The series of creative workshops organised by MedINA, aimed at promoting agrifood innovation and entrepreneurship, utilizing the rich heritage and unique products of Lemnos, was successfully completed.
The first workshop “Artisanal Industries in Lemnos – Entrepreneurship & Innovation”, facilitated by product development consultant, author and gastronomy editor, Gianna Balafouti, covered all the necessary steps to start and establishing a sustainable artisanal industry – from concept idea and business model to product development and continuous business growth.
The second workshop “Artisanal Dairy Factories in Lemnos” was an introduction to the important role that artisanal dairy factories can play in the preservation of the Lemnian agrifood heritage and the enhancement of the organoleptic characteristics of local, traditional cheeses. In this context, the traditional stone-built mandras can be restored and used as ripening rooms to give the cheese its characteristic local ‘imprint’.
During the third workshop “Agri-food tourism experiences – Visitable farms”, the sustainable & alternative tourism consultant and tourism experience manager of SanDopios DMC, Stavros Papadopoulos, introduced the participants to the new trends in agritourism, outlined the legal framework of multifunctional farms, and clarified the concepts of “responsible tourist”, “agritourist” and “gastro-tourist”. He explained all the necessary steps to design, cost and promote the agritourism experience, while participants were given the opportunity to practice their new knowledge by working in small groups, developing, pricing and designing the promotion plans for their first tourism experiences.
With this series of workshops, we took a few more steps forward to co-design a creative, inclusive and as authentic as possible rural space in Lemnos, together with institutions, producers and local businesses. The artisanal industry and the development of tourist experiences at visitable farms not only empower each producer individually, achieving added value on the product and supplementary income, but also co-create a web of synergies on the island that strengthens the local economy as a whole.
In the near future we will hold informative meetings about the development of agrifood routes in Lemnos and provision of advisory support to producers for the establishment of artisanal industries.
The series of workshops and the entire “Terra Graeca: Small Farm to Market” project is implemented with the support of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation.