Grunt, a social enterprise in the countryside, is a non-profit institute with the status of employment centre [1], founded with the purpose of employing people with disabilities from the countryside who have less opportunities for employment in the local environment.

Despite the gradual decrease of unemployment in Slovenia, many people from vulnerable social groups remain unemployed, among them are the disabled and other difficult-to-employ people. The need for their employment presents a pressing problem, especially in the countryside where the population structure is very specific. Grunt is a direct response to these needs and breaks ground in this field in Slovenia as the first institute of its kind.

Besides our basic activities, which are the training and employment of difficult-to-employ disabled people from the countryside in the local environment, we actively participate in the development of employment programs for the disabled in the countryside and raise awareness by informing the public about this issue.

Grunt employs five people with disabilities with the right of designated employment, an expert worker, and two expert assistants. The Institute is guided by the Expert Council, the members of which are experts from the fields of employment of people with disabilities, economy, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, education, food safety, and agriculture.

We work in the area of Komenda and its surroundings, while our headquarters are located at the Zadrgal Farm, where our employees carry out various farm work under strict and direct leadership of expert (co)workers. This involves work in the outbuildings and in the field (stables, fields, orchards etc.), cleaning and processing of agricultural products, preparation of intermediate products, and sales and distribution of these products.

[1] The Institute holds the status of an employment centre on the basis of the Decision by the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, according to Article 43 of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 16/2007 – official consolidated text 2, 87/2011, and 96/12-ZPIZ-2 and 98/14). In accordance with the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities Act, the Grunt Institute employs people with disabilities to whom the Employment Service of Slovenia had issues the final decision which allows them designated employment