PROJECTS : 2024 ELARD Cooperation awards

Project n°28

INTRODUCTION

“In the midst of the pandemic, six Latvian local action groups from the coast came together to empower their fishing villages by guiding them on the path to becoming smart villages. The goal was to build resilience in these coastal communities and inspire them to discover their strengths by piloting smart village solutions. Over the course of two years, we embarked on a journey filled with both challenges and triumphs alongside six incredible communities stretching from the North to the South of Latvia. These communities connected both in person and online, uncovering their strengths and weaknesses, identifying their needs, and learning together. Through shared laughter and tears, they gained new knowledge and implemented their own smart solutions to tackle six unique challenges—one in each village. It was a remarkable journey that transformed the lives of many, revealing the magic of local collaboration and deepening the love they have for their villages.”

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

“Six pilot communities along the Latvian coastline embraced the smart village approach through a carefully structured project. The journey began with identifying and training local leaders in community building, smart village concepts, and leadership. With support from professional trainers, each community conducted a SWOT analysis, fostering local activities to better understand their needs. A key highlight was the local and international exchange trips, particularly to our Finnish partner, which strengthened bonds among community leaders, enabling ongoing communication and support.

The communities then identified their main challenges and worked through mini hackathons with trainers and mentors to develop solutions. The best ideas were awarded and implemented, resulting in several innovative outcomes: a branding book for Lapmezciems (now known as the smart village ‘Jurciemi’), community websites with local business databases in Bernati and Carnikava, interactive historical tours in Ainazi and Kosrags, a video production course for local entrepreneurs, and four sustainable information boards crafted from beach wood, displaying local history and stories.

Finally, all results were showcased at a final conference, highlighting the project’s success in bringing the smart village approach to life. Some of these pilot communities have now become national examples of smart village innovation, continuing to build on the strategies developed during the project.”

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

It was 6 coasts communities that have learned about the smart village approach and that have piloted at least one smart solution for the challenges from their own village needs.

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

This project, involving six pilot communities along the Latvian coastline, was designed to implement the smart village approach to enhance the resilience and vitality of rural coastal areas. By leveraging the LEADER rural development approach, the project focused on empowering local leaders, fostering collaboration of the community, and developing innovative solutions tailored to the unique challenges of each community.

The LEADER approach, with its bottom-up methodology, was central to the success of this project. By prioritizing local needs and leadership, the project ensured that solutions were community-driven and highly relevant to local needs. This allowed for direct involvement from the village residents, ensuring that the strategies developed were both practical and sustainable. The transnational aspect of LEADER also facilitated valuable exchanges with Finnish partners, enriching the project with international perspectives and best practices.

The impact of the project on the territory was significant. Through a series of structured steps—identifying local leaders, providing targeted training, conducting SWOT analyses, and facilitating local activities—the project effectively mobilized six coastal communities from North to South Latvia. These communities began to communicate and support one another, creating a network of smart villages. The project’s activities reached a wide audience, not only within the pilot communities but also across the country, as the final conference and dissemination efforts shared the successes and lessons learned with a broader audience.

LEADER has helped to fostering local development, enhancing community capacity, and promoting innovation in rural areas. By focusing on local empowerment, the project encouraged sustainable economic development, improved quality of life, and helped communities discover and capitalize on their unique strengths. The smart village approach introduced new technologies and practices that aligned with LEADER’s goal of modernizing rural economies while preserving their cultural and environmental assets.

The sustainability of the project is ensured through the strong foundation laid during its implementation. The trained local leaders continue to drive initiatives within their communities, and the networks established between the pilot villages remain active. The practical outcomes serve as enduring resources that will continue to benefit the communities. Additionally, the skills and knowledge gained by local entrepreneurs and residents ensure ongoing innovation and adaptation.

The collaboration with Finnish partners provided valuable insights and helped to strengthen the smart village model in Latvia. The international exchange trips were particularly impactful, as they fostered cross-border relationships that continue to benefit the communities involved. This project has set a precedent for other rural areas in Latvia and beyond, showcasing how the smart village approach, supported by the LEADER framework, can drive meaningful and sustainable rural development.

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Project webpage with photos and videos of the piloting smart villages: https://www.facebook.com/ViedieCiemiPiekraste

TV reportage on the project and the final event : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHd0b0DjrDg 

2 of the pilot villages gained the official award of the Latvian Rural forum “Smart village”www.jurciemi.lv and https://visitbernati.lv/

Project n°29

INTRODUCTION

“Malvasia Myth” – Paths of history, culture and wine.

The “Malvasia Myth”, a transnational cooperation project that connected Greece, Italy and Croatia, under the framework of LEADER/ CLLD 2014-2020 programme, aimed at featuring and valorizing the cultural heritage of the renowned Malvasia wine, the most famous wine in history! The project built an overall myth about Malvasia’s history and culture. The myth of the Malvasia, based on the cultural identity, the stories and legends of all Malvasia wine-producing areas, involved the local communities and areas to the creation of the Malvasia Myth Network and the development of the Malvasia routes. It is worth mentioning that the project and the network are members of the Iter Vitis “Les chemins de la vigne” Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

The aim of the project was the emergence and spread of wine culture, as well as the interconnection of the tourist identity of the regions with their traditional products that have quality, reputation and are directly linked to the region for the development of gastronomic tourism. Consequently, the project also improved the local network economy of the partner areas, giving a chance for new job opportunities for young and female population.

