About us
Nobody wants to be kept company.
Everybody wants to share.
Being kept company reminds you that you're alone. Sharing something gives you back your place. That's why NonnA doesn't keep anyone company: it brings people of every age together, as equals, around something they love.
Purpose
That nobody is left alone with what they've lived.
Mission
To bring different generations to the same table. The table is any place where people of different ages come together to share.
Vision
A world where nobody lacks someone to share what they've lived with.
What you've lived is meant to be shared.
What you've lived
Not what's been learned or taught. Stories, recipes, hands, songs and quirks. Everybody has lived something.
Is meant to be shared
It goes both ways. Nobody only gives, nobody only receives. No students, no patients, no volunteers.
The promise
You'll spend a good hour with someone you didn't know, and you'll leave with something of theirs.
What we believe in
As equals
An exchange between equals. Both ask, both tell.
Face to face
In person, by name. One table, one conversation, no screens.
With humour
Humour that brings people together. Never at the expense of anyone's age.
No rush
A whole hour to just be there. Arrive, sit down, stay.
One name, two readings
In Italian, Nonna
Grandma. The warmth of a laid table and an open house. We take the warmth, not the family tie.
Said quickly, Non Alone
NonnA sounds like "not alone". The final A is a capital: the A that stops being alone. It's also our symbol: two lives rising to the same point.
What NonnA is, and what it isn't
- ✓ As equals
- ✓ An exchange that goes both ways
- ✓ People of every age, side by side
- ✓ A plan you look forward to
- ✓ Living something together
- ✓ Warm, with a sense of humour
- ✕ Keeping lonely people company
- ✕ Charity or volunteering
- ✕ Grandparents and grandchildren, real or pretend
- ✕ A care home or day centre
- ✕ An academy with teacher and student
- ✕ Sweet to the point of pity
Behind NonnA
Felipe Machado and Juan Andrés van Hissenhoven, from Madrid. We're starting in Chamberí, one table at a time.
See the tables