African refugees form farm coop in Sardinia

(ANSA) - Cagliari, June 17 - A group of some 50 refugees from Ethiopia, Nigeria and Somalia have set up a farming cooperative in Sardinia, officials said Friday.
    The refugees are all former farmers who fled war and land seizures in their home countries, ending up in Italy.
    Their cooperative is named Warwii (Farmland) and they are growing vegetables, strawberries, and olives on abandoned land near the northeastern Sardinian village of Muros, population just over 800, after authorities granted them use of the land for six years.
    "We don't want to go about asking for money or charity," Warwii representative Cheikh Diankha told ANSA.
    "We know how to work the land and when this possibility was offered to us we jumped at it".
    The coop - which came about thanks to the Movida project for immigrant integration - also means a chance to learn new techniques in view of a return home when conditions permit, Diankha added.
    Movida has involved local chambers of commerce and Coldiretti national farmers' association in its integration efforts.