Short food chain - interview with Tiberiu Cazacioc in Rural Romania

România RuralăReţeaua Naţională de Dezvoltare Rurală

Numărul 3 Anul II, Septembrie 2014

RĂDĂCINI DE ŢARĂ EUROPEANĂ

Rural RomaniaNATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

Issue 14 Year II, January 2015

NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

Rural Romania

Tiberiu Cazacioc,expert in short food chains:„We need alternative markets administrated bythe small farmers united in cooperatives”

Vegetable basket that isprovided to your door

BioFarmland:A Swiss family does bio agriculture in Arad

European support for a state ofthe art clinic from Timis

„Ferma Bună” from Constanța,modern quail raising centre

Rural Romania – No. 14

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Copyright for photographs: Tiberiu Cazacioc, Liviu Brădean, Asociaţia pentru Susţinerea Agriculturii Ţărănești,Asociaţia React, Ibolya Jozefina, provinciacrisana.blogratuit.ro,Victoria Mihaela Buligoanea, Willy Schuster,Direcţia Silvică Bistriţa-Năsăud, Kurt Hielscher, Horia Fenechiu, Gheorghe Magopăţ, Marius Ţirban, RăzvanRusu, Ferma Bună, Centrul Medical MARIAM, Slobozia Moară Natural, GAL Mărginimea Sibiului, GAL ŢinutulArgeșului de Mijloc

Contents

EDITORIAL ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

INTERVIEW

Tiberiu Cazacioc: „ We need alternative markets administrated by the small farmers united in cooperatives”.................................................4

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

LoMiS – a Swiss example of support for the short food chains ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8

A family from Dracea commune is the leader of the vegetable market from Teleorman County ............................................................................. 10

„Anotimpuri la borcan” (“Seasons in a jar”), a project of React Association: the peasant women are trained to obtain income

from conserving fruits and vegetables ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

„Legume Fericite” (“Happy vegetables”) – the passionate entrepreneur and the educated consumer................................................................ 14

Willy Schuster, from Mosna, Sibiu County, demonstrates that the rural farm is an example of sustainable economic activity ......... 16

Sleighs and carriages from Bistrita ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18

ASAT (Association for Supporting Rural Agriculture) solidarity partnerships, an alternative form of food supply scheme ................20

The calendar of our villages ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22

Crisana – the home of the giant artisans......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24

PEOPLE

The hills of Martanus – jam and syrup with the taste of childhood memories ................................................................................................................................ 28

Gheorghe Magopat from Marginea, the „magician” of black ceramics ........................................................................................................................................................ 30

The Swiss farmers from Firiteaz, Arad County, and BioFarmland products......................................................................................................................................... 32

Business with medicinal plants in Bihor: naturopath Marius Tirban prepares teas, tinctures, syrups and ointments for

various diseases .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 34

The jam of Razvan – from a hobby in a small countryside house to a successful business................................................................................................ 36

EXPERIENCES

My farm:

Made in Romania: „Ferma Buna”, the most modern farm from Romania where quails are raised and slaughtered....................... 38

My business:

MARIAM Medical Centre from Pischia, Timis County: a state of the art clinic for the patients from rural area ............................... 40

My community:

Many hands make light work! The vegetables of a group of producers from Dambovita County are sold in supermarkets.................... 42

UPDATED LEADER

Marginimea Sibiului Local Action Group – 98.40% of contracted non-reimbursable funds ....................................................................................... 44

Tinutul Argesul de Mijloc Local Action Group– 46 contracted projects ................................................................................................................................................. 46

NEWS OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT.......................................................................................... 48

INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK MEMBERS ........................................................ 50

România rurală – Nr. 5

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The benefits of localproducts and shortfood chainsWe begin the new year with an advice:let us cherish more the local productsand start building more and moreshort food chains. In this issue of themagazine, Tiberiu Cazacioc fromRadu Anton Roman Initiative GroupAssociation and Slow FoodMovement in Romania speaks abouttheir benefits and also about the wayin which they can be created. In sum,the short food chains mean fresherproducts and lower prices byeliminating the intermediaries andreducing the transport costs.

The short food chains have anextremely important role, especiallyfor the small farmers, but also for us,the buyers. In the new 2014-2020programming period, one of themeasured financed under theNational Rural DevelopmentProgramme refers exactly to thecreation of short food chains based oncooperation between farmers. TiberiuCazacioc considers that, for thispurpose, we need alternative rovingmarkets administrated by the smallfarmers, and also by laws which tosupport the acquisitions of foodthrough short food chains.

Examples of small producers whohave created direct connections withthe buyers are presented in themagazine: Razvan Rusu producesvarious assortments of jam at IdicelPadure, Mures County, and sells themin a small store from Cluj-Napoca;Willy Schuster, the pioneer of bioagriculture in Romania, and othersmall farmers from Sibiu County haveset the ground of BioCoop cooperativethrough which they market theirproducts; Victoria MihaelaBuligoanea from Dambovita Countysells vegetables on a website andinvites buyers to come, if they want,to pick the desired vegetables.We are inviting you to also meet other

worthy people: Mircea Bujor,vegetable gardener from TeleormanCounty, has set-up a small tomatosauce factory in order to turn to goodaccount the unsold tomatoes, whilethe Hani family from Switzerlandventured to start a new life in AradCounty in order to do ecologicalagriculture.

