ExEat is a type B social cooperative founded in 2019 as a spin-off of the Patchanka Cooperative, which in 2013 had started the social restaurant “ExMattatoio” in Chieri and which it now manages – having also developed a catering and banqueting service – with the ambition of transforming a little-frequented area into a participatory place: through the involvement of various local entities, in fact, it offers accessible and free events and initiatives (concerts, DJ sets, small music festivals, book presentations, exhibitions, etc.) to “give back” the area to the citizens.
Starting in 2022, the Cooperative has developed, together with Coldiretti Torino and UeCoop Piemonte, the Hubbuffate project, an online platform dedicated to social agriculture that offers companies the possibility of: creating a digital showcase on the platform for free, uploading their experiences for free with ticketing management and online promotion; sell your products through a marketplace integrated into the platform, without having to manage an independent e-commerce, while Hubbuffate takes care of the logistics, payment and promotion of the marketplace; take part in events and festivals (Hubbuffate Festivals) in which to exhibit, sell your products and organize activities (e.g. workshops, tastings) directly to the public.
Since June 2023, it has managed the Alpe Bonze Refuge, at 1,860 meters above sea level in Donnas in the Aosta Valley, where it has welcomed disadvantaged young people for short periods of volunteering.
From today, Exeat can count on the support of Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore (or “FSVGDA”), which has invested €130,500 as part of “Impact4Coop”, the FSVGDA and Fondazione Cariplo program that is investing approximately 2MLN/€ to contribute to the capital strengthening and development of the cooperative sector. The investment was made with the aim of strengthening the financial bases of the Cooperative in view of achieving the development and social impact objectives pursued, in particular linked to the development of catering and social agriculture activities and the consequent increase in employment for disadvantaged people.
The capital increase was also achieved using the “Impact Grant”, an innovative financial instrument that allows part of the investment to be transformed into a non-repayable grant, in the event of achieving pre-agreed social impact objectives.