Vegabula Summer Edition

Vegabula Summer Edition: hospitality as a tool for inclusion

From June 16 to July 11, 2025, the training restaurant Vegabula in Brunico will exceptionally reopen its doors to host the Vegabula Summer Edition, an experimental project designed to offer a summer of growth, training, and dignity to a selected group of students from the Provincial Hospitality School of Brunico—some of whom live with personal, family or educational challenges.

For each of them, the Costa Family Foundation is providing a scholarship that covers the entire paid internship period. A concrete opportunity to learn, to get involved, and to feel part of a professional, inclusive, and respectful environment.

A story born from a meaningful encounter

This project stems from an intuition—or rather, from an encounter. During a visit to the Hospitality School of Brunico, Michil Costa and his trusted assistant Serena discovered something special inside the kitchens of Vegabula: vulnerable students with a strong desire to learn, passionate teachers, and a restaurant combining vegan cuisine, experimentation, and community.

"When we arrived in Brunico, we found something that moved us deeply," Michil said. "Behind the stoves were fragile young people with difficult stories, but with eyes full of energy and the will to be seen. Serena and I said to each other: we’ll take care of this project. And so we did."

A journey built together

Vegabula Summer Edition is the result of a path built step by step over time, thanks to a strong alliance between the school, the Foundation, the local community, and a shared educational vision. Three key milestones have laid the groundwork for this project:

• September 2024: a solidarity barbecue in the garden of Hotel La Perla brought together chefs, students and families to raise funds for the project.

• November 2024: former Hotel La Perla chef Fabio Garlini led a cooking workshop with a group of vulnerable students, turning their creativity into a real dish later added to the bistrot’s menu.

• Winter 2024/2025: during the winter season, the Hotel La Perla bistrot featured one of the dishes created during the workshop in its official menu. The dish was offered on a “pay-what-you-wish” basis—without a fixed price, guests could decide how much to donate. The entire revenue was dedicated to funding the summer project, turning each act of generosity into a tangible contribution to inclusion.

Each initiative helped build confidence, motivation, and a strong support network around these young people. A virtuous circle where food became a vehicle for connection, dignity, and a future.

Training, work, and community

Over the four summer weeks, the students will be engaged in the daily lunch service from Monday to Friday, working side by side with teachers, educators, and restaurant staff. This will not be just an internship, but a tailor-made educational journey designed to strengthen individual skills, increase autonomy, and support personal and professional development.

Vegabula Summer Edition is also intended as a pilot for a replicable model, where schools, foundations, and local partners work together to shape a new kind of hospitality: slower, more humane, capable of welcoming those who struggle—those who need time, space, and someone who believes in them.

A new path for the Foundation

After years of work in international development cooperation, the Costa Family Foundation is opening a new chapter: bringing its founding values—dignity, inclusion, beauty—into its home territory of South Tyrol through concrete projects in the fields of hospitality and education. Vegabula Summer Edition is the first step on this path.

A small restaurant, a group of young people, a summer of shared work: this is where our idea of change begins.
We’re just at the beginning, but we already know that something big can grow from here.