Among the presented subjects thereare also a few projects which havebenefited from non-reimbursablesupport during the previousprogramming period, 2007-2013.With the received European funds,“Ferma Buna” from ConstantaCounty has become the most modernfarm from Romania where quails areraised and slaughtered.

Another initiative supported based onthe National Rural DevelopmentProgramme was the establishment ofa modern clinic in Pischia Commune,

Timis County; MARIAM MedicalCentre provides medical care invarious specialties, including somespecialties which are rarelyencountered in rural area, likephysiokinetotherapy and dentistry.

This month, we make a stop inCrisana to meet people who animatethe places and their trades.

Afterwards, we stop in SuceavaCounty, at Gheorghe Magopat, apotter from Marginea, to discover thesecrets of black ceramics. The potteris pleased: two of his children workwith him and they also want to passthis trade to his grandchildren!

Viviana Vasile, Team Leader of„Set-up and Support of the NationalRural Development Network” project

Editorial

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You have been involved for manyyears in promoting the smallfarm. Which do you think are thecomplaints of the small farmers?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: We have to look attheir activity as a production cycle inwhich the distribution chain has animportant role. The European Unionhas identified this production andmarketing segment as being critical,but on which it can be intervened.Within CAP terms and spirit, the localmarket is what is missing from theurban Europe dominated by retail. Andwe must not believe that by supportingthe local market new permanent urbanmarkets should be financed, because,sooner or later, they also shall bemonopolized, but alternative marketscontrolled by the small farmers. It is nocoincidence that the supply chain and

the local market are regarded by theEuropean Union as short forms inwhich there should not be more thanone intermediary between the smallfarmer and consumer and very shorttime should have passed from pickinguntil commercialization. A short supplychain offers local varieties from localsources from the small farmers aroundthe cities, which are fresh not becausethey are sprayed with pesticides, butbecause they were picked recently.

Therefore, do you think that theshort supply chain is the mostimportant problem?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: I hope that ourdiscussion shall trigger the interest ofthe public policy makers, but also of thesmall farmers and consumers. It isimportant to understand that, without

adding marketing activities to the shortsupply chain, we can fail in attemptingto instil loyalty in consumers. We oftenforget that we must have a familiar andfriendly relationship with consumers.Often, when going to the market, youcannot have a discussion with thepeople selling fruits and vegetablesbecause, first of all, they are trying toconvince you to buy and not to tell youthe story of the garlic, parsley orparsnip. And if you chat with them,many of the so-called peasants arenervous and hurried. Marketing meanstelling stories, but on real grounds.

What should small farmers do inorder to add value to theirproducts for marketing?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: We need courage,sharpness and vision in order to puttogether the pieces of a fruit andvegetable production operation whichwas affected by the change of themarket conditions from Romania. I amnot insisting on the multiple causes, butonly on some of them. The smallRomanian farmers cannot fight andthey must not fight with the retaildemand of providing in any seasonfruits and vegetables. They do notproduce on constant basis, they do notproduce in large quantities, but theyprovide variety and freshness. Thevalue of the Romanian fruits andvegetables comes from seasonality andthis is the value for the housewives,public food, restaurants, kindergartens,hospitals and army. Seasonality can beused in selling cycles in order to drawattention on the fact that the productsare Romanian and locally cultivated.The urban inhabitants, especially theyoung ones, who are out of touch with

InterviewTiberiu Cazacioc, from Radu Anton Roman Initiative GroupAssociation and Slow Food Movement in Romania:„We need alternative markets administrated by small farmersunited in cooperatives”

Short food chain means fresher products and lower pricesby eliminating intermediaries and reducing transport costs.

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the rural area, might think that theRomanian tomatoes are availableanytime. Because, for example, theFrench have invented variouseducation programs about seasonality.Seasonality is an argument to tellconsumers that local varieties of fruitsand vegetables are provided to them.We want Romanian tomatoes, we wantour varieties. Besides the fact that theyare specific and local, we must add thevalue, which comes from telling thatthe peppers, apples, pears, onions arethe result of the labour of peasants, whoare small farmers. Let the farmers,peasants tell who cultivated, whopicked and who worked for them togrow. In a city market from today’sRomania it is suspect for someone toask for the certificate of producer inorder to see for himself who are hebuying from: from a small vegetablegardener or from an intermediary of anintermediary. The consumers must bevoluntarily told the story of the fruitsand vegetables, but also visible andhonest information on who, what andhow did he produce. If you are anhonest vegetable gardener who workshard at his small farm and obtainshealthy and tasty products, why wouldyou avoid being honest withconsumers?

According to the sheet of Measure 16 ofthe National Rural DevelopmentProgramme called “Cooperation”:“…the connections between the agri-food and touristic sectors can bedeveloped by providing local foodproducts.” This is one of the keys,providing fruits and vegetables in thelocal agri-tourism. What is simpler tounderstand than the fact that thetourist shall benefit by tasty foodprepared from local vegetables? Andnot with tomato sauce from the store.The short food chain might locallyinclude elements from the localeconomy and agriculture. Just thinkabout the Austrian model, where tensof thousands of rural lodgings use thelocal resources. It is a model supportedby the local Austrian authorities byapplying the flexibility allowed by ECfor the food security package.

