Farming and Dairy Centre of Cansiglio: from nature with love and awareness, "Centro Caseario Agrituristico del Cansiglio: dalla natura con amore e consapevolezza"

Best Practice

Region
Veneto
In the territorial limits of the Alpine Convention.
Country
it (Italy)
Term 2008-12-02
Topics

Short description
The Dairy Farming and Agri-Touristic Centre of the Plateau Tambre-Spert-Cansiglio is a an agricultural and farm cooperative of 180 partners established at the beginning of 1970, by initiative of the Italian Corps of Forest Rangers, dedicated to the farming of selected bovine species for dairy produce.The respect for the local traditions and the environment induced the partners of the cooperative to start, at the beginning of 1990, the organic farming in order to produce organic certified cheese. The awareness that a product of high quality can generate a perception of high quality of the territory the product comes from conviced the cooperative to invest in the sector of tourism. In 2003 the old common milk-house, located in the small village called Tambre, has been completely renovated and reactivated: the rooms downstairs have been reserved to the processing of milk (which before happened close to the pastures and the cattleshed, located in Pian Cansiglio, 10 km far fromTambre), upstairs has been transformed in a Bed&Breakfast with 11 double rooms. The tourists can learn how the traditional processing of milk happens and they can appreciate the strong relation between the product and the territory. The guiding philosophy of the cooperative is that it is necessary to protect and preserve the uniqueness of the territory, with its local and endogenous resources, since only a unique territory can generate a unique and genuine product. Endogenous resources: livestock, nourishment for the animals, pastures, milk, employees, buildings and machineries. The economic sectors involved are: agriculture, farming, trade, tourism.
Projekt Executive Mr Valter Giora
Viale Marconi, 82, Tambre (BL),
caseifcansiglio@iol.it
+39 0437 439722
Project executive
Dairy Farming and Agri-Touristic Centre of the Plateau Tambre-Spert-Cansiglio, a Cooperative with 180 partners born at the beginning of 1970. Address: Viale Marconi 82, Tambre (BL) - Italy, phone number: +39 0437 439722 e-mail:caseifcansiglio@iol.it

