Article by Materahub
From 21 to 23 May, the training session of the Treasure Hunt project took place in Matera. It was addressed to 15 young people from Greece, Bulgaria, Spain and Sweden (and sent by partners Innoved, Sofia University, Fyg and Storestad respectively).
The training, held in Hubout’s municipal spaces, was organised by the project’s Italian partner, Materahub, as part of the project’s training activities aimed at young people with business ideas in innovative and sustainable agritourism and rural tourism.
The three days of training were a real educational challenge for the young participants who had to form real teams to simulate fledgling agrotourism businesses with innovative ideas in the area of production or tourist attraction.
Over the course of the three days, the various business ideas, guided by the ad hoc activities conceived and implemented by the organisers and project partners present, were able to create, develop, modify and reach the necessary maturity to potentially be implemented in practice in the various local realities.
Other potentially realisable personal ideas were also able to be refined and developed during the training; such was the case of a young Greek participant, who was looking for ideas and insights to develop an innovative business idea with her family’s groves located in an idyllic mountain village in Greece.
The training was not only theoretical, however, as participants had the opportunity to visit an agritourism firmly rooted in the Matera area, i.e. the Casal dragone agritourism, now increasingly renowned for its excellent wine, now shipped all over the world.
Guided by Angela, one of the farm’s owners, participants were able to understand the natural and innovative methods of vine cultivation and the short supply chain that allows the farm to produce, transform and sell a range of high quality products on site with a higher market value and the dissemination of informations and intangible values.
The study tour of the agritourism also allowed participants to visit the Crypt of Original Sin, a masterpiece of rock art, which is located on the farm area.
All in all, the participants were enthusiastic about the training and the beautiful setting of Matera that welcomed them, and returned to their respective countries full of new experiences and, above all, new ideas to be developed and implemented in their own countries for a greener and more sustainable future.