We are social entrepreneurs and we are social hoteliers

Le Mat’s general mission is to promote and turn to the best account of the cultural, social, vacational and occupational value of persons with a history of disability, mental illness or drug addiction, as well as all those who, for one reason or another, are the subject of discrimination and/or exclusion from the labour market and/or the community.
Le Mat sets out to create job opportunities at a good level, with the prospects of a career and independence, by investing in the ability of men and women to act as social entrepreneurs.
We are convinced that workers-owned cooperatives and the social enterpreneurship are ideal forms and experiences for developing self-determination, self-management, social promotion and the running of one's own business, a business with collective ownership. Le Mat therefore works for the development of social and cooperative enterprises as the means of creating opportunities for employment and social change for everyone.

There are many social cooperatives around Europe and they work in many different branches.
We like to work in the field of tourism.
We developed the brand Le Mat – Social Hoteliers learning from one of the first experiences of social Hoteliers: the social co-operative “Il Posto delle Fragole” in Trieste – Italy www.ilpostodellefragole.coop managing Hotel Tritone www.tritonehotel.org

Now Le Mat is becoming a European network, a network based on quality, on responsibility in tourism, on responsibility in inclusion, on the international co-operative principles, a network using social franchising to strengthen and to grow.

We developed and are developing Manuals on how to become hoteliers - Le Mat hoteliers - and how to increase the quality in already existing hostels, hotels or B&B managed by social entrepreneurs.
We are able to transfer our experiences, to support others in starting their hotels.

Le Mat Europe is a European cooperative, a cooperative between cooperatives and social entrepreneurs that has decided to act as a development agency and a Social Franchisor.