Main activities of the project are:

• Research and documentation: Research and development of bibliographic, historical, research data. Scientific substantiation of the value and the brand name Malvasia in historical time, from the start of its production until the expansion and consolidation in Europe and the new productive areas in the Mediterranean.

• Creation of international brand Malvasia: Concept, story and development of the brand. Creation of individual elements (graphics, videos, texts, etc.). Methodology for the acceptance of the brand and inclusion in products and campaigns of relevant enterprises.

• Electronic promotion: Design of multilanguage website by presenting elements of history and wine production, wine and other complementary businesses, wine and related products, tourist information for the production areas etc. Design and implementation of web promotion campaign, pages on social media.

• Training: Design of training and educational seminars for entrepreneurs in production areas, to develop related Malvasia products and services.

• Exchange of visits: Study visits for producers and other involved bodies at producing areas in the Mediterranean. Combination with related activities, such as conferences, festivals and events on Malvasia, exchange of experiences and training for entrepreneurs etc.

• Setting up of Malvasia network: Development of Action Plan and Strategy for the establishment and operation of the Network.

• Promotion events and festivals: Design and implementation of new events, strengthen and upgrade existing wine events, conferences and festivals, networking events etc. Creation and support of wine tourism activities.

Target groups of the project were:

• Local authorities: Promotion of the identity of the area and connection with the myth of the Malvasia wine, offering added value.

• Vine and wine business: Promotion of the wine and the myth behind it.

• Tourism business: Promotion of wine tourism and myth.

• Local people: Raising the morale of the people of the Malvasia producing areas after realizing the connection of their area with the most famous wine in history.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

Expected objectives and results of the project implementation are as follows:

• promotion and dissemination of wine culture,

• growing dynamic of the name and history of Malvasia brand,

• development of actions in various fields that will utilize the Malvasia brand,

• creation of income and jobs associated with the production and tourism,

• promotion of Malvasia production areas and their specific characteristics (history, tradition, nature, gastronomy, culture),

• creation of the Malvasia Myth Network of areas to undertake actions and coordinate efforts.

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

The added value of LEADER lies in networking, cooperation and the promotion of Malvasia wine producing areas and their particular characteristics (history, tradition, nature, gastronomy, culture). Moreover, the implementation of the project at the local level can give the possibility of generating income and jobs linked to production and tourism.

Concerning LAG Parnonas the TNC serves the General objective 2 of its local LEADER program which aims at promotion of local entrepreneurship through cooperation, the transfer of know-how and the strengthening of innovation and extroversion.

Concerning LAG del Ducato the TNC is fully in line with the local development strategy and in particular with the thematic unit of the secondary intervention “Sustainable tourism” and the specific objective B.3 “Promotion of the intervention area”.

Concerning LAG Central Istria, the TNC is directly linked to Measure 19.3.2. of the Local Development Strategy of the Local Action Group Central Istria 2014-2020 and is aligned with the main goal: “Creation of economic well-being and social living conditions in the rural area of ​​LAG Central Istria”.

Concerning the sustainability of the project the partners will continue to support it by establishing a Malvasia Myth network with a will and a vision to continue featuring and valorizing this renowned wine’s heritage after the project is completed. The Malvasia Myth Network will also continue carrying the myth of Malvasia, based on the cultural identity, the stories, and legends of all Malvasia wine-producing regions, and by involving the local communities in creating a network of Malvasia regions and the development of a cultural route of wine.

Malvasia Myth Network will act as a common platform for sharing information, knowledge and good practices aimed at increasing recognition and awareness of Malvasia wines, its tradition rich history and stories, bringing authentic experience throughout Europe.

For the moment, an informal network has been established from by the partners of the project by signing the MoU – Memorandum of Understanding. The Network is already expanding and includes more Malvasia wine production areas in Europe and worldwide, ensuring the transnational impact and the project sustainability after the funding ends.

Malvasia wine is recognized and produced in eight countries in the Mediterranean but also – more recently – in areas such as US, South America, South Africa and Australia.

The Malvasia Myth Network has already implemented some actions and is expanding by visiting and including more Malvasia producing areas and countries.

The new LEADER TNC project is under design and will include partners from all new areas, aiming to expand the results and success of the last Malvasia Myth project.

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Home

Project n°30

INTRODUCTION

Develop the economy and tourism of territories from a cycle route by crossing administrative borders. Invent a flexible, voluntary and effective governance to coordinate the implementation of tourism between Geneva and Lyon.

