After the hosting of 6 Austrian senior volunteers in Palermo, it was the turn of 6 Italian volunteers welcomed in the small village of Zirl (Innsbruck) in Austria, thanks to Senior Volunteering Project “Old Recipes – New Perspectives” (LLP program – Learning Partnerships Grundtvig).
Thanks to the warm welcome of the small village, the volunteers felt immediately comfortable and easily integrating with the local community and in the activities proposed by the hosting organisation CUBIC.
These were mainly focused on the discovery and cultivation of traditional crafts and consumption of organic vegetables products. The program of activities and cultural visits has been adapted according to the expectations and interest of volunteers, in order to make them experiencing an enriching and stimulating time. For example, particular attention was paid to the discovery of wool of Tyrol and the promotion of its traditional final products, as one of the Italian volunteer has a strong interest to re-evaluate this handy craft in Sicily.
The volunteers got to work also in the cultivation and harvesting of several local fruits, some of which are rare in many parts of Italy. Moreover, they have also been involved in the process of transformation of such products into jams or sweets. They paid particular attention to the promotion of the consumption of these products, especially at 0 km, to learn about good practices transferable in Italy. In fact, the Italian volunteers were very interested in learning about good practices for the promotion of organic and km0 products, possible transferable in Italy and in volunteers’ local context.
In the 4 weeks in Tyrol, the volunteers got to know the local culture, thanks to the warmly welcome of the local people, which open their homes to let them taste and cook traditional dishes. From this experience many friendships were born, and volunteers have a countless desire to go back and relive the hosting country.