May we say that this concept, ofthe short food chains, is a newone?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: Yes and no. Theshort food chain concept is called“short food circuit” in Anglo-Saxonarea and “court circuit” in francophonearea. In Romania, we are talking aboutshort food chains. The European Uniontranslates them by short supply chains,which are called in (EU) Regulation No.1305/2013. By the way, in thisdocument, one of the three veryimportant regulations at the level of theEuropean Union, for the application ofthe Common Agricultural Policy, thecollocation appears 25 times. In thepast regulations, this was not evenmentioned. The short supply chain is amasked form of support for the localeconomy from an EU member state. Ithas always existed, but it was let toresist or to die. It is time to resuscitatethe short supply chains and the localmarkets.

Do you think that resuscitation ispossible? How can it take place?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: As compared tothe previous financing cycle foragriculture and development, during2014-2020 period, under Measure 16“Cooperation”, activities regarding theshort supply chain and local marketsare financed. This was accomplishedafter a long journey, but we mustmobilize ourselves in order to use themoney. “Must” is also the word used bythe Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment in the sheet of Measure16: “Marketing food products obtainedat local level through short supplychains and on the local markets mustbecome an important component of theagri-food sector from Romania. Formost of the small farmers, direct sale offresh products could represent animportant source of income.”

Who can obtain this financingwhich is so necessary?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: I, together withthe Institute of Social Economy,

CATAR Federation (Romanian RuralAssociation Confederation) and others,say that the solution is the cooperative.The outlet and marketing cooperativesensure equal treatment betweenpartners. I think that those who avoidtalking about the cooperative are doinga great disfavour to the small farmers.It is unjustifiably claimed that the smallfarmers reject cooperation, only to keepthem separated from the retail, beingthe victims of the market games,without having representation.Romania deserves to have thousands ofdistribution cooperatives, because onlyin this way their negotiation power inthe relationship with the localauthorities, raw material providers andother entities is huge. This is how Ithink we should use the provisions ofthe future measure 16 “Cooperation”: tounite our forces, to establishcooperatives for distribution andmarketing and to submit projects forshort supply chains, for local markets.Let small farmers take over the powerthrough cooperatives.

How come the Europeanpolicymakers considered thisconcept, this approach?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: I would like tobring to attention the fact that the shortsupply chain was nor included byaccident in the mentioned Europeanregulation and we must be proud ofthat. First of all, to tell it straight, theRomanian and Bulgarian people, havemore peasant blood than others. Thenew member states from 2007,Romania and Bulgaria, but also Poland,which has been a member state since2004, have brought an importantdowry and wealth: millions of smalland medium-sized farms ascontribution to rural agriculture anddevelopment and to European ruralenvironment. Far from being a burden,this wonderful rural space which iscriticized, minimized and ridiculed bymany, has important values for whichwe love it: immaterial patrimony,traditions, clean environment,biodiversity, tasty food with localcharacteristics. Secondly, the short


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supply chains have been considered asof 2011 in CAP reform as a response tothis new rural dimension. The GeneralDirectorate for Agriculture hasorganized debates in all years prior to2014 with regard to key concepts, likethe one about the semi-subsistencefarms or the one about the short supplychains. In addition to the effort of theGeneral Directorate for Agriculture, itmust be said that several organizationsfrom Romania involved in the ruraldevelopment movement has supportedand militated for short supply chains.

I would dare to say that the team of theCommissioner Dacian Ciolos, whichincluded many Romanian people,proposed to the member states newintervention concepts in the great CAPreform. And new we must takeadvantage of this, in a good sense. Theshort supply chains, the short foodchains are especially created not for thelarge agri-industrial farms, but for themodern retail. They are created for theorganizations of vegetable gardenersand cooperatives, who were missingfinancing in order to set-up a market, ashort supply chain.

How do you see the urban marketin this logic of the short chain?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: Within the last 25years, the former city markets from thecommunist regime, which weredepressing and almost empty in the late’80s, were revitalized and filled withfruits, vegetables, flowers and utilityand consumption objects. But, in time,they have lost the rural imprint, theyhave become something else. The haveconsolidated themselves, they wereprovided with roof, doors, airconditioning, store hours, marketmanager and they are administrated bythe local councils. Currently, they arepractically stores, with employees whosell behind the counter and who areoften person who have nothing to dowith agriculture. But, we have to admitthat they comply with a demand of thepublic. The same we have to admit thatthey are almost similar to the retailoffers, and we may even say that, froma point of view, the modern commerceoffers some fruit and vegetableassortments at much lower prices. Weare facing a paradox: the urban marketis close to home, but without peasants

and, sometimes, with more expensiveoffers.

Intense fights have been taken place forseveral years and especially within thelast two years around the city markets,especially for allowing the access tosmall producers. At public policy level,various approaches have been tested inorder to provide the access of smallvegetable gardeners on the markets.New regulations were adopted, but, thesame as the old ones which were notapplied, the current ones do not seemto be more successful. The marketscontinue to be blocked and ankylosed,their management does not apply theregulations regarding the certificates ofproducer or the allocation of a marketshare.

Why do you think that the marketcannot be penetrated?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: Because thecurrent urban markets aresubordinated to the local councils. Theyconsist in local counsellors, who arepoliticians. We would expect for themto respond to the ascertained critics of

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the central authorities and press relatedto the access of the small vegetablegardeners on the markets. This is nothappening. We may presume that thecurrent method of operation does notbother the local counsellors. Then, itmust be said that, if the hen makesgolden eggs, in our case, the urbanmarket, which is a 24/7 money makingmachine for the local administration,why would anyone put to the trouble ofmaking room for the peasants?