Participants
University of Padua,Faculty of Biotechnologies, VenetoAgricoltura, Municipality of Tambre, Associazione Cimbri Cansiglio, Sergio Saviane Timber Industry, Cooperativa 8 Marzo, Cooperativa di Zeri. The key person behind the project is with no doubts Valter Giora, the Director of the Centre. His professional skills, his innovative ideas, his courage and his strong belief in the value of local resources, both nautral and human, have been the key factors determining the success of the project. He could be hardly replaced.Of course the participants can identify with the project since they are active partners, they own the livestock and work in the project.
Objectives
The main objective of the project is to find sustainable solutions that can allow the local farmers to have the income necessary to their maintenance, avoiding them to abandon their region. Strictly depending on the main objective, the second one is to keep high the price of milk per liter that has to be payed to the farmer. By this way, in fact, the end-consumer will pay milk and dairy produce a bit more if compared with others but receiving, in return, a high quality product generated by endogenous resources and contributing to oppose the process of depopulation. Other important objectives have been: to avoid the use of chemicals in the management of pastures, to obtain the organic certificate by the national auditor, to process milk in the traditional local way, to develop new form of slow tourism connected with the activities of the Centre, to open a shop and a restaurant where it is possible to buy and to eat local food, to renovate the old common milk-house in order to reactivate it and to use it as Bed&Breakfast, to promote educational initiative with schools obtaining the certificate of "Didactic Farm".
Activities
Farming, cheese production, touristic activities (accomodation, restaurant, retail sale of local products, organisation of tour and sport activities), educational activities.
Process
1.building of the dairy and of six cattlesheds by the Italian Corps of Forest Rangers in 1970; 2.achievement of the organic agriculture certificate in 1992; 3.rediscovery of traditional local cheese and improvement of the diversity of the cheese produced in the different seasons; 4.implementation of tourist activities through restaurant service and sale of the local products; 5.renovation of the old common milk-house as Bed&Breakfast in 2003.
Results
The Centre has an annual income of 2.000.000,00 euro; 14 employees work in the dairy and 40 families live on the income coming from the activities of the cooperative (farming, tourist services). One of the most relevant success factor is that, since 1995, the price of milk per liter payed to the farmers has been kept high with a total increase of 16%. This is a great result especially when compared with the national price that diminished of 18%. Another important result is that the amount of milk delivered by the partners has been constant and that some young farmers, coming from different economic sectors, have decided to be part of the cooperative. Another important success factor has been the decision to start tourist activities. As for the innovative sustainable concepts, the leading idea has been to combine the local tradition with the pillars of sustainable development.The specific relevance of the results for the Alps is that the activity of the Centre contributes to strengthen the relation between the farmer and the territory, with the positive effects of limiting the process of depopulation that is interesting the Alps on a regional scale, supporting the local economy with a production based on endogenous resources and preserving the alpine environment.
Evaluation
No
Difficulties
One of the main difficulties has been to convince the farmers to choose the organic production even if, by this way, costs could increase. This difficulty has been solved through numerous meetings between farmers and experts who showed the effective income coming from organic agriculture, especially on a long term perspective and through the commitment of the regional administration to give the priority to the local farmers during the competions for the assignment of the farms. Another difficulty was connected with the problem that the traditional dairy production is often in contrast with the national sanitary measures. This difficulty has been solved with the correction of the phases of production and the achievement of the certificate of organic agriculture. Further on, a problem was related with the costs of the renovation of the cattlesheds and the dairy owned by the regional administration, which has been solved only recently through an agreement between the farmers and the regional administration, which will deduct the amount of money spent by the farmers for the renovation from the sum that they have to pay as leaseholders to the regional administration. Another difficulty stays in the relationship between the Centre and some local shopkeepers who do not want to sell the dairy produce because the prices are, in their opinion, too high. One more problem is related with the tourist activities, which do not guarantee a constant income. This depends on the fact that the Centre is located in region that is considered marginal from the point of view of tourism. This difficulty has been partially resolved through the implementation of marketing and through the diversification of the tourist offers, which is always connected both with cultural and with natural activities. Finally, the last difficulty was related to the accessibility: the village in which the Centre is located, in fact, is not properly served by the public transport service. This last difficulty has been resolved through the utilization of bus owned by the local soccer team.
Budget
Annual income: 2.000.000,00 € (Euro)
Financial backer
Local investors, both private and public investments (only 1% of the total), subsidies from EU.
Source of information
Competition
Participant at the 2005 Future in the Alps competition
Homepage
http://www.cansiglio.com
Project executive as above
Contact person as above
Comments
Impact on nature and environment
The contribution of the project to the preservation of the environment is based on the organic farming: all the members of the cooperative, in fact, cannot use fertilizers and chemicals, reducing the risk connected with the pollution of the water table.
Economic value added
The economic value added provided by the project is based both on qualitative and on quantitative factors. High quality and tipical products, use of traditional know-how, development of sustainable tourism. 14 new employees, 40 families. High potential to keep people in the region. Multiplier effect in tourism. National and international export.
Socio-cultural value added
The project provides a favourable impact on the society because it contributes to stregthen the relation between land and population, reducing thus the emigration of the younger generations. It also has a favourable impact on the preservation of the local cultural heritage, which is taught to the many students who visit the Centre every year: during these visits, in fact, the students can learn how a blade of grass becomes a slice of cheese or they can listen to the ancient legends handed on from father to son. Another important aspect of the socio-cultural value added of the project is that the farmers (members of the cooperative) are often invited to participate to national and international meetings and workshops, during which they heve the possibility to exchange and to upgrade their experiencies and know-how.
Innovative content
The main innovative content of the project is based on the idea that the real innovation can start from local traditions and local resources: to innovate following the tradition and the principles of sustainable development is the guiding philosophy of the project. This philosophy has led to the improvement of the traditional dairy production process, following the techniques of organic agriculture, and to the renovation of the machineries used in the processing of milk.
Good governance
The principle of good governance is assured by the direct involvement of the members of the cooperative in plenary assemblies during which the board of directors of the Centre presents a report on the activities done during the year and searches for new strategies with the partecipacion of all the players concerned.
PR impact
The success of the project is made known to the general public both through the distribution of dépliants and brochure that illustrate the variuos activities and through direct contact with the possible consumers such as tourists and schools. The project is also communicated through a web site.
Multiplier effect / networking
Multiplier effect and networking are guaranteed by the project through a partnership with the "Cooperativa 8 Marzo" (Verona) and the "Cooperativa di Zeri" (Massa Carrara) that support the exchange of know-how in the field of processing methods and technologies, commercial experiences and new marketing strategies. As for the exchange with other players within the project framework, interesting experiences in the field of culture and research have been implemented with the University of Padua, Faculty of Biotechnologies, VenetoAgricoltura, Cimbri of Cansiglio Association, Sergio Saviane Timber Industry.
Transferability
What can be applied to other sectors or regions is not a specific methodology or technique, but the awareness that it is possible to guarantee an income to the population of mountain regions starting from the endogenous resources, which have to be used in a proper and sustainable way. This means that the actors involved could have to make difficult and courageous decisions, which can bring some important results only on a long-term perspective. Further on, the awareness that the diversity of mountain products is a resource itself in the global market can be transferred. Exchanges with other economic and cultural actors are also fundamental. Some special basic conditions in a region are not needed to implement the same kind of project.

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