Two clear aims shaped its creation: to generate jobs for individuals facing social exclusion and to safeguard the surrounding land and farms. The outcomes speak loudly, with Jordi Balari, director of the MANS cooperative, dubbing them the Esade or IESE of placement initiatives for their effectiveness.
Nine years ago, Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera launched MANS as a job-creation project tailored for people navigating difficult professional, social, and economic circumstances. The mission is simple yet powerful: raise living standards so participants can build a better future. The mechanism is practical and transformative—cultivating and marketing organic fruits to help Catalan farms sustain profitable operations.
Balari recalls that when the cooperative was founded in 2013, the team saw an opportunity to democratize organic products by improving both access and price. “Organic fruits and vegetables used to be scarce in large supermarkets and priced high,” he notes.
The venture began with a contract with the Bon Preu supermarket chain and partnerships with various allies to secure a steady supply of organic produce under the MANS brand. As time passed, it became clear that broader collaboration was needed. Today, organic fruits and vegetables originate from Horts de Sant Benet in Bages, from the Palafolls gardens of the Molí d’en Puigvert Foundation, and from the production of 41 farmers across Catalonia. Expanding its reach, MANS now distributes to Aldi, Carrefour, Condis, Supermercats Pujol, and several online retailers, aiming to market more than 1.5 million pounds of fruit and vegetables this year, always aligned with seasonal cycles.
Ecological leadership thrives at the core of the operation. The co‑op’s managers emphasize fair compensation for fieldwork while maximizing production efficiency. They insist on maintaining strong standards for product features and calibers, having even signed an agreement with Aneto to prevent waste from subpar items. In practice, this means vegetables needed by the Aneto group to produce organic broth are sourced directly from the MANS workshop.
All kinds of backpacks
More than 150 individuals have passed through MANS, referred by social services and private foundations to prepare fruits and vegetables for distribution. Presently, the cooperative employs 33 people, offering paid work, a respectful workplace, and access to recognized education.
When new arrivals join, they are guided through onboarding tutorials that cover basics like punctuality, cleanliness, and teamwork, as well as professional training such as food processing and product conversion courses.
Balari notes that participants come with diverse backgrounds, ranging from survivors of gender-based violence to young people and even long‑term unemployed individuals over 50. “Often, the best doorway to a job is to start working,” he says.
Most participants stay for about a year to a year and a half. The program’s success lies in helping individuals transition into conventional employment promptly. Yet the cooperative faces a challenge: maintaining market demand while managing ongoing staff turnover and training cycles.
Balari explains that the larger aim is to help as many people as possible, while acknowledging the practical consequence of continual onboarding. When a trained worker moves on, it is necessary to train a replacement from scratch. This is a constant balancing act between social impact and production stability.
On the environmental front, MANS has introduced the first biodegradable packaging designed for their organic produce. This innovation earned recognition at the WorldStar Packaging Awards and was showcased at the Barcelona Design Museum. The switch away from plastic is substantial, eliminating more than five tons of plastic annually.
The director is frank about future challenges: the project has room to grow, and there is potential to expand both its social reach and its market footprint. The path forward is clear—continue offering meaningful work, broaden partnerships, and scale sustainable packaging and distribution to meet demand while keeping social impact at the forefront.