Honey, high quality leather products, milk and cheese, and wild peas. In the Monti Sibillini Park, a member of Euromontana, as in other mountainous regions across Europe, entrepreneurs are producing high quality food and high fashion products. Their efforts promote local culture and economic development while allowing them to produce sustainably and locally on lands they and their families have occupied sometimes for centuries. Tamara Griffiths has a column in the Huffington Post where she traces the history and current activities of individuals and businesses making mountain products. She reflects on the reasons for producing in mountain areas and how people achieve success despite the challenges. For more information, check out some of her most recent articles:
Food That is Feeling and How Italian Mountain Honey is Made: Roberto di Mulo, who makes milk and cheese in the Monti Sibillini, explains that people associate food produced in mountain areas food with purity, health and tradition: “In mountains like ours, you have food that is connected to belief”. Roberto makes sure to source all of his milk from mountain areas. When he runs out of milk, he does not buy it from the lowlands. Sergio Corridoni who produces honey in the mountains also refuses to import honey and fraudulently label it as “mountain” when he runs out of his own. For more, visit: Food That is Feeling and How Italian Mountain Honey is Made.
Sandra and Bruno (photo by Tamara Griffiths)
High Fashion in the Mountains: In Tamara’s words: Sandra and Bruno Treggiari have a top-end leather products company, selling all over Europe with clients like Russell and Bromley in the UK. They are based in the Monti Sibillini National Park. From a conservative business perspective, it makes little sense to base a fashion design and manufacturing business in a mountain location. They could lower costs in some ways by being in the main leather producing areas in the lowlands, but their vision is connected to mountains and the community they are from. Part of the sustainability of their business derives from the value they place on quality of life and quality of product, hand in hand. Read more about their work here.
To read more articles by Tamara Griffiths on mountain products, visit the Huffington post site.
23 August 2016
