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Initiative

Terra Lemnia - Conservation and promotion of traditional practices in the primary sector

Terra Lemnia - Conservation and promotion of traditional practices in the primary sector
SUBMITTED FROM:

Mediterrenean Institute for Nature and Anthropos

MedINA is an environmental organization that works with local communities
to protect their natural & cultural heritage and foster their prosperity.
Our vision is a world where societies prosper in harmony with nature.


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Objective Action

The Terra Lemnia project aims to support traditional primary sector practices that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and the shaping of the unique landscape of Lemnos, through an integrated framework of research and field actions, in collaboration with local institutions and producers of the island.

The reference point of the project are the mandres of Lemnos, a mixed crop and livestock land-use system where pastures and arable land exist around the traditional mandra construction that serve the needs of the kechayades (farmers and herdsmen), which we call the mandra system'. This system is characterised by the coexistence of agriculture and livestock farming, is accompanied by specific management practices and has enabled the inhabitants of Lemnos to survive for centuries, ensuring self-sufficiency. This system, which is preserved and evolving today, is studied and tried to support Terra Lemnia in many ways.

 

Target Audience

The initiative is addressed to all people involved in the primary sector of Lemnos, but also to the local community of the island, with emphasis on the youth. At the same time, a know-how transfer action is taking place in Kythera, through which the activation of another local island network is achieved. On a broader level, the results of the project are promoted to the international scientific community as well as to national and regional decision-makers, through scientific publications and the drafting and promotion of appropriate policy proposals.

 

Duration

Five (5) years: 2017-2022

First phase: 2017-2020

Second phase: 2020-2022


Description

The project has a duration of 5 years and is implemented in two phases. In the first phase (2017-2020), extensive interdisciplinary field research was carried out in collaboration with local producers and other local stakeholders to record the agricultural practices currently applied in Lemnos, to assess the state of biodiversity, soils and landscape, to record the traditional mandres of Lemnos, to highlight local products and the intangible heritage of the island. In cooperation with more than 30 producers, pilot actions were carried out for the on-site conservation of local varieties and the enrichment of pastures, together with the implementation of measures to protect crops from wild rabbits. At the same time, important steps were taken towards the design of a biodiversity monitoring system based on selected species (biomarkers) and a pilot study was carried out to assess changes in the rural landscape in the area of Fakos. Furthermore, educational seminars and excursions for the island's producers were organised, open workshops on participatory planning and public awareness events were held, as well as educational activities in cooperation with schools on the island. Through these actions, solid foundations were laid for building trust and activating a wide network of people and stakeholders at local level.

In phase B (2020-2022), our efforts are focused on the establishment, at the first level, of a voluntary local network of producers, who apply a set of good practices for biodiversity and the landscape, aiming at the production of certified quality products. The monitoring of practices and inputs/outputs is done through precision agriculture applications designed for the needs of Lemnos producers - the FarmGeoBalance geospatial database and connected mobile phone application (smartphone app). At the same time, we created the private certification scheme "Agricultural Tradition and Biodiversity" through which the implementation of pro-environmental agricultural practices is monitored in order to produce quality local products and we designed the Terra Vita quality label for the certified products of the network. The network includes 12 farmers and stockbreeders and 2 local agro-processing companies. An important innovation of the whole effort is the fact that the cooperating producers participate in the process of monitoring the state of biodiversity and soils in a "citizen science" logic.

On a second level, our team is working towards the establishment of a wider network, in the form of a local cooperation pact, in which all the productive sectors of the island (primary sector, processing and/or standardization of agricultural products, retail and/or wholesale trade shops, supermarkets, restaurants and hotels) as well as local institutions (chambers of commerce, associations, etc.) will participate, aiming at the promotion of certified local Terra Vita products and the general support of the local production culture.

On a broader level, the exploitation of the research work of the first phase is promoted in order to improve the institutional framework and the promotion of traditional practices and products of the primary sector of Lemnos. In this context, the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the place is highlighted (registration of the melipasto/melichloro cheese -2020- and the traditional mandres of Lemnos -2022- in the National Inventory of Intangible Traditional Heritage), the registration of local varieties (white-nosed bean, afkos, lafyri, barley of Panagia, sesame, gyptofasoulo, etc.) is supported. etc.) in the National Catalogue of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the file for the recognition of the melipasto/melichloro cheese as a PDO has been prepared and is to be submitted, an official request has been submitted for the recognition of the local Lemnos sheep breed as a 'rare breed' with the aim of subsidising its preservation by the island's farmers, and specifications are being drawn up for the construction of modern, model sheepfolds of ecological construction combined with the re-use of traditional pens as ancillary buildings or for agro-tourism use.