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

Between Lake Geneva and Lyon, 300 km of cycle route (ViaRhôna Eurovélo 17) were developed between 2010 and 2020. The communities concerned by the route and tourism stakeholders have come together and cooperated to enhance infrastructure and develop tourist, heritage and economic activity by disseminating users and irrigating the territories. 4 LAGs, 20 EPCI, 15 tourist offices and tourism providers have cooperated to implement this infrastructure in a coordinated way and generate economic benefits. After a cooperation agreement between 4 LAGs in 2019, a partnership agreement was signed in 2021 (renewed in 2024) between about twenty EPCI across 5 departments with a budget of € 300,000 and a position was created to animate the collective.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

Develop soft itineraries around a cycle route (ViaRhôna) Develop tourist, economic and cultural activities by irrigating the territories from the cycle route (300 km 5 departments, 20 EPCI) Invent a new flexible and efficient governance, a real route committee bringing together public actors, tourism and service providers in the territories Put into tourism a heavy infrastructure by developing services for cyclotouristic customers

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

• the importance of the ViaRhôna cycle route (route, investment budget, centrality in tourism development schemes

• their desire to develop itinerant tourism, irrigate the territories and develop direct and indirect economic benefits (included in their local LEADER development strategy).

Thanks to the participatory and bottom-up approach of LEADER, the actors in the LAGs agree at an early stage that they want to work on a cooperation project.

In a flexible, voluntary (and effective) way, the actors (technicians, elected officials but also tourism professionals) meet and implement a cooperation agreement from 2018. First by bringing together 4 LAGs, then EPCI, tourist offices along the 300 km of routes to implement actions decided collectively (edition of a map at the scale of 300 km, edition of a guide for the Haut Rhône ViaRhôna Routard, signage master plan, eductour, etc…)

In 2021, this LEADER cooperation project continues to expand with the opening up of new territories to create a coherent route committee (which serves as a model elsewhere in France). A coordinator’s position is created, financed by the Region and the State, carried by one of the communities of communes. A budget of 300,000 euros allows the actions carried out by the collective to be developed. In 2024, the work continues, with large budgets, while keeping the spirit and memory of this LEADER initiative.

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Project n°31

INTRODUCTION

CoLabora was an European cooperation project dealing with coworking in rural areas and gathered seven Local Action Groups across the EU, all located in rural areas. The partners were convinced that coworking spaces can contribute to rural areas’ development. This new model of places designed for professionals offers the opportunity to efficiently work where they choose to live, without the need to move away from their rural environment. In that way, coworking helps to maintain the working population in rural areas as well as it encourages new people, keen to a better quality of life, to move in. Moreover, coworking spaces offer digital and technical tools, support to entrepreneurs and a collaborative network of professionals which contribute to stimulate each one’s economic activity. Given these expected positive impacts for rural areas, the seven partners decided to pool their competences and experiences to help each other to go further in the development of coworking. From 2018 to 2022, partners carry out study trips and collaborative work in order to create a methodological toolbox designed to raise awareness of the benefits of coworking in rural areas and enable anybody interested in setting up and running coworking spaces.

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

That is why Colabora aimed to explain the coworking concept and disseminate its benefits and the opportunities but also to get to know and stimulate the community of professionals, freelance and local entrepreneurs, to promote their interrelationship and networking, to develop coworking in rural areas, to extend the provided services by coworking spaces, to formalize a process to create a coworking space, step by step, and providing some concrete tools to manage the coworkers community and to learn from best practice from different coworking spaces in Europe.

CoLaboras’ main result:
– Collection of good coworking examples all over the EU
– Coworking toolkit
– raining modules for community builders
– Compiling the benefits of coworking spaces in rural areas
– Logo development
– Explanatory video on rural coworking in different languages

CoLaboras’ further impacts :
– LAG Pays de Guéret: Hiring a coworking manager
– LAG Association Pieriga Partnership & LAG Zied Zeme: Opening of the co-working space “CoLabora Lielvarde”
– LAG Consorci Intercomarcal d’Iniciatives Socioeconòmiques: Webinars & training for new co working spaces and elaboration of a new social media campaign
– LAG Leipziger Muldenland: Coworking Network & Pop-up Coworking Test Phase
– LAG Donegal: Opening of four coworking spaces
– LAG Vale of Glamorgan: Coworking festival

The cooperation project was funded by LEADER as a transnational cooperation project using knowledge transfer, exchanges and study trips to achieve the project goals. The project showed the LEADER added values.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

Colabora aimed to explain the coworking concept in rural areas and disseminate its benefits and the opportunities but also to get to know and stimulate the community of professionals, freelance and local entrepreneurs, to promote their interrelationship and networking, to develop coworking in rural areas, to extend the provided services by coworking spaces, to formalize a process to create a coworking space, step by step, and providing some concrete tools to manage the coworkers community and to learn from best practice from different coworking spaces in Europe.

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

CoLabora helped to create the focus topic “new work/coworking” in the Local Development Strategy
2023-2027 in LAG Leipziger Muldenland which will support rural coworking spaces and the network
around it.

CoLabora helped furthermore to realize a coworking pop-up testing periode during summer 2022 and to create a network of rural coworking spaces in the surrounding of the city of Leipzig. Today three coworking space are open and more followed in 2024. Coworking Space owners are meeting regularly in a network run by LAG Leipziger Muldenland. This network allows the local coworking space owners to share experiences and gives the opportunity to organize public relation activities by LAG Leipziger Muldenland for the coworking spaces, like representation on trade fairs, social media marketing, events for interest groups, the production of an image video and promotional materials.

