15th house : FARILU

Constellations in collaboration with FARILU Asbl

Farilu is a non-profit organisation that runs a day centre whose mission is to promote the social inclusion and empowerment of 15 adults with moderate intellectual disabilities through professional and inclusive activities. Participants are involved in workshops on baking, pastry making, biscuit making and chocolate making. The products made are then sold in an on-site shop or delivered to nurseries and shops in the surrounding area.

The association is approved and subsidised as a day centre by the French Community Commission (COCOF).

The association welcomes 15 men and women with intellectual disabilities, often associated with other disorders: autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, language disorders, motor disorders, personality disorders, hearing or visual impairments, Down's syndrome, psychosis or Myhre syndrome.

For more than ten years, the association has occupied a former single-family home, which has been refurbished to accommodate its activities. Thanks to the work carried out, it has developed a shop and two production workshops (bakery and chocolate factory).

However, the owner of the premises recently decided to terminate the lease, jeopardising the continuity of the activities. Faced with this emergency situation, the Farilu team quickly set about looking for a new location.

The search began more than two years ago. The specific nature of the project, which requires infrastructure adapted to professional activities carried out by people with disabilities, made this search particularly complex and time-consuming.

After several visits, the choice finally fell on a building located on Drève des Weigélias in Watermael-Boitsfort. This recently renovated building had long been occupied by the municipality's CPAS (public social welfare centre). Following the CPAS's decision to consolidate its services in a single building, several spaces were put up for sale, including this one.

The building offers a total gross area of 1,000 m², spread over three floors that are fully accessible to people with reduced mobility, thanks to a lift serving all floors. One of its great advantages is the quality of its recent renovation (2021), which means that the work required is limited to fitting out specific areas for the project and the bakery, without any major structural work.

This new location will not only enable current activities to continue but also increase capacity from 15 to 25 beneficiaries.

The total cost of acquiring the building and carrying out the work amounts to €1,633,000. Thanks to the support of Constellations and the hoped-for assistance of the NIF Foundation, the budget will be almost complete.

Strictly spoken the planning permission is no longer required, as the building has already been constructed. Permission for the destination change of the building is required and should be granted in the coming weeks.

We have also just received final approval for the preliminary project from the administration and government of the Brussels-Capital Region.

We are currently finalising the specifications and will submit the final dossier so that we can issue the tender by the end of the year. If everything goes according to plan, work could start just before the construction holiday in 2026.