LIVERUR – The RAIN Methodology is taking off! 3 rural businesses and 2 dedicated workshops

Thursday 4 March 2021

CESIE had a chance to participate to the workshops led by the Italian Partners Fondazione E35 in the application of the RAIN Methodology developed by the Horizon 2020 project LIVERUR with two pilot areas in Emilia-Romagna. The set of workshop previously explored the “Vision” and “People” areas of the methodology and on the recent workshops on the 26^th of February and 2^nd of march the work continued on the remaining areas of the methodology.

For us, it was great to have the opportunity to see the tools developed by the project being used on problems and visions of three beautiful realities of Emilia-Romagna and especially, thanks to this, discover the opportunities that these areas face in terms of future developments.

Specifically, on 26/02/2021 we discovered the initiative of the Parco Commestibile di Canali in Fogliano and explored the potential and possible strategies to make the Park on the one hand sustainable from an economic point of view and on the other hand more integrated into the social fabric and the community in which it stands. We studied innovation and sustainability as tools for the future development of the park. The idea went on to be declined into sustainable packaging, exploration of additional sales channels and participatory circular economy initiatives with the community such as composting organic waste. We also observed the contribution the park can make to the biodiversity of the area through the introduction of bio-monitoring through bees.

The second workshop on 02/03/2021 instead explored the potential for innovation and development for two community cooperatives in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Valle dei Cavalieri and Briganti di Cerreto have been carrying out accommodation and tourism activities for years now and through these activities they offer services to the local community. With both realities and several local stakeholders we analyzed the benefits of experiential tourism and the marketing potential related to it. Moreover, we identified several innovative proposals to attract tourists interested in the naturalistic experience made possible by the pure landscapes of these valleys of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines by networking with other businesses and services providers of the area to offer additional touristic and experiential services. Both meetings were extremely interesting and the quantity and quality of ideas and strategies to be laid down in order to further enhance the realities of the two pilot areas of Emilia-Romagna demonstrate the validity of the RAIN methodology as a working tool for rural enterprises interested in growing their business and doing it in a sustainable way that also brings benefits to the territory in which the company operates.

On the RAIN methodology

LThe RAIN methodology, available on the RAIN platform, makes available a set of tools to support companies, stakeholders and institutions in rural areas in the development of innovative business models using the potential of innovation and circular economy to increase the sustainability of rural areas both from an environmental and an economic point of view, thus generating new business opportunities for rural areas.