Du Pain et des Roses

A school for the florists of tomorrow.

Location of impact : Paris, France
Grant : 5000€
Project supported in 2021-2022

Since the beginning of the pandemic, RSA applications have increased by almost 17% in Paris and there were more than 1.1 million unemployed women in France in 2020. In order to tackle these issues and their resulting exclusion mechanisms, du Pain & des Roses offers 5 sessions per year and 3 apprentices per session, a 7-week (70 hours) professional training course, free of charge, in the florist profession, as well as a period of professional immersion to women who are far from employment. We offer them a creative, comforting and friendly environment, so that they can regain confidence in themselves and their abilities.

A unique and sustainable training for the social and financial autonomy of women far from employment

The training provided by du Pain & des Roses is articulated in two phases: 2 weeks of theoretical lessons given in our workshops and then 5 weeks of practice on our kiosk-school (75009). Our priority is to offer tailor-made support in order to achieve a return to stable, quality employment. Our objective is that 100% of Du Pain & des Roses’ apprentice florists leave the training with an opportunity that corresponds to their professional project (fixed-term contract, permanent contract, internship, CAP, etc.) quickly after their stay at Du Pain & des Roses. We are therefore developing a network of florists around the project as well as a mentoring programme.

Du Pain & des Roses mainly trains women on the RSA. We offer them a free, professional training course, which enables them to obtain the status of assistant florist. The social mission of Du Pain & des Roses is unique and a pioneer in France. Today, we are the only structure in the Île-de-France region that bridges the gap between the supply of and demand for work in the flower sector: a sector in tension that we do not necessarily think about when it comes to reintegration: people who are far from employment rarely have access to jobs that are considered to be rewarding; their professional ambitions are very often neglected and they face discrimination in hiring.

The women we train – who have a real passion for the world of flowers – have very often held positions unrelated to the floral world (housekeeper, care assistant, cashier, canteen worker, etc.). With our apprentices, we share the conviction that the profession of florist will enable them to regain confidence in themselves and their talents.

Towards the Florist School of Tomorrow

Building on the success of this project in the short term and wishing to increase its social and solidarity impact, du Pain & des Roses now has the ambition to welcome more women per session and to deliver a Professional Qualification Certificate (CQP) recognised by the profession. This project of change of scale would also allow us to welcome more female florist apprentices. This CQP is intended to be a stepping stone.

Our ultimate goal? To open a boutique-school for women who are far from employment in Paris, in order to offer a CAP training course, based on a mixed model (women undergoing reconversion on the one hand and professional reintegration on the other), and then to spread the project to the rest of France. The first branch of Du Pain & des Roses will open its doors next autumn in Nantes! Eventually, we hope that du Pain & des Roses will open its incubator and offer solid entrepreneurial support to former apprentices wishing to develop their own concept.

the organisation carrying the project

Founded in Paris by Marie Reverchon in 2017, the association du Pain & des Roses provides an innovative and sustainable approach to the social reintegration of women who are far from employment. It is part of a solidarity-based approach which aims to promote the creation of social links, cultural exchange, access to creative activities and the development of new skills.

Initially, the organisation offered introductory workshops in floristry in reception centres, to support asylum seekers and offer them a training opportunity in a caring and creative context. Since its creation, nearly 200 participants have been introduced to the florist’s profession. However, with the Covid-19 health crisis, the workshops had to be suspended. The organisation therefore decided to find a way to continue its positive impact and to go further. From now on, as a training organisation, du Pain & des Roses offers free and certified professional training in the profession of Florist Assistant. The non-profit organisation thus participates in the emancipation of women in training by helping them to regain confidence in themselves and their talents by enabling them to regain their social and financial autonomy.

Beyond its social vocation, the mission of Pain & des Roses is also part of a strong ecological approach. In particular, in addition to educating our apprentices about the use of responsibly grown French flowers during their training (exclusive use of seasonal French flowers and foliage and the organisation of educational outings to key players in sustainable horticulture), we also organise awareness-raising activities for the general public. The aim is to make consumers aware of the environmental impact of flowers and the possibilities of limiting it, in particular through the consumption of local and seasonal flowers. Thus, by training future florists in sustainable thinking and discourse and by raising consumer awareness of their plant-buying habits, du Pain & des Roses is also participating in the ecological transition towards responsible and seasonal floriculture.

how donations are used

The donations received throughout the year allow the following actions:

Carry out the training courses (purchase of flowers/leaves, working materials, organisation of educational visits, meeting with mentors, etc.)
Organise educational outings to meet French horticultural producers (at Rungis in particular) and horticultural farms
Meet and bring in caring florists who can share their experience and network with our apprentices
Organise collective awareness-raising/training workshops in refugee women’s shelters
Set up support for the professional integration of our apprentices

key figures

4 years of existence.
1 associative team of 6 people and 15 volunteers.
More than 200 women sensitised during our collective awareness workshops.
Already 3 training sessions organised in 2021 and 1 more to come, for a total of 15 women trained and accompanied this year.
More than 60 applications received for the first three sessions (9 places available), which attests to the relevance of our training offer in the reintegration market.
More than 1,000 people made aware of the consumption of French and seasonal flowers thanks to our awareness-raising activities.
1 digital community of over 13,500 members.
1,000 to 1,500 jobs to be filled each year in the flower industry, a sector that is always in short supply: du Pain & des Roses intends to meet this demand while offering a second professional opportunity to women who need it.
12 French horticultural producers who supply us on a daily basis.
More than twenty technical, social and financial partners, both public and private, trust us and accompany us in our daily missions!
1 social enterprise: du Pain & des Roses works thanks to a hybrid model which is our strength and allows us to reconcile economic performance and social impact.