Centenarians and their diet as inspiration for the new generations.
From 20 to 27 November 2023 at the village of Seulo, 30 young Sardinians and Europeans (coming from Bulgaria, Slovenia, Spain and the Czech Republic) participated in the “Farm to Fork” youth exchange, organized and coordinated by the Malik E.T.S. association, financed by the European program Erasmus Plus and the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Department of Public Education, Cultural Heritage, Information, Entertainment and Sport and co-financed by the municipality of Seulo.
The idea for the “Farm to Fork” project was born by analyzing the results of research on the lifestyle of young people: the percentage of young people who eat unhealthy foods has increased by 35%. and overall obesity by 44%.
For this Youth Exchange, the choice of the host country was not random, but had the clear objective of raising young people’s awareness of a healthy lifestyle, discovering the secrets of long-lived people, rediscovering plants, herbs and condiments as tools for their well-being.
Numerous outdoor activities and meetings with local authorities: our participants had the opportunity to learn more about Seulo and its countryside with an exceptional guide, Mr. Giovanni Locci, a lively ninety-year-old, who accompanied us on a walk in search of mushrooms and wild herbs, which helped us to recognize and understand their uses in cooking and on a healing level.
The eco museum of the upper Flumendosa guided us to discover the ancient dairy art with the shepherd Giuliano and made us learn more about the stories of the centenarians and the village through the treasure hunt.
The male choir “Perdedu” from Seulo accompanied us with its songs during the multicultural evening. Claudia Sedda, president of the Barbagia Mandrolisai Gennargentu rural district GAL, illustrated the local action strategy they have carried out and Costantino Palmas spoke with our young participants from the short supply chain, presenting the “Terre trovate” platform, e-commerce ethical which represents a best practice of the Sardinian ethical supply food chain.
The project was also an opportunity to introduce young foreigners to some of the most important and magical archaeological and naturalistic sites in Sardinia, such as the beautiful Domus de Janas caves and the Su Stampu and su Turrunu waterfall.
All activities were carried out following the principles and methodologies of non-formal education.
There was organized a moment of sharing about European programs dedicated to young people and how to participate in them. Participants have been involved in multicultural evening, an event characterized by music, dance and typical dishes of the nations involved.
At the end of the project, all participants received a Youthpass certificate, which certifies and describes the skills acquired due to this project.
The success of the project was also possible thanks to those who contributed to carrying out the local activities, in particular the Eco museum of the upper Flumendosa and to the foreign partners ( Euroaccion – Spain, Euroteam – Czech Republic, Mladinski EPI center Piran – Slovenia, Sdruzhenie “Zhivets” – Bulgaria).