CoLabora helped to show the benefits of rural coworking spaces, convinced the District of Leipzig to write a district wide coworking spaces concept and helped to concretize two planned coworking space projects which are under construction. As a result two old rural buildings both abandoned for more than 20 years will be revived using the CoLabora project experiences and results.

During a study trip of Saxonian LAGs during summer 2023 LAG Leipziger Muldenland presented the CoLabora results. Also several German LAGs are asking regularly for CoLabora results and experiences to transfer parts of the cooperation project to their own area.

For 2025 an ERASMUS+ project is planned to exchange coworkers and owners of coworking spaces. Some CoLabora partners will also be partners of the new ERASMUS+ project.

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Project video:
German: https://youtu.be/_u5do7DCz6Q?feature=shared
French: https://youtu.be/4gXeIcqAM3c?feature=shared

Toolkit:

German:
https://www.leipzigermuldenland.de/_project/media/uploads/files/Rural%20Coworking%20Guide%20
(DE).pdf
English:
https://uploads
ssl.webflow.com/5e5e5b9d3f2bf9c3d3d51b43/6087ff5b353220f969bb6186_Rural%20Cowor
king%20Guide.pdf

Project n°32

INTRODUCTION

Within the project, a new unique tourism destination was created – the Land of Bānītis.

Location – the outermost border of the European Union, Latvia, Vidzeme region, Alūksne and Gulbene municipalities, also known as the Land of Bānītis.

The Land of Bānītis – A world where you’ll never stop smiling!”

The Land of Bānītis is home to the only narrow-gauge train in the Baltics that still offers regular passenger service – the Bānītis (Land of the Narrow-Gauge Train Bānītis).

The Land of Bānītis, located in the Gulbene and Alūksne municipalities, is an industrial heritage gem that attracts tourists and boosts the local economy. It offers an authentic, playful experience in less populated areas, fostering cultural, entertainment, and nature-related services.

The project contributes by:

• Providing economic benefits to local communities through tourism.

• Enhancing local identity and the area’s appeal for living and business.

• Investing in the preservation of natural and cultural heritage. Its uniqueness comes from the authenticity of the narrow-gauge railway, used for over 120 years, and the quality of service. The product adapts to traveler preferences and emphasizes sustainable use of cultural and environmental resources.

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

The project “Get to know and feel the Land of Bānītis!” is a logical continuation of the previous project implemented by both partners, with each project complementing the other closely. Key achievements of the project include:

To promote high-quality further development of the area, “Strategic Guidelines for Tourism Destination Cooperation in the Land of Bānītis” have been developed. To enhance the significance of Bānītis as a tourism destination for both Latvian and international tourists, a brand for the Land of Bānītis has been created, complete with identity signs and the slogan “A World Where You’ll Never Stop Smiling!” The aim of the brand is to provide a comprehensive professional and high-quality branding concept, content, visual identity, and digital solutions related to the natural resources, cultural heritage, and active leisure opportunities available in the Land of Bānītis for any traveler or tourist. This will enhance the recognition of Bānītis, support sustainable development of the area, and ensure effective investment in tourism development.

The target audience for the brand identity materials includes both Latvian and international tourists and travelers visiting and enjoying the tourism and active leisure offerings of the Land of Bānītis, as well as local artisans, producers, tourism and service sector businesses, partners, the community, and other interested parties. The project plans to mark at least 100 of the most interesting sites and locations in the Land of Bānītis. The purpose of the marking is to highlight the existing values of the Land of Bānītis that may sometimes go unnoticed by tourists and travelers. After marking the territory, an e-material will be created with a list of objects and places, including brief descriptions, photos, and QR codes for more detailed information.

Environmental objects have been created and installed. Six cycling routes have been developed and marked (with maps issued), 76 uniform directional signs have been made for Bānītis stations, stops, and objects, 20 pulpit-style tourism information stands have been installed, one large and two small information boards have been set up, a well-equipped rest area has been created, three cycling tours have been organized, two travel campaigns “Discover the Treasures of the Land of Bānītis!” have been launched, three conferences, twelve discussion circles, and two exchange events have been held.

Informational and visual materials have been prepared and published, including a video guide titled “The Treasures of the Land of Bānītis – 33 km in Length and Width!” with a duration of at least 23 minutes. The video will be filmed in different seasons to showcase the opportunities available throughout the year. It will include an overview of the Land of Bānītis – Gulbene and Alūksne, municipalities – and feature the narrow-gauge railway, local businesses, attractions, nature, and active leisure activities (e.g., skijoring, the “Outpace Bānītis” bike race, etc.).