At the same time, with the support and co-financing of the Kytherian Foundation for Culture & Development, the Kythera Sustainable Agriculture Project has been implemented since September 2020. This is an action for the transfer of know-how from Lemnos, which aims to establish a local network of olive producers in Kythera and the production of quality olive oil that will be certified through the scheme "Agricultural Tradition and Biodiversity" with the Terra Vita quality label. This effort is supported by the two olive oil cooperatives of the island and the network has 30 producers in its first year of operation.


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Impact on Society

  • Creation of a Certification Scheme "Agricultural Tradition and Biodiversity" for the implementation of traditional, pro-environmental agricultural practices by a voluntary network of producers in Lemnos and Kythera.
  • Creation of the Terra Vita quality label for certified products and development of a communication strategy.
  • 12 farmers and livestock farmers and 2 agro-processing companies of Lemnos participate in the local voluntary network of producers and have been certified under the scheme "Agricultural Tradition and Biodiversity".
  • 30 olive growers of Kythera participate in the local voluntary network of producers and are about to be certified under the scheme 'Agricultural Tradition and Biodiversity'.
  • More than 25 producers in Lemnos are participating in pilot actions of fodder crop cultivation and monitoring of local varieties in combination with the implementation of measures to protect against wild rabbits.
  • 13 educational actions for farmers of Lemnos (3 face-to-face educational programmes, 9 webinars and 1 educational excursion to Central Greece) with 160 beneficiary producers.
  • 7 open events for the general public of Lemnos (discussions and presentations, participatory planning workshops), with a total participation of 500 people.
  • 5 educational activities for schools and students of Lemnos (botanical walk, plantations, student literary competition, environmental information), with a total participation of 230 students.
  • Inscription of 2 items of the intangible cultural heritage of Lemnos in the National Inventory of Greece (the 'Art of the production of melipasto/melichoro cheese' and the Mandra system of Lemnos).
  • Registration of 1 local variety of Lemnos in the National Catalogue of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food (white bean) and submission of registration files for 3 other varieties (barley of Panagia, lafyri and gyptofasoulo).
  • Publication of the book 'The plant wealth of Lemnos - a source of prosperity for the local community'.
  • Publication of 8 reports on the results of the project in Greek and 13 reports in English (available electronically through the project website).
  • Publication of 5 scientific articles in international peer reviewed journals on agricultural practices and biodiversity, landscape changes, ethnobotanical knowledge on wild edible plants and sheep populations of Lemnos.
  • Publication of 7 videos on local practices, products and biodiversity of Lemnos.
  • 1 interactive map and 1 open database of the project's scientific field data.
  • Publication of an educational map on agricultural practices and biodiversity of Lemnos.
  • Presentation of the project in 2 international conferences and 3 online workshops in Greece.
  • Distribution of 4 biodiversity (flora, insects, birds) and soil monitoring manuals to producers in Lemnos.
  • Detailed inventory of traditional mandres in 4 areas of Lemnos, the results of which will be presented in an open, interactive, web-based application in 2022.
  • Preparation of a local cooperation agreement between local stakeholders in Lemnos.
  • Creation of a "road map" for the promotion of certified Kythera olive oil.


Initiative Location

The islands of Lemnos and Kythera


Working with Organization

  • Agricultural University of Athens
  • University of the Aegean
  • Environmental Protection and Architectural Heritage Society of Lemnos "Anemoessa"
  • University of Patras
  • University of Gottingen
  • "Alexis Kotoulas and Associates"
  • TUV Austria Hellas
  • The Green Tank
  • Hellenic Ornithological Society
  • Society for the Protection of Prespa
  • Tour du Valat
  • Kytherian Foundation for Culture & Development

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Workers Participation

A network of 30 producers cooperating in Lemnos and 30 in Kythera.

Participation of Lemnos school students in environmental education activities (planting of oak trees, student literary competition, basket weaving).


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Photos

Benefits for Οrganization

The benefits for the organisation are summarised below:

  •     Further development and strengthening of the skills of the organisation's partners in the field of sustainable agriculture.
  •     Increased communication and impact on the target groups (producers) and the wider society of the two islands.
  •     Development of new networks and partnerships in the activity areas of the organisation.



Connection with Global Goals







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