Fondazioneconilsud.it

In the province of Lecce, within the Paduli Park, the project Santi Paduli is implementing a rural community welfare model by integrating agricultural production, socio-cultural services, and sustainable tourism into a responsible supply chain system.

Despite the significant social innovation that emerged from a participatory process lasting more than twenty years, one that helped raise awareness of the area’s landscape value, the environmental, social, and economic conditions of the Paduli Park have deteriorated in recent years. Demographic decline, the lack of basic services, and a farming sector in constant crisis had already placed the area under strain. Then came the Xylella outbreak. The olive trees dried up, and, as fields were abandoned, wildfires followed. Today, the park faces ongoing degradation, which is only the surface of a much deeper social and economic fragility.

Santi Paduli, supported by Fondazione Con il Sud, emerged as a response to all of this. The initiative promotes a rural community welfare model across eight small municipalities south of Lecce (part of the Union of Terre di Mezzo and included in the Paduli Park). The model aims to safeguard the area’s local products and wealth by integrating agricultural production, socio-cultural services, and sustainable tourism within a responsible supply chain system. To this end, two cooperatives have been established as part of an equal partnership group: one agricultural cooperative (Benedetti Paduli) and one social type B cooperative (Santa Fucina).

Since 2023, the project has placed healthy food at the heart of a new community-based policy for territorial regeneration, shared by the eight small municipalities of the Union of the Terre di Mezzo. It sees food policy as a key driver of social and cultural development and innovation for local communities. The core idea is that activating a collective demand for healthy food can lead to the cultivation of a beautiful and welcoming landscape once again. And in this way, starting from the demand for local food needs in school meal services, with this vision, the project is encouraging the growth of a local food system and the development of short supply chains at a territorial scale. This approach aims to regenerate the landscape, improve welfare services, and build a complete agricultural and tourism chain through complementary and synergistic activities.

As part of the Santi Paduli initiative, the Union of Municipalities of the Terre di Mezzo has launched a co-design process involving public administrations and Third Sector organizations. The first step was to improve the quality and value of school meal services. This collaborative effort led to an agreement entrusting the management of school catering across the Union of Municipalities of the Terre di Mezzo to the social cooperative Santa Fucina. The result is an innovative, community-driven public meal service that has created employment opportunities for 23 people, 30% of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Around 350 meals are prepared and served daily across seven municipalities, reaching two public school complexes that serve children from preschool through middle school, as well as one private school.

Thanks to the initial involvement of thirteen local producers, the program has established a short supply chain that supports the local economy, respects biodiversity, and promotes seasonal food. The menu includes slowly dried artisanal pasta with low furosine levels, sliced bread made on-site from sourdough and Apulian grains, fresh cheeses from local dairies, and organic extra virgin olive oil produced nearby, as well as local legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Local varieties are also used, such as “piattello” and “ciuoti” beans, Altamura lentils, Galatina chicory, small yellow melons from Brindisi, and turnip greens from Lecce.

The supply of agri-food products, starting next year, will be partially covered by the production from the agricultural plots (8.5 hectares of uncultivated land) managed by the Benedetti Paduli cooperative, and processed at the processing facility recently renovated with European funding. The same plots will also host hospitality services, including the renovation of six rural buildings using natural materials, and the development of experiential rural tourism activities for families and children. Accommodation will be available at the Ciclostello (8 beds) and in a small guesthouse (2 beds) set up in a space next to the processing facility.

The value of farmers’ work is highlighted through the Talking Menu displayed on school windows, which, for the first time, names the producers behind the ingredients and categorizes the products by their origin and certification.

Eco-conscious choices are also being made, such as eliminating single-use plastics and teaching children the importance of eating well, choosing food that is healthy, good, and sustainable.

The improved school meal program is the first of several acts of care launched by Santi Paduli. Centred on the value of healthy food, it is gradually activating a series of complementary and synergistic actions. These include the restoration and agroforestry of 8.5 hectares of abandoned or degraded land to cultivate orchards, truffle grounds, and vegetable gardens following agroecological principles (the Park Woodland); the creation of a dedicated registry and ethical code for local producers; and the development of a processing facility (Opificio) to process, distribute, and market local agricultural products under a collective brand. Other initiatives include the opening of a “farm-to-table trattoria and market” showcasing products bearing the brand, ecological restoration of small rural assets (6 small agricultural shelters – caseddhe) within the Park, and the creation of a small Cyclostello (cyclist hostel) to host sustainable tourism.

Social inclusion projects are also planned, aimed at supporting people in vulnerable situations, alongside community-building events, intergenerational educational workshops, recreational activities, and cultural initiatives, including theater and land art, designed for both key participants (producers, consumers) and visitors to the park.

The development strategy is centred on actively engaging the local community, including businesses and agricultural producers who already share the same core values: organic farming, zero-kilometre sourcing, respect for tradition and biodiversity, food health and safety, and landscape protection. Awareness-raising efforts will also be carried out to promote these values among a wider range of stakeholders. The network of participating farmers will establish a collective regional brand, Gli amici del parco (Friends of the Park), based on a shared ethical code and aimed at promoting local products, healthy food that is deeply rooted in local traditions and characteristics.

Overall, the initiative aims to create 36 new jobs, with 30% reserved for individuals in vulnerable situations. To date, 17 people have been hired in school cafeterias and kitchens, 5 in the park’s trattoria (2 of which are seasonal workers), 3 in the processing facility, 3 in the agricultural supply chain, 3 in the hospitality services, and 5 in the tourist office (3 of them part-time).