What do you think it should bedone in order to support thismeeting between producers andconsumers?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: If the urbanmarket is important as a piece of theshort supply chain, one solution wouldbe the creation of alternative markets.In order to be successful, these marketsmust distinguish itself from the othersby several elements: to be markets ofproducers, meaning to beadministrated by them, to have a rarity,occasion character. Therefore, theroving markets must be mobile for twodays per week, in weekends. They willbe places where producers meetconsumers in especially dedicatedplaces. The vegetable gardeners will beprepared to provide explanations withregard to the modality of working withvegetables, cultivating them, thevarieties, the difficulties, the diversityof assortments. The fruit and vegetablemarket will be a place of friendship.

Another important characteristic,seasonality, meaning that we mustinform again the townspeople whenRomanian fruits and vegetables areavailable on the market. The freshfruits and vegetables are those whichare freshly picked and not thosesprayed in order to last. The marketshould be part of the short chain: onlythe producers should sell or at the mostthe first line of intermediaries, but theycan be sellers employed by thecooperatives of vegetable gardeners.

Last but not least, it is necessary for thelabels and posters from these rovingmarkets to transmit that they are

markets of producers and not topromise lower prices, but freshness,taste, local varieties, even not so goodlooking fruits and vegetables. Youmight laugh, but in the West,campaigns are made for ugly fruits andvegetables. Because they are notaccepted into supermarkets. Whyshould a tomato be Scarlett Johanssonof tomatoes?

How can the development ofthese short chains be supported?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: I repeat as manytimes as I can and I have tried to bringinto the attention of the Minister ofAgriculture, through the agency ofRadu Anton Roman Initiative Groupand Slow Food Movement in Romaniathe fact that one of the solutions for thesmall farmers is the subtle regulation ofthe short chain. France, which is amember state, has a law regarding theshort chain before it had been includedin the regulations. Why? Because, byadopting a law regarding the short foodchain, the possibility is created for it tobe used as preference in procurementin public procurements for hospitals,kindergartens, military units andprisons. Why? The fruits andvegetables which originate from nearbythe place of consumption generate lesspollution when transported and storedand they have more vitamins, becausethey are fresh. I even think that theMinistry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment can excellently cooperatewith the team from the French Ministryof Agriculture. We have a lot to learnfrom the French people about the wayin which they defend their smallfarmers.

Are there short chains inRomania? Can you give us someexamples?

Tiberiu Cazacioc: Of course,especially because they exist rightbefore our eyes and they work. But, beaware that shorter the chain, faster themoney and the working capital returninto the pocket of the small farmer, notafter 60 or 90 days. What forms ofshort chain are possible? For example

the “Vegetable basket” of Andrei Barbu.He brings vegetable into town, hereceives orders via the internet, hecultivates old traditional and tastefulspecies. He meets his public anddiscuss with them. Andrei is therepresentative of a team of youngpeople who returned to rural areabecause they know and can return thevegetables to town.

Another example is an organizationfrom Timisoara, CRIES (Centre ofResources for Ethic and SolidaryInitiatives), which created ASAT,Association for Saving RuralAgriculture, offering to the smallfarmers from several national cities the“Green Basket” model. This is acontract between a small farmer fromperiurban area and several consumerswho pay in advance the vegetableproduction.

The third example is the older projectof Marin Dumbrava, the “Bio basket”.Bio because he is an operator certifiedin ecological agriculture, he has his owncustomers, he sells on the internet. AtCluj-Napoca, CIVITAS Foundation hashelped and supported theestablishment of a cooperative ofvegetable gardeners called “LuncaSomesului Mic Cooperative”.

Another example, roving buses, mobilegrocery stores, where there is nomarket. We must be inventive. Weshould not let others take the money,we must be small fast and intelligentfarmers with good projects of shortsupply chains united in cooperatives.The potential for small farmers is huge.All they need is to be willing to breaktogether the mental chains that keepthem hypnotized by the great magicianwhich is the modern commerce. If thereare projects and cooperatives, money isnot the issue, because it is providedunder the National Rural DevelopmentProgramme. Buy from Romania, buylocally, season-based, good, cleanlycultivated and correctly cherished! Thisshould be their message.


The farmers’ markets, the picnicbaskets and sustainability studies aresome of the ingredients of the local foodnetwork from Sweden, awarded for itsresults. It shows how EAFRD can besuccessfully used to support the ruralentrepreneurs from the food sector.

For this purpose, European funds areallocated to a community project for theestablishment of a rural food network.The idea of the project came from thefood producers from Svartådalen(where LEADER methodologies provedtheir efficacy in encouraging the localsto relate with each other and to discussideas about how they can collaborate inorder to develop the potential of thearea).

The project called LoMiS (Local Food inSvartådalen) was supported by thedistrict municipality and receivedEAFRD funds of approximately EUR120,000. Also, financial contributionswere received from the World WildlifeFund (WWF) for the execution of theproject, which was administrated bothas an environment initiative (facilitatingecological agricultural systems,reducing the need of transportation andpromoting sustainable development)and as a local food network.

Coordinated evolutions

LoMiS has adequately capitalized thefunds, using them to support a series ofsmaller subprojects in the area. A partof the allocated funds covered activitiesmeant to increase the demand of thelocal consumers for the local food.

