The project aimed to increase and diversify income of small-holders, micro-farmers and micro-producers in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine through comprehensive technical, organizational and promotional assistance and support to processing, promotion and sales of local products under the short food supply chain formula, in line with the provisions of AAs, EU acquis and V4 best practices in the field.
As part of the undertaking, a number of activities were carried out, including delivery of workshops on regional products, culinary heritage and rural tourism, obtaining certifications of community kitchens in Georgia and Moldova as well as organization of three Local Products Fairs – one in each of the targeted countries. The events were accompanied by the founding meetings of local producer groups established in Georgia to register tklapi – regional oval puréed fruit (incl. hawthorn, berberis, blackthorn, wild plum) roll-up leather and in Moldova (registered local products – rose petal jam and fruit distillate).
In Ukraine a preliminary analysis of the registration potential of the chosen local products from the Kherson region (cold-pressed sunflower and hazelnut oil as well as oil made of other oleaginous plants) were conducted. Moreover, a closer cooperation for the sake of sustainable tourist product creation was fostered by setting up an organization (of representatives of Ukrainian NGO, LA and entrepreneurs/producers) focused on the promotion of GI, culinary and rural tourism as well as shortening of the supply chain between the producer and the consumer. All the events were disseminated through local media (press conferences hosted in each country). On top of that, regional products, direct sale, production at agricultural farms and building local tourist product (rural and culinary tourism) were promoted at the PR events organized in all targeted countries. Project provided two handbooks: instructions and rules on using the community kitchens in Moldova and Georgia as model solutions for cross-sectoral cooperation for micro producers and farmers in legal sales to the final consumer and the analysis of barriers in short food chain, direct sales, GI: a road-map of removing barriers as well as lobbying and technical assistance plan for GE, MD and UA.
The project financed by the International Visegrad Fund lasted from 1 March 2017 till 28 February 2018 and was implemented by the Development Policy Foundation in cooperation with Kyjovské Slovácko v pohybu, Felső-Homokhátság Vidékfejlesztési Egyesület, MAS Kras, Local Action Group (LAG) ‘Vistula-Terra Culmensis’ , Casa Parinteasca, TEMI Charitable Union, Kakheti Regional Development Foundation, Municipal enterprise ‘Agency of Regional Development’, and NGO ‘United we stand’.
Please find out more by visiting project’s official website under http://culinaryroutes.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/CulinaryRoutesVF/.
Project’s final evaluation report available here: