Inspirational LEADER projects
LEADER projects are among the entries for our EU CAP Network’s annual Agricultural and Rural Inspiration Awards (ARIA). LEADER has a good track record in previous awards from the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD).
The first year of our annual ARIA call has attracted a number of entries from LEADER projects, and the shortlisted finalists will be announced soon.
LEADER projects achieved EU accolades in last year’s ENRD RIA Awards, and a good example was the winner of the environmental ‘green futures’ category. This Estonian Woola project supported a successful business start-up of young entrepreneurs during the development of their innovative product range promoting the circular economy through replacing plastics with wool fibre.
An inspirational collection of packaging alternatives to plastic bubble wrap (a common source of plastic waste) resulted from the LAG funding for this award-winning LEADER project. Wool provides an alternative to plastics in the products’ manufacturing process. Such a business model can be seen as transferable to all Member States with sheep and goat sectors. Demand for the project’s products offers additional income options for remote sheep farmers where natural constraints can limit business diversification opportunities. LEADER’s achievement with this RIA project is, therefore, not only the business start-up and the reduction of plastic waste but also the new woollen industry possibilities across rural Europe.
Finland’s most pessimistic town
Another noteworthy LEADER winner from the RIA 22 ceremony was the novel territorial marketing technique based on pessimism in a Finnish community. Converting pessimism into a positive brand, this LEADER project used ‘wicked humour’ for territorial marketing purposes.
The project managed to change the negative aspects of pessimism into productive visibility gains, inspiring new tourists to visit the municipality of Puolanka. Local youth were actively involved in the project activities, including producing humorous content for social media campaigns.
LEADER supporters and other stakeholders from all over Europe voted last year for this Finnish LAG-funded innovation to win RIA’s ‘Popular vote’. Keep an eye on our new ARIA webpage and EU CAP Network social media channels for the latest announcements about the first year of our new annual Agricultural and Rural Inspiration Awards!
