Reus has a new shop from Taller Baix Camp, which has opened at Carrer de Santa Teresa, 36, as part of the Reus Espais Vius project led by the Reus City Council’s Department of Business, Training, and Employment.
The shop will sell artisan products made by the organisation’s users in its occupational workshops. These include handmade candles, natural soaps, and items from Taller Baix Camp’s paper mill, all linked to its occupational and personal empowerment work.
Alongside its retail role, the space is intended to serve as a social and community hub in the city centre for the organisation’s users. It will be used to build connections, encourage social participation, and host activities, workshops, and shared projects with local schools, organisations, and other groups.
Òscar Subirats, the councillor, said Taller Baix Camp’s arrival “represents the values we promote through Reus Espais Vius, a project that not only seeks to reactivate empty premises, but also to generate new opportunities, strengthen social cohesion, and contribute to the economic vitality of the neighbourhoods.”
Josep Ramon Nogués, the general director of Taller Baix Camp, said the new city-centre space is a step forward in giving visibility to people with intellectual disabilities and bringing the value of the project closer to the public. He said the aim is to make the space useful for the city, “an open, lively place that contributes to making Reus a more inclusive and dynamic city.”
Taller Baix Camp’s incorporation is part of the third phase of Reus Espais Vius, called “Streets of yesterday, spaces of today”, which focuses on revitalising the Santa Teresa neighbourhood. The project currently includes 27 premises. Since this phase began, 20 jobs have been created, 14 entrepreneurs have received advice, and 28 people have shown interest in taking part. To date, 11 businesses have opened in the area, with three more in the process of setting up.
The project’s entrepreneurial community is also growing, with eight of the new projects led by women and four by men, and an average age of 38. Most are Reus residents who have chosen to develop their professional activity in the city. Taller Baix Camp will also join this network, which promotes collaboration between new businesses and established neighbourhood shops. After two previous meetings at the Department of Business, Training, and Employment, the third session will take place in June, and for the first time it will be held directly in the neighbourhood.
