When a Marseille cloister becomes a campus for social businesses

In Marseille

When you enter Le Cloître, it is difficult to tell yourself that you are in the “north districts” of Marseille… The Saint-Bruno hill, which overlooks the city, is a haven of greenery. A stone’s throw away, however, from the building bars that we hear about more often. Le Cloître is a former convent that belonged to the order of the Sisters of the Visitation, which has now become a village of businesses with a social vocation. The principle is simple and effective: local entrepreneurs and associations develop their activity and undertake to train young people. The public is close at hand, mainly coming from the troubled neighborhoods of Marseille, in which nearly half of 18-25 year olds are unemployed and a third of households are below the poverty line.

It was in 2016 that the project took shape, under the impetus of Arnaud Castagnède. After ten years in Guyana, spent building an ecotourism and infrastructure project with the natives, then fifteen in Marseilles…