Additionally, a video guide titled “The Treasures of the Land of Bānītis – 33 km in Length and Width!” and five thematic promotional videos “Come Enjoy the Treasures of the Land of Bānītis!” have been prepared, covering the following themes:

1. The Delicacies of the Land of Bānītis

2. The Cultural and Historical Heritage of the Land of Bānītis

3. The Natural Beauty of the Land of Bānītis

4. Active Leisure in the Land of Bānītis

5. Following Ferdinand’s Footsteps

Three clean-up events have been organized to maintain the area around the Bānītis narrow-gauge railway. https://www.facebook.com/banisazeme; https://visitaluksne.lv/visit/banisa-zeme/; https://www.visitgulbene.lv/lv/ko-darit/ekskursiju-piedavajumi/banisa-zeme, etc.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

Objective of the Project: To promote the economic growth of Gulbene and Aluksne counties by improving and promoting the Land of Bānītis and activating service providers, as well as strengthening the identity of the Land of Bānītis by developing a unified brand and integrating it into coordinated measures, offers, and solutions for promoting the region.

Includes three sub-objectives:

1. To enhance the accessibility of the two counties as a joint tourism destination—Bānītis—by increasing the number of tourists in the area through collaborative marketing activities.

2. To improve existing tourism products and develop new ones, as well as comprehensive offers based on the unique advantages of both counties.

3. To increase cooperation between the two neighboring municipalities in the tourism sector, while also fostering collaboration among local businesses, artisans, and producers.

The implementation of these mutually beneficial objectives, by involving stakeholders more widely and introducing specific activities, aligns with the Cluster Initiative. By skillfully coordinating the activities of the established network and advancing them in subsequent steps, it can boost demand for individual tourism services and enhance the destination’s competitiveness in both domestic and international markets.

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

One of the project’s indirect objectives is to foster continued collaboration in the future by establishing a coordination network for the development and operation of the Land of Bānītis. According to the specific situation and daily issues, representatives from research/tourism education sectors, specialized service providers, local community leaders, representatives of non-governmental organizations, or other municipal specialists (e.g., from sports or cultural fields) should be involved. During the project implementation, agreements need to be made on internal communication processes and formats, organizational memory, and rational (but not formal) work meetings with clear goals and issues to be addressed.

Work will continue to agree on how to integrate the offerings into existing tourism websites and related marketing channels (social media accounts, print materials, etc.) of Gulbene and Aluksne. It should be noted that both municipalities and businesses in the project implementation area participate in local and international tourism exhibitions as one destination—Bānītis Land.

Both the municipalities and businesses use the Bānītis Land logo as a key element of their branding. The Bānītis Land designation is used not only for tourism development but also for other areas. For example, the Gulbene Municipality has prepared a project titled “Stay Healthy in the Land of Bānītis!”

To further strengthen Banitis Land as a unique and attractive tourism destination, the project’s lead partner has joined the working group established by the Vidzeme Tourism Association. As part of the association’s strategy, “Vidzeme Tourism Cooperation Network Strategy 2024-2029,” four new tourism products are being developed within the Cooperation Network. One of these products is “More Adventures in Banitis Land!”

By participating in the development of this product, we will utilize existing foundations to prepare tourism offers that can be specifically promoted to foreign visitors. Additional activities will involve professional support and funding for further marketing and visibility enhancement, as well as digitalization for those businesses that actively participate in the Banitis Land product cooperation network.

Targeted coordination and smart implementation of cooperation, through the development of key priorities and involving stakeholders in destination management, provides rationality, greater efficiency, and return on investment from the unified use of resources.

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Project n°33

INTRODUCTION

The final objective of the Project to achive a sustainable development by enhancing the local products and the territories on the basis of the gastronomy, the heritage and the culture. With this aim the project will promote the value of local gastronomic products in the territories and to foster their consumption and quality offer, by increasing the added value and new elaborations a well as their inclusion into restaurants offer, as well as the fusion between the diverse gastronomic traditions of the territories and a joint strategy to access to other markets with tourism products based on the local product across borders.

Promoted sustainable tourism and the creation of tourism products based on the heritage, culture, environment and resources of each of the territories will be promoted and the exchange of experiences and knowledge between different European countries will be encouraged.

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

The EUROCHEF project will allow territories from different European regions to collaborate and exchange best practices and bring their diverse cultures and heritage into contact with each other. This transnational cooperation project allows the exchange of information on working methodology between the participating groups in their pursuit of similar objectives such as promoting the sustainable development of their territories and enhancing their heritage resources.

It allows for joint efforts and the joint use of certain resources such as dissemination and dissemination on social networks, the methodology of the training plan on packaging and product presentation or the design of a joint brand that is linked to local resources and that favours a transnational projection of the territories. This transnational dimension also allows for greater visibility of the project and its activities, within the framework of sector events such as the specialised fairs that the project intends to attend, with the presence of producers and products, as well as local show cookings and the generation of audiovisual content and the recipe guide in languages that will allow for accessible and transnational dissemination.

The project also serves as a network to promote exchange and mutual knowledge between the territories and their inhabitants, as well as to serve as a launching pad for international strategies for their economic agents. In this sense, local food and wine products, as well as their culinary preparations, will be made known in markets in other regions, and crossbreeding and innovation will be encouraged, favouring a richer, more modern and varied gastronomic offer. Professionals from the sector will be directly involved, such as chefs, with their direct participation in local events and in the exchange experiences between territories.

