Conservarea biodiversităţii şi dezvoltare comunitară în Transilvania
Biodiversity conservation and community development in Transylvania

HRH The Prince of Wales visits the ADEPT project in 2008 and 2009

In 2008 and 2009, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales visited the village of Saschiz, in south-east Transylvania, to meet local producers. In 2009 he opened a model food processing unit.

Known as a “food barn”, this simple conversion of a farm courtyard barn will enable small-scale producers in the area to sell their traditional recipes more widely, while meeting the safety and hygiene regulations set out by the EU.

Fundatia ADEPT is helping small-scale producers to meet the new EU requirements so that they can continue to sell their traditionally-made food locally and also on a national and international level at the popular Food Markets in Bucharest and Brasov and the Slow Food Festivals across Europe.

Funded by Fundatia ADEPT and working closely with the local community of Saschiz, the food barn is a first of its kind and has been given official approval by the National Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) to be used in the production of local products for retail sales in Romania and abroad. The flexible set-up of the food barn welcomes both individual and group producers for a variety of products.

The food barn is a great example of the combined wish of local communities, the Romanian Government and the European Commission to preserve local and traditional foods, thus providing an economic future to the small-scale farming communities that make them and thus protecting the landscape in which they live. Fundatia ADEPT hopes that other communities will be encouraged to replicate this model.

After unveiling a plaque to commemorate the event, His Royal Highness emphasised the need to ensure the survival of Romania’s remarkable rural culture and civilization, drawing reference to how Transylvania combines an extremely rich wildlife with natural and high quality food made by local producers. The Prince of Wales stressed the importance to value and protect these low-energy agricultural systems as they are a practical response to the global economic and environmental crisis.

The Prince of Wales carried out this engagement during his short private visit to Romania.

23.05.2009

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Printul Charles in vizita la Saschiz