards those who are different from us, a tourism where you meet people and where you can listen to the thousands of stories and cultures of a local community and where the local community is curious to meet, to exchange and to welcome who comes from abroad, discovering unknown methods, thoughts and actions…
LOGO vs
BELLUNO, 10 febbraio 2012
10
We decided that ACCOGLIENZA and SUSTAINABLE TOURISM had to be our job, our business model!
We developed our competences, the organization, the marketing concepts…
We knew to be UNIQUE but we had to stabilize our product, the services…
We wanted travellers to come back, to guarantee always the same quality…
We developed MANUALS, METHODOLOGIES, WE DISTILLED many different experiences…..
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
AND ANOTHER IDEA CAME UP!!!!!!
STANDARDIZING THE UNIQUENESS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS??????!!!!!!!!
WE NEED A HOTEL CHAIN of Social Entrepreneurs - WORLDWIDE
OUR BUSINESS MODEL FUNCTIONS!MAYBE IT IS REPEATABLE, IMITABLE???????
We develop a SOCIAL BRAND!!!!!!!
We replicate and control as a FRANCHISOR!!!!!!!!!!!
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
“If somebody uses resources merely “to reinvent the wheel”, it is rightly considered as a waste. Yet, the systematic replication of projects in the non-profit sector still remains the exception to the rule. This is understandable - many players in the so-called third sector rightly see themselves as “social change agents” – as an outlet for innovation. They prefer to focus their energies on the development of new approaches. Imitating those of others is considered as “not sexy”. The result is one pilot project after the other. Many prototypes, but few replications.The potential gains offered by the scaling up of successful prototypes into other places, have largely been neglected. There are, nevertheless, those exceptions to the rule that show the following: Systematic replication with local adaptation not only leads to greater efficiency and faster expansion. A well-organised replication process can lead to intelligent project networks with positive qualitative effects.”
Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen
FRANCHISING – SOMETHING NEW FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS!
LOGO vs
BELLUNO, 10 febbraio 2012
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LE MAT EUROPE - a cooperative based on SWEDISH LAW - was the next step in 2008
LE MAT ITALY was set up by Social Co-operatives and Social Entrepreneurs in 2005.WE wanted to be owners of our BRAND
AND the replication process towards LE MAT SWEDEN could start!!!!
LOGO vs
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Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
LE MAT today is a sexy brand standing for
social entrepreneurship in tourism owned and developed by social
entrepreneurs in Europe and can – as a social franchise system –
be replicated in a very unique waywherever there are social entrepreneurs
who want to imitate it
LOGO vs
OFFICINA LE MAT – BARI – 17 FEBBRAIO 2011
THE SOCIAL FRANCHISING PROCESSStep by step by step by step by step by step…..
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
LE MAT ITALY IS WORKING in ITALY and there are already 19 SPECIAL PLACES offering LE MAT ACCOMODATION and TOURISM PRODUCTSwww.lemat.it
LE MAT SWEDEN is working in SWEDEN and 2 LE MAT B&Bs are already open www.lemat.se
LE MAT EUROPE is working in UK, BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA and GERMANY and contacts started in POLAND, and SPAIN……
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
WHAT IS A SPECIAL PLACE LE MAT????
Guests feel to be in middle of social entrepreneurs, their colleagues and friends, their local network: the feel to discover not only traditional tourist sides but a SPECIAL WAY OF LIVE!
Travellers find a lot of information not only about the surroundings but about relationships, the functioning of the co-operative, the costumers etc, a good (equal) and traceable price, no physical, psychical, sensorial and cultural barriers…..
The beds are really good, the breakfast is excellent and very nice people give the welcome
A Hotel, a Hostel, a B&B, a ship, a restaurant….a UNIQUE PLACE, managed by UNIQUE PEOPLE and SPECIAL VALUES!
The traveller feels included in the community, as a citizen for a while
The quality card of THAT UNIQUE LE MAT and information about all the OTHER LE MAT are available and you can become member of the Travellers’ Association Le Mat!
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
HOW YOU CAN BECOME A SPECIAL PLACE LE MAT- You have to want it and to ask it- You read the MANIFESTO LE MAT and we tell you about all the services
and advantages there will be in becoming a LE MAT- You are asked to give a self description of your organization and your
plans- We agree a visit, we analyse your project (the already existing
hotel/hostel or your needs and ideas to open one)- We write a proposal about all the next steps you need to become a LE
MAT SPECIAL PLACE and the costs of our consultancies- You agree and we sign the contract TOWARDS BECOMING A LE MAT- At the end of the process you receive the TARGA, you pay your annual
fee related to the services you want and need and one a year we come and control!
If you don’t have the money to restore and/or to pay the training and consultancy services we help you to find the money!
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE….
Some really good partners as:COOPFOND, BANCA ETICA, REVES, THE LOCAL PARTNERS OF OUR MEMBERS
Competences and know how, Handbooks, a registered BRAND, already a lot of travellers, travel agents promoting the LE MAT TRAVEL PRODUCTS, a business model and business plans, a technical staff of consultants…..
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
WHAT WE NEED …….SPACE and BUILDINGS: we would like to use the ABANDONED BUILDINGS (private or public), the property of MAFIA and ORGANIZED CRIME, all the COMMUNITY ASSETS in order to turn them to value
RISK MONEY – CREDITS and START UP CAPITAL:ABANDONED BUILDINGS have to be restored and we need some time in the start-up period to teach how to become a Le Mat and bring the guests and travellers
Brussels, the 26° of June 2012
WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS:• A SPECIAL PLACE LE MAT in EACH SOCIAL
ENTERPRISE• A LE MAT FRANCHISE SYSTEM IN EACH
EUROPEAN COUNTRY• A CENTRALIZED BOOKING SYSTEM
AT THE MOMENT YOU CAN TRAVEL LE MAT ALREADY TO:
BECOME A LE MAT TRAVELLER!