This transnational project brings added value to the development strategies of local companies, as it allows them to establish contacts and direct relations with other markets beyond the local and regional sphere, which would otherwise probably be inaccessible to local micro and small companies, as well as to the generation of tourism products promoted from our network.

It will also be a very useful tool for the dissemination of the new figures of the law of land reclamation in Galicia, since having 4 transnational partners, we can in this edition make known in other countries of the European Union this law that is being applied in Galicia, and therefore be an example for another country regarding the recovery of abandoned land and the prevention of forest fires, in similar territories. Through the project we can export the Galician Land Reclamation Law to other countries, being a direct example of how to apply and implement this law in another territory outside Galicia.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of the project is to achieve sustainable economic development by enhancing the value of local products and territories based on gastronomy, heritage and culture. To this end, the project will enhance the value of local gastronomic products in the territories in order to promote their consumption and quality offer, with added value and new elaborations, as well as promoting the fusion between diverse gastronomic traditions in the territories and a joint strategy to access tourist markets beyond our borders.

The specific objectives are as follows:

– Improve the economic profitability of tourism-related businesses.

– To improve the economic profitability of companies producing and processing local products and indirectly to improve the profitability of local trading companies.

– Encourage the transfer of knowledge and gastronomic traditions.

– To create new dishes made with local products through fusions with cuisines from other European countries.

– To increase the level of knowledge of the local population’s training linked to gastronomy.

– To disseminate a healthy diet among the population linked to the consumption of local products.

– Create links with new tourist source markets.

– Integrate gastronomy into the new tourism products and the enhancement of the cultural and heritage resources of our territories.

– Facilitate the participation of our production companies in forums and fairs that favour the dissemination of their products and which, due to the size of the companies, would not be able to access or attend these events if it were not for this project.

– Enhance rural territories through the strengthening of gastronomy and tourism, including their integration in strategies linked to tourism products in the territories.

– Incorporate the experience of gastronomy professionals from each territory into the cooperation project.

– Improve the product packaging of small producers through training. –

Improve product presentation among catering companies in our territories through training.

– Improve the presentation of the gastronomic offer in the accommodation in our territories through training and networking days that help to generate new tourist products in which the accommodation is allied with the catering industry, creating new tourist products in the market.

– To help create new tourism products that combine accommodation and gastronomy, and to promote and facilitate their sale through local, national and international tour operators.

– Use new technologies to put agents, clients and consumers in contact with participating producers and companies in each of the territories.

– Collaborate with the Regional Ministry of the Rural Environment in the dissemination of the new figures of the law of land reclamation, facilitating that the new figures that are being projected in the RDGs of Galicia (Concello de Tomiño and Concello de Oia), are consolidated and that the resulting products and producers are incorporated into the Eurochef project for their promotion and dissemination in the territories and that the producers of the figures already created in the territory of RDG 10 are directly incorporated into the project for their promotion and dissemination as productions generated in the Model Villages.

– Create the project’s own brand that identifies participating companies, both producers and companies in the tourism sector, with special emphasis on the products resulting from the new figures of the land reclamation law.

– Generate a structure beyond the project that consolidates the network and the durability of the tools generated with the project and that capitalises on the knowledge and experience of the project.

– Export experience and knowledge of the Agricultural Land Reclamation Law to other European countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia.

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

The joint work of the 6 cooperation groups, as well as the exchange of experiences between the territories, which included visits to different agro-food projects, as well as to the tourist heritage to be valued, resulted in the creation of a final event that we call “The Essence of Origin”.

This result is what we want to transfer to a new cooperation project for the next period, focusing the objectives of Eurochef III on the creation of high-level events in rural territories, in which we take nearby cities to relevant spaces of our countryside, to value the products, explain how they are produced, how they are transformed, how they are sold, and thus recognize the work of all those people who decided to bet on staying in the rural area, to keep it alive, and who make it possible for us to consume traditional, local and high-quality products in urban environments.

In the near future we hope to have a series of events that can be developed with a certain temporality in the territories of the partner groups, which help to highlight the rural area and what is produced there, as well as create an event that is a driving force for the development of the territories, a festival that generates economy and puts the spotlight on the small villages that work to stay alive.

Thus the first edition of the essence of origin was developed in a small village named Pitelos (Verea) to highlight rural areas, local products and haute cuisine, to demontrate that a small place with less than 10 inhabitants can become, with desire and enthusiasm, a true attraction for the visitors. The presentation of the project ‘A essence of the origin’ packed this small municipality and transformed a warehouse into a novel space.

