‘Moldavian Culinary Routes: Model consolidation and multiplication. Advocacy, promotion and investments for complete, integrated rural tourism product. Certification of food processing for micro-entrepreneurs’ is a project supported by Polish Aid Program (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland) and implemented in 2017 in Câlârași and Purcari regions in Moldova by Polish Development Policy Foundation.
Project aimed to create and promote complete, fully functional and integrated products of rural tourism – based on Moldavian Culinary Routes model, designed to support balanced, sustainable rural development and diversification of income in the countryside: production and promotion of regional products, construction of thematic (including culinary) cycling and walking touristic routes, as well as inclusion of the Câlârași and Purcari regions residents in the active development of a local touristic offer.
In the Purcari region fully equipped camping field was opened as well as three tourist biking routes have been successfully created and equipped with the bicycle rental stations to complement existing tourist offer, additionally supported by IT on-line and off-line applications available for free, while in the Câlârași region guest rooms at the Casa Părintească Museum have been constructed to create the first year-round available tourist accommodation in the region. Additionally the dishes (300 of wine glasses) and processing equipment (juice squizers, essential oil extraction equipment) were provided to culinary routes manufacturers network members.
Promotion of good practices, educational programs including implementation of model innovative ecological solutions (e.g. ecological cesspool, eco wastewater drainage, energy saving solutions) to be further replicated locally, workshops on rural architecture, design, marketing and co-creating of a rural touristic product were also an incorporated part of the project.
Moreover, advocacy actions have been taken to support simplification of the Moldovan sanitary regulations for individual farmers processing agricultural products and wishing to introduce them onto the local and regional markets. This part of the project was implemented within the grant awarded by International Visegrad Fund.
Find out more about Câlârași and Purcari Districts’ tourist offer and regional products at project’s official websites under bikeandwine.md and www.codrute.org or visit Facebook.