For example, the kitchen installationswere reintroduced and extended inschools and retirement homes in thisarea from the centre of Sweden, for theuse of rural communities. The newmodernized kitchens facilitate on sitepreparation and serving of local food,replacing the consumption of imported

frozen products.

The demand for local fresh products hasincreased after a program ofinformative events and outdoor cookingshows. Their organization was amodality to increase the awareness ofthe locals, students and businesscommunity with regard to the use oflocal food products and to stimulate theappetite for tastes from own rural space.The same popularity had the trainingcourses in fields like organicagricultural production systems andsmall scale slaughter houses, whoseefficacy reflected in the increase of thelocal organic food range available forconsumption in Svartådalen.

A factor which has contributed to thesuccess and to the multiple results ofEAFRD was the mobilization of aproject coordinator exclusivelydedicated to it. Thus, coordinator LisaHallin was able to allocate the timenecessary for the supervision,stimulation and directing of thedifferent components of the project.Hallin underlined the importance of theinvolvement of the local enterprises intothe project in order to increase thedemand and supply of local foodproducts. “In order to facilitate themarketing of the products, we havecreated a network of producers withthe help of which it will be easier for thestores and restaurants to contactthem”, explained Hallin. “Few of theparticipating producers had beencollaborating before the initiation ofthe project, while others joined themduring the project. (…) These ruralbusinesses comprise a wide range ofenterprises, from those who offerpicnic baskets filled with local productsto those who sell directly to customersproducts prepared with beef or deermeet from the animals raised in theirholdings.”

The partners involved in this project

were conscious that they must embracea long term perspective based on agradual approach for the stimulation ofthe consumption of local products onthe whole territory. The increase ofsupply of local products available atrural markets and in other retail outletswas identified as a crucial step, andLoMiS met this objective.

Lisa Hallin is excited to say that “themembers of the group of producers set-up through our project are frequentlymarketing products in the marketsfrom Sala and also from otherlocalities, like Färnbomarken, Skultunaand Sätrabrunn. A new deli store, alsoselling local products, shall be openedsoon at Sala, and increasingly moreproducers from our project areinvesting in their own agri-foodmarketing services. Most of the recentevolutions are due to theworks initiallycarried out by LoMiS, and we are nowwitnessing a series of secondary effectsof the project.”

The next steps

The following scope of LoMiS networkis to explore the available options forthe determination of the way in whichthe local producers can win more publicprocurement contracts for food supply.“In the food they eat, our children andelderly should benefit by healthyingredients from the area they live in”,says Hallin. A series of studies weremade in order to clearly identify themeasures which can be taken for theharmonization and consolidation ofecological, social and economic effectsof the local food production.

The objective is to find a balance whichto favour the enterprises, not todecrease food production, to protect therural area and to provide LoMiSterritory with a “green” ecologicallegitimacy. Among therecommendations of the study, a special

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Rural development

LoMiSA Swedish example of support provided to shortfood chains

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interest is shown with regard to thesuggestion of encouraging the foodproducers from rural area to obtain acertification compliant with theinternational quality standards for asustainable development. The effects atterritorial level of LoMiS program were

acknowledged by the National RuralNetwork of Sweden in 2009 andawarded with the most importantaward in “Countryside Projects”category.

Material translated and adapted,

published in the publication of theEuropean Rural Development Network„The European Agricultural Fund forRural Development – Examples ofFood projects”, 2011.


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In the counties from the south,agriculture is almost a way of life. But,while most of the rural population isinvolved in small agriculture, for ownconsumption or for selling reducedquantities of products at the market,there are entrepreneurs who have set-up true successful businesses. It is alsothe case of Mircea Bujor from Draceacommune, Teleorman County.

The family of Mircea Bujor have beendoing agriculture for more than 20years. He got involved in the familybusiness when he was only 13-14 yearsold. At that time, he put work beforeeducation. Therefore, after graduatingfrom the elementary school, he helpedhis parents with the field work, and he

graduated the high-school later,attending the evening courses. Beinghard working people, they havesucceeded fast, and the businessflourished. If in the beginning thefamily of Mircea Bujor worked on fieldsleased from the city-hall, after a fewyears, they bought the land.

In time, Mircea Bujor took over thebusiness. In 2000, he started buyingland, hectare by hectare. In 2011,together with the 12 members of hisfamily, set-up a group of producers,being assured that an association canbenefit by much more advantages thanan individual producer. Today, hecultivates tomatoes in open field on 13hectares and cucumbers on almost one

hectare, in nursery.

Successes and drawbacks –normal ingredients of a business

Because, many times, part of themerchandise remained unsold, in 2009,Mircea Bujor set-up a tomato saucefactory where his field tomatoes, aboutwhich he proudly says that are the best,are turned into tomato sauce.

„The field tomatoes are very differentfrom those grown in nursery. They aresitting in the sun and have a differenttaste and consistency. Because they arenot watery, they are best suitable fortomato sauce. And our tomato sauce isnot only very tasty, but it is 100%

A family from Dracea commune is theleader of the vegetable market fromTeleorman County

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natural”, said Mircea Bujor.

The tomato sauce is called “Bujor” andit is marketed in cafeterias andwholesale stores from Alexandria.

But, the tastier the field tomatoes are,the riskier their cultivation is: theweather, which sometimes does notsupport the agriculture, the pests andsometimes even the thefts. But, MirceaBujor is not discouraged. He is 36 yearsold and has extensive expertise in thefield. He fights bad weather, he protectsthe cultures against pests and,sometimes, he hires guardians whenharvesting is close.