The day began at 12:00 p.m. with a vermouth session with a tasting of avant-garde cuisine with local products prepared on site by Iván Méndez, head chef at Tabalú Food&Tech, and Álex Iglesias, from The Dos Líneas restaurants, in Arzúa. The chefs conquered the public with their demonstration of how different products can be transformed at their origin through haute cuisine. Mussel empanada, vegetables from the O Rosal garden; torrixa from O Porriño bread; Galician potato, pumpkin and shiitake gnocchi; papanduxas tribute to Álvaro Cunqueiro; candied and puffed bacon with turnip top cream and Galician potatoes; filloa and cottage cheese milfollas with apple shavings from A Estrada; or Galician reddish tataki with Limia risolada potatoes, were some of the dishes that the families who attended the event were able to taste. Meanwhile, the children participated in different workshops through which they discovered many countryside activities in a playful way and in which they also tasted mini cachena burgers, bica de Verea, roscón de Copena from Gondomar and organic apple juice.

The activity also had the collaboration of companies from the territory, such as Viveros Río Tollo, Adega Pateira, Altos de Torona, Adega Valmiñor, Adega Mimbre, Pazo de Valdomiño, Beraki, Copena and Zumiño. In addition, the eventb also featured pieces by artisans from territory, such as Las Flores de Grieta, Redeiras de A Guarda, Atalaia, Aitor Martínez, Luckys Bake Ceramic or Álvaro Leiro and Julia de La Cal, both recently nominated for the 2023 National Crafts Awards.

The event continued in the afternoon with a visit to the Nogueira Livestock Farm, which currently has more than 300 cattle. During the visit, the commitment that this family made to rural areas and ranching as a way of life was highlighted: “This is a tribute to all those people who work for and in rural areas, a tribute to the family of Marcos Nogueiras, who opted to produce and live in rural areas.

Like them, there are many people in Galicia who are committed to dedicating themselves to the fundamental pillars of rural development such as agriculture and livestock farming.”

The day ended with the presentation of this project before different authorities.

All the participating groups understood, thanks to the previous steps we developed in the project, that it is important to promote our territories, our products, our landscapes, our people, since the essence is in the origin, but so that they are really taken into account and we can develop actions that have an impact on these territories, the essence is to bring the urban population to our towns, and offer them an immersive experience, which shows them how people live in the countryside, how they produce, process, create… and the importance for these small villages of the simple act of changing your consumption habits and thinking about helping the rural population.

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EUROCHEF II: A CHEF AT THE RURAL

Links of interest:

Eurochef, A Chef At The Rural (2nd Edition)

Eurochef, A Chef At The Rural (2nd Edition)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11VJPGv-cIF-e0IVLUQPAI0cwXCNFsx2u/view?usp=sharing

Project n°24

INTRODUCTION

The MURCIA RURAL cooperation project (2024-2025) aims to make visible, enhance and promote the spaces, products, people and development initiatives existing in rural territories, highlighting the experience of over 30 years of the four participating Local Action Groups, as the main actors in the dynamisation of rural development in the Region of Murcia.

It is structured in 5 axes, with the following activities and final products:

KNOWING: 27 thematic conferences on spaces, destinations and products.

RECOGNIZING: 48 video documentaries to highlight the value of elderly people and promote tourist routes and 24 teaching units so that schoolchildren and families better know and value their environment.

SHARING: 8 visits between the different territories to learn about LEADER-supported experiences.

PROMOTING: 10 product tastings, 5 Fam/Press Trips and 4 pilot experiences of new rural tourism products to promote territories as tourist destinations.

VALUING: 5 documentaries to raise awareness on the work performed by LAGs of the Region of Murcia throughout its history.

The project is part of the Participatory Local Development Strategies of each partner, being funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, under the LEADER measure of the RDP 2014-2022.

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

Early in 2024, the four Local Action Groups managing the Participatory Local Development Strategies, within the framework of the Rural Development Program of the Region of Murcia 2014-2022, launched the MURCIA RURAL cooperation project, whose main objective is to make visible, enhance and promote the spaces, products, people and development initiatives existing in the rural territories where they operate.

MURCIA RURAL is a joint work framework that allows the transfer of knowledge, the development of formulas and methodologies for training and collaboration, the generation of synergies and the visibility of the experience of over 30 years of Local Action Groups as the main actors in the dynamisation of rural development in the Region of Murcia.

MURCIA RURAL is structured into five action programmes:

KNOWING: a set of 27 thematic sessions on territories, destinations and products to showcase the experiences of the socio-economic agents involved in their valorisation.

RECOGNIZING: a programme for the production of video and educational resources consisting of:

• 20 documentaries to highlight the value of older people who have been key to the rural development of the Region of Murcia (MEMORABLES).

• 28 documentaries on tourist routes to promote the potential of these territories as rural tourism destinations (RUTEANDO).

• 24 teaching units so that schoolchildren and families have a better understanding of their own environment and the possibilities it offers (RECONOCER FAMILIAR).

These will soon be made publicly and openly available through the Internet and will also be disseminated through audiovisual media.

SHARING is a programme of 8 visits between the different territories participating in the project to learn about experiences developed with the support of the LAGs of the Region of Murcia.

PROMOTING: a programme promoting the attractions of the tourist destinations of the territories of RURAL MURCIA, consisting of:

• Inviting journalists and people with influence in tourism demand to participate in 5 FAM-PRESS TRIPS, so that they can learn about this tourist offer first-hand and contribute to promoting it.

