Rural Europe on the move English_chapt1_6 | Page 78

CHAPTER 6
A European Herb
Gathering
Memories of these times flooded
3. Logo of Forum Synergies’ Rural Actors
for Health Programme
traditional knowledge of sustainable
rural living. We save traditional seeds,
collect local knowledge related
to medicinal and aromatic plants,
back to me as I prepared for the support small-scale farming and help
European Herb Gathering. This to develop small businesses and
emphasis on good hospitality is still cooperatives. Whilst working to save
very much alive in my community, a traditional fruit varieties, I met the
desire to share food and share space. Forum Synergies team in 2010 as part
So we decided to host our guests in of the ‘Farmers’ Ecology’ programme.
the family-run guest-houses of my Here the emphasis was on identifying
local village. Enabling the participants and exchanging traditional farmers’
from 14 European countries to really knowledge.
connect with the local population and
support the local economy enacted
a key philosophy of Forum Synergies.
Besides, I wanted to introduce our
guests to ‘zakuszka’, an eggplant and
paprika spread, ‘palinka’, a traditional
fruit brandy and ‘csöröge’, a typical
Meetings growing
collaboration
and friendship
Simone gathers local, traditional
fried cake of the region. All these knowledge about plants and their
products have a story, having survived health benefits whilst running her own
the darker days of communism and business in the Lesachtal, Austria. You
expropriation of the peasants, eating will meet her later. “The topic of herbs
them connects you with the impact was already in my heart for quite some
the communist regime had on our time,” she recalls. “From the moment I
relationship to the land and the started my own small herbal business
natural world at large. I was aware of and limited by all the
I work with the Foundation for
strict regulations which forced me into
Quality of Life, an organisation legal ‘correctness’ but which didn’t care
dedicated to mapping and preserving about the quality and healing potential
PE OPL E!
It all started more than 10 years ago. As a nutritional scientist, Karin
Buchart became curious about the traditional use of herbs for healing
and cooking in Pinzgau, Austria, the region she comes from. Collecting
knowledge was not enough. She is the founder of the association TEH
(Traditionelle Europäische Heilkunde) - a project that puts herbal products
based on this knowledge on a regional market. This initiative has become
a success story, involving quite a number of actors and generating
additional income opportunities.
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