In order to develop the business morerapidly, the group members have triedto access European funds, but theprojects were small and not compliantwith the eligibility conditions. Theyhope that the new National RuralDevelopment Programme to open thepath towards such funding. They mostof all need money for irrigations on theentire cultivated area and to ensure thetransport from the field to the storagehouse.

Mircea Bujor – member in “Dorde gust” (Taste nostalgia)program.

If until 2014, Mircea Bujor and hisassociates have been selling the

merchandise in markets, with a prettyhigh risk that they cannot completelysell it, now, they are a constant presencein supermarkets. The opportunity camewith “Dor de gust” program, aninitiative of a group of vegetablegardeners from Vidra, Izbiceni, Dracea,Nuci, Lunguletu, Gheorghe Doja andMariuta. The program, initiated by theAssociation for Vegetable Gardenerswith the support of PRODCOMInterprofessional Fruit and VegetableOrganization and the Centre ofCommunication of the Farmers fromRomania, implemented with thesupport of Agricover company, reunites200 farmers from the south ofRomania, whose merchandise issupplied daily in four supermarketchains, at country level.

Mircea Bujor is partner in the group ofinitiative and the main intermediaryfrom Teleorman County for thecollection and supply of vegetables. Thetomatoes and cucumbers which hesupply are sorted and packed with thehelp of his three sons aged 15, 16 and 17.It is not an easy job, because themerchandise delivered in such storesmust be carefully selected andcalibrated, and it is packed according tothe demand of the beneficiaries, inboxes on which the name of “Dor degust” program is inscribed.

And, still, in 2014, they also had some

problems because of the embargoplaced by Russia, where they shouldhave exported a part of the productionunder “Dor de gust” program.

“The crisis from Russia affected thebusiness, because the entiremerchandise was returned to us, andwe also borne the transport, packagingand sorting costs. But there are manythings that you have to deal with inbusiness. We move forward, becausewe live from agriculture and this iswhat we know best”, said Mircea Bujor.

The key for success – a united andhardworking family

When facing problems, many back out.Many businesses were closed becausenot everything went smooth. The familyof Mircea Bujor understood thatsuccess, the same as difficulties, are partof the business. When they faced someproblems, they searched for solutions inorder to solve them and move forward.The children of Mircea Bujor, who arenow students, shall later take over thisenterprise, but they get involved andthey want to learn from their parentsand the other relatives. “The key forsuccess is the work and perseverance,and, for us, also the fact that we are abig and united family, who loves theground and enjoys its fruits”, heproudly said.


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The rural area from Romania is facingnumerous economic and socialchallenges. According to 2014-2020Rural Development Strategy ofRomania, among these challenges arethe ageing of the population, theexistence of a great number ofsubsistence holdings, increasedweighting of population exposed topoverty and social exclusion risk.

Creation of jobs is one of the mainpriorities of the following period. Forthis purpose, innovating humanresource development initiatives areessential. Such initiative belongs toReact Association, which started fromthe ascertained fact that the womenfrom rural area are more affected bythe lack of job than men. In April,2014, the Association launched“Anotimpuri la borcan”, a long-termproject for the development of therural areas from Bucuresti-Ilfov,Centre, South Muntenia, South-WestOltenia. The project shall beimplemented in 18 months and it isco-financed from the Social EuropeanFund under 2007-2013 SectoralOperational Programme HumanResources Development.

„In Romania, the same as in the restof Europe, there is an increasingdemand for healthy products madebased on special recipes. The onlyplaces where we still find theseexquisite tastes are the pantries of thefamilies from rural areas. The bestjam or themost flavoured pickles canreach on the tables of thetownspeople only if they areprepared in kitchens which areauthorized both hygienically andsanitarily. In a farm, you rarely findthe conditions necessary to legallysell the traditional products.Therefore, «Anotimpuri la borcan»

comes in communities in which thereare women interested in turningtheir abilities and passion forcooking in a family business andoffers, free of charge, specializationcourses and professionally equippedkitchens.” (Dr. Anca Stefan, presidentof React Association).

At the end of the project, 560 womenfrom rural area shall be qualified in atrade demanded on the labour market(worker in the industry of fruit andvegetable preserves) and they shallhave the basic entrepreneurial skills,benefiting by specialized counsellingfor access on the labour market or forthe development of businesses in anon-agricultural field. At the sametime, at the end of the project, anetwork of the entrepreneur womenfrom rural area shall operate, andthree fully equipped kitchens shall beavailable to the communities formaking fruit and vegetable preservesin a sanitarily authorized premise. Itis also desired for the project toinclude writing and distributingcookbooks with local recipes.

Sustainable development can only bean effect of the collaboration andpartnerships at local level. Therefore,the involvement of authorities,community, economic agents, has anessential role in the success of anylong-term initiative like „Anotimpurila borcan” project.

„We found support in authorities andwith some of them we even signedcollaboration protocols. Often, theemployees of the city-halls or thelocal opinion makers know very wellthe community, they know thewomen living from subsistenceagriculture, but also the cooksfamous in the area, and they are in

the position to makerecommendations or tomediate theirenrolment in the project”, saidAndreea Rotaru, communicationmanager of the association.

