Networks and specific experiences of associations and trade unions experimenting with the direct interaction of producers (of the food and non-food chains) and support services interested in environmental quality, groups and centres for conscious/conscious consumption, also with experiences of purchasing land and means of production, of participatory activities of communication, organisation, monitoring and control of production quality, activated on the web and in markets.

Solidarity Economy Districts – D.E.S.

DES have been working since 2007 to set up a network of solidarity economy experiences on a local scale (the reference dimension is the provincial one), with the aim of enhancing and supporting existing experiences and fostering the development and implementation of new projects in the areas of critical consumption, fair trade, organic and ecological production, environmental protection, defence of peace and rights, social and international cooperation. Some experiences have been launched in Varese, Naples and Macerata.

Italy

Naturally Verona

Naturalmente Verona is a cultural association for social promotion, the aim of which is to make visible and easily accessible in Verona a different way of doing economy, not based solely on profit, but on self-managed work, on solidarity and exchange instead of competition, on the recovery of ancient knowledge, flavours and jobs, on projects that work with nature and do not destroy it, that safeguard biodiversity, health and everything that contributes to forming a community. To do this, the association promotes weekly markets, monthly festivals and markets, and the annual social economy festival.

Verona, Italy

AgriCoopecetto

A cooperative of 20 farms in the Collina di Torino area (founded in 2010 from 3 companies) that produce excellent local products, some of which are linked to the Basket of typical products of the Province of Turin. The Cooperative is committed to multi-functionality and includes two artisanal processing laboratories where jams, sauces and bagged vegetables are made, an educational farm, offers events such as agricene and aperitifs, and is a social farm for the labour inclusion of disadvantaged people. In 2011 it won the Coldiretti Oscar Green for innovative companies.

Pecetto, Turin, Italy

AMAP (Association for the preservation of rural agriculture)

The Association for the Maintenance of Peasant Agriculture (AMAP) works to connect citizens-consumers and farmers to bring urban and rural closer together and raise awareness of sustainable organic farming (seasonal vegetables, short supply chain, etc.). The idea is to create a direct link between farmers and consumers in which the latter undertake to buy produce at a fair price but in advance. A real farmer-consumer group contract is stipulated in which the following are established: quantity and types of products, management methods (traditional, organic, etc.), costs of the weekly basket (including a decent income for the farmer), place, time and frequency of harvest distribution (usually weekly and on the farm in the case of small businesses or in specialised food shops, neighbourhood centres in the case of large urban agglomerations). For smooth operation, each AMAP sets up a committee composed of a treasurer, a secretary, a distribution manager and a coordinator.

The site offers an archive section with a list of AMAPs by department and a useful guide on how to create an AMAP (number of people, minimum plot of land, how to set prices, etc.).

France

An initiative that is very popular in the United States and has been publicised in Italy by Coldiretti since 2008, consisting in the direct harvesting of fruit and vegetables by the consumer, allowing greater involvement of the consumer and bringing them closer to the agricultural production cycle and the countryside.

United States – Italy

Founded on the initiative of an agricultural cooperative based in Magliano Alfieri (Cn) that brings together around 80 small and medium-sized farms, mainly from Piedmont and Liguria, which use organic, biodynamic and integrated pest management cultivation techniques. In addition to a refreshment point, farmhouse sales and educational activities, it offers online sales of products and weekly home-delivered shopping with seasonal local produce.

Magliano Alfieri, Italy