• Organising 10 tastings, aimed at both the general public and professionals in the tourism and catering sector, where visitors can learn about and try the products of each region, as well as making direct contacts with producers, their associations and the entities responsible for guaranteeing their quality and authenticity.

• Developing 5 pilot experiences for the creation and testing of new rural tourism products.

VALUING: A programme focused on raising awareness through a series of 5 documentaries about the work of the LAGs throughout their over 30 years of history and their importance in the rural development of the Region of Murcia.

MURCIA RURAL has a broad territorial participation, since the development of its actions actively involves the driving forces of each territory: public administrations, public and private organizations, associations, companies, entrepreneurs, professionals, entities and prominent people involved in socioeconomic and cultural development.

MURCIA RURAL has a budget of EUR 712,820, funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, under the LEADER measure of the RDP 2014-2022.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES

The general objective of Murcia Rural is to share formulas between the different rural territories of the Region of Murcia to improve the knowledge, promotion and visibility of their resources and initiatives for socio-economic development. This involves:

• Transferring knowledge between the different participating territories and generating opportunities for collaboration between them.

• Making visible the value of these territories and of the people who inhabit them.

• Making known the activity and experience of Local Action Groups as dynamizers of rural development in the Region of Murcia.

Specific objectives

• Improving the promotion and marketing of products with distinguished and recognised quality or those that at least meet quality standards.

• Finding formulas that improve the offer for tourism and trips to these territories.

• Developing initiatives that promote the transfer of knowledge between the different territories within the cooperation project and that allow us to learn about unique initiatives from other territories not included in the territorial scope of the cooperation project.

• Making visible the work of the Local Action Groups of the Region of Murcia as entities that have sought territorial development in recent decades.

Cross-cutting objectives

• Highlighting and boosting the role of women in rural development in the Region of Murcia.

• Highlighting the environmental value of rural areas and the importance of natural and urban rural landscapes.

• Raising awareness and promoting environmental conservation and the fight against climate change.

• Exploiting the cultural heritage of elderly people, an inestimably valuable and greatly fragile intangible heritage.

• Highlighting and promoting inclusive initiatives to dynamize the youth and generational change, both private and within the associative fabric.

• Promoting intergenerational communication.

• Promoting the accessibility of resources, attending to the needs that allow the development of inclusive activities.

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

The complementarity of the Local Action Groups within the project relies in that they bring together all the rural areas of the Region of Murcia: 40 municipalities, 286 population centres and 400,000 inhabitants. Each territory has different characteristics and specialisations, whether predominantly agricultural or urban, with a rich heritage and tourist appeal. This is facilitating the emergence of important synergies between very different actors in the territory who, under the project, are finding and discovering common interests and proposing collaborations. This is leading to reinforced and amplified rural development policies in each territory. In addition, the partners possess different expertises, pooled and shared within through the joint work of technical teams participating, acting as a single multidisciplinary team.

The impact and added value of Murcia Rural relies in:

• a greater knowledge of the territories, heritage and natural resources and the potentials of the local population and of raising their awareness of an efficient, responsible and sustainable use.

• a significant enhancement and promotion of the spaces and quality products from the territories, and the meeting and collaboration between people and entities involved in their management or production.

• the promotion of social innovation initiatives related to ethnography, social memory and culture that shape the identity of the people residing in each territory, particularly, those including the elderly.

Murcia Rural is having a direct impact on 400,000 inhabitants of four rural territories. The initially planned indicators are already being exceeded: 35 Seminars and workshop (+1800 participants), 10 product tastings (+300 participants), 5 FAN-PRESS Trips (25 professional visitors), 4 pilot experiences of new tourist products (40 participants), 53 video-documentaries (total duration: 850 minutes) 24 teaching units.

The baseline for developing the project has involved uniting the strategies, objectives and cooperation actions projected in each territory of each participating LAG, within their Participatory Local Development Strategies (PLDSs), approved as planning documents and basis for the implementation of the RDP 2014-2022.

The LAGs in rural areas of the Region of Murcia have been networking for years, both informally and formally within REDERMUR, the Regional Rural Development Network they belong to since 2017. The project sprang from this prior experience, as partners felt the need to improve and structure this collaboration so it can continue and intensify in the future.

According this willing, further methodological objectives and actions have been introduced into this cooperation project with a view to:

• Establishing effective and efficient coordination formulas and transferring experiences between partners.

• Developing actions by creating sustainable resources that can be used over time.

• Highlighting the importance of the LAGs of the Region of Murcia and the possibilities of the regional networking.

• Establishing a communication plan consolidating the creation of quality content on rural development and advocating for the effective promotion of the heritage and natural resources of the territories.

• Establishing formulas that improve the skills of rural actors and dynamizing agents in the territory. The methodologies, products and results of the collaborative work developed within MURCIA RURAL will continue to be used and probably expanded in the future by REDERMUR, as well as by each partner. They may even be transferred within the framework of future cooperation projects with other territories, both at national and transnational level.

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q8ZQBUO6bNyByl2cM7DYsV0F4bsSqZtg/view?usp=sharing