In the first phase, the city-halls of thecommunes from the implementationregions were contacted and invited tocollaborate within the project.Subsequently, the representatives ofthe association went personally todiscuss with the officials in order toensure an efficient communicationchannel. Many of the representativesof the institutions understood theimpact which the project is going tohave on their community, offeringtheir entire support (e.g. city-hall ofVidra commune).

The concerned beneficiaries arewomen domiciled in the rural area,from Bucharest-Ilfov, Centre (Alba,Brasov, Mures, Covasna, Harghita,Sibiu) and South-Muntenia (Arges,Calarasi, Dambovita, Giurgiu,Ialomita, Prahova, Teleorman),graduate of the minimum mandatoryeducation level, who are currentlyemployed. Enrolment for continuoustraining courses until the occupationof 560 available places. The kitchenswill be fitted-out in the areas with thehighest number of enrolled persons.

Until now, 80 women from Prahovaand Ialomita County have obtaineddiplomas of worker in the field of fruitand vegetable preserves. Other 56women from Homoraciu and Rosioriwere going to begin free training inthe food field in December.

The diplomas awarded at the end ofthe course are recognized by theMinistry of Labour, Family, SocialProtection and Elderly and by the

„Anotimpuri la borcan” (Seasons in a jar),a project of React Association:the peasant women are trained to obtain incomefrom conserving fruits and vegetables

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Ministry of Education and allow thewomen attending the course to hire inthe food field or to start a business.

The network of entrepreneur womenfrom the rural area shall facilitate theexchange of information and goodpractices in regular meetings andvisits between members of differentrural communities. The network shallalso benefit by an electronic platformintegrated in the project website:http://asociatiareact.ro/anotimpuri-

la-borcan.html.

The women who are already includedin the project are optimistic andtrustful with regard to the future. “Ihave participated in the courseswishing to consolidatemy knowledgein the field, considering that myfamily owns a plot on which wecultivate vegetables. Based on theacquired qualification, I wish to set-up a vegetable processing line”, saidBatrinache Ionela from Putineiu

commune, Giurgiu County.

Ionela think about the future of histwo boys, who are students inBucharest and who she hopes toconvince to get involve in the familybusiness. The courses from“Anotimpuri la borcan” projectprovides Ionela and other womenwith initiative an opportunity todiversify the family income and to getinvolved in an activity which theyenjoy.


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The business so beautifully called“Legume Fericite” meansapproximately five hectares of shrubs,fruit trees, medicinal and aromaticplants, strawberries (cultures which arein the process of conversion)and freshvegetables, cereals, melons, which havealready obtained ecologicalcertification. The business was bornfrom a childhood dream of anentrepreneur woman. Victoria MihaelaBuligoanea. The dream to have a farmbecame a passion.

“Increasingly more people becomeaware about how important is to dowhat you like”, said VictoriaBuligoanea. “When work identifieswith passion, you do everything withmuch more enthusiasm, with morepatience, better, you become morecreative and more pleased aboutyourself. I have discovered this passionat the age of 36 – pretty late – but thesatisfaction is proportional. Moreover,

I mix business with pleasure. Myfamily and everyone who helps me eathealthy food. I am economist, I haveworked in a few multinationals, but Ihave never found myself in what I wasdoing like I do now. «Legume Fericite»was naturally borne as a result of thispassion.”

The first customers were the ones whonamed the business based on thecollocation “happy vegetables” whichshe used when speaking about hergarden from Tartasesti, DamboitaCounty.

The farm of happy vegetables isintended to be a safe source of healthyfood, a way of life, an educationalsupport, a natural oasis wherevegetables, fruits, flowers and domesticanimals benefit from a naturalfavourable environment. The plants willhelp each other: the pest fightingmethods shall start from the plants and

not from pesticides. On the long run,“Legume Fericite” wishes to provide toits customers “nature & earth therapy”and to be a place for charging withenergy available to the consumers.

The fruits and vegetables fromTartasesti are obtained withoutstimulants or chemical treatments andthey are marketed on the internet:www.legumefericite.ro.

„We have been on this path for almostthree years, but, as people becomeaware of the importance of a healthydiet, and the prevention preoccupies usmore than healing, the interest forhealthy food produced withresponsibility is increasingly higher.”The initiative of Victoria Buligoaneawas an act of courage, engaging on aniche market in formation, stillunstable, although in the process ofdevelopment: the market of organicproducts. The organically certified

„Legume Fericite”- (“Happy Vegetables”)the passionate entrepreneur and the educatedconsumer

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seeds are very hard to obtain and oneshould spend a lot of time to prepare thedocumentations required in ecologicalagriculture. The lack of specialists andworkforce, a consumer who must beinformed and educated, the naturaldisasters and pests are few of theobstacles which must be dealt with. Theprofit is not easily obtained. Those whochoose this path must be aware of this.“We are on an ascending trend, whichwe want to continue in the followingyears”, said Victoria Buligoanea.

Patience and perseverance are theabsolutely necessary ingredients inorder to avoid failure. Last year, the firstproducts of “Legume fericite” farmreceived ecological certification. “Thevicinity and rotation of plants are veryimportant. For example, if the carrot isgood friend with the onion becausethey mutually drive away the fly, thesame is not also valid for the carrotand the mint, so we are not going toplace them together. Knowing theplants which can provide mutualbenefits, the plants which fixate thenitrogen in the soil, those which can beused as traps for pests and also otherecological methods, we can contributeto the elimination of insecticides andherbicides for the purpose of obtaininghealthy food. As long as we respectnature and we trust the soil, we helpplants develop without forcing themand we nurture them by using the«therapy between friends», we knowthat the future belongs to ecologicalagriculture!”A key element of success is the modality

of distribution, the journey of theproduct from the garden to theconsumer. The same journey has atechnical aspect and a personal,subjective aspect, which implieswinning and keeping trust.

Communication has an essentialrole

The profile of Romanian consumer isdifferent from the international one, itsneeds are different. The trust is wonthrough language, attitude, websitedesign, accuracy and adequacy of thecontent in accordance with theexpectations of the customer. Thefunctional particular aspects of thewebsite are important and they mustcomply with the needs and the profile ofthe concerned consumer.

From this point of view, the webpage ofthe farm captures the attention, incites,determines the buyer to “walk” in thegarden and virtual store, to fill thebasket with dainties and to want todiscuss over the telephone with thefarmer.

At an email distance…or evenclose

It is very easy: you click on the “Pick”button with what you want to have onthe table tomorrow, you leave atelephone number and the deliveryaddress and you will be contacted toconfirm the order – this is all you needto do according to the website. VictoriaBuligoanea warns the customers that

there are cases when a product on theshopping list is no longer available inthe garden because of pests,unfavourable conditions or diseases.This you will find out when you receivethe order confirmation on your email.

The customers who want to pickthemselves the vegetables they need areinvited to contact Victoria Buligoaneaon her email address and website andthey will be received with opened armsand “a glass of cold water of flavouredtomato juice”. “Legume Fericite”concept is customer-oriented.Depending on the season, thevegetables are picked on the day ofdelivery. They are packed and labelledwith the time they were picked, andafterwards transported to thecustomer’s door. The order can be madefrom one day to the next, from Mondayto Friday, in Bucharest and vicinity. Inother areas of the country, the deliveryis made via courier, the parcel arrivingin 24 hours. On medium term, VictoriaBuligoanea intends to cultivate a greaterarea in order to provide to morecustomers the possibility to orderhealthy products for competitive prices,to develop an infrastructure which toallow keeping products fresh for alonger period of time, to ensure thediversity of the offer and to stayconsistent with regard to the quality ofthe products and services. Until now,she only used her own resources. Shesays that the non-reimbursable fundsare attractive and necessary, butbureaucracy keeps many at distance.


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Between biological andconventional agriculture

There are many agricultural practiceswhich need to be coherently integratedand correlated with the local needs. EUstrategy promotes ecologicalproduction, local quality productsaccessible for everyone, a sustainableeconomy and a balanced ruraldevelopment. Romania, the countrywith the most crumbled agriculturalproperty from Europe, is also the onewhich can generate developmentmodels and experiences relevant forthese trends.

One of the pioneers of bio agriculturefrom Romania and an enthusiasticpromoter of traditional rural farm isWilly Schuster from Sibiu County. Atthe same time, he is the voice of millions

of peasants who want to fit into thenational and European developmentplans.

Willy Schuster is member of EcoruralisAssociation, which promotes theinterests of the small, traditional andecological farmers. “We advocate for therehabilitation of the peasant as a lifeand work model. A legislation isnecessary in order to encourage thesmall traditional producers.” EcoruralisAssociation is the first association fromCentral and Eastern Europe whichbecame member in Via CampesinaEuropa, the “InternationalConfederation of Peasants”.

Willy Schuster believes that food safetyis guaranteed on the long term byproximity agriculture, short valorisationchains. “In history, the communities

have always searched to ensure foodfrom proximity”, said Schuster. In thisdirect relationship between the peasantand the consumer is the key of balanceddevelopment and implementation ofinnovation in rural economy. Thesustainable practices are encouragedbased on this positive feedback receivedfrom consumer. But, we need a trulyfree market, without non-competitiverestrictions and/or advantages. Theconsumer prefers the transparency ofthe direct connection to a peasant, thetaste and nutritional qualities of theproduct, which does not needimprovements in order to resist duringtransportation and storage. “Thefreedom of option ensures the successof the traditional rural farm. A countryvision is necessary for the adaptation ofEU policies to Romanian reality”, saidSchuster.

Willy Schuster, from Mosna, Sibiu Countydemonstrates that the rural farm is an exampleof sustainable economic activity

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Ecological agriculture versustraditional rural agriculture

With his own example and the publicdiscourse, Willy Schuster promotes the“traditional rural farm” characterizedby reduced sizes, practices in harmonywith the environment, maintenance ofbiodiversity, administrated by thefamily for their own benefit and fordirect valorisation of the products, inproximity. Keeping the landscape, thegenetic background, the air and soilquality have an impact on the quality oflife in the entire region.

According to the latest studies of theFood and Agriculture Organization(FAO), it results that the most efficientagriculture is the family agriculture, asratio between inputs and outputsmeasured in nutritive units. Also,“family farms provide good qualityproducts, they use less pesticides, lessfertilizers, so, they are closer to asustainable organic production”,according to the general manager ofFAO, José Graziano da Silva.

The story of the involvement ofSchuster family in agriculture began inthe ‘90s. Leaving for Germany to workas translators, Lavinia and WillySchuster became there the supportersof traditional farm, falling in love withthis type of lifestyle and work.Afterwards, Willy discovered bioagriculture in a Swiss program for smallRomanian artisans and peasants.

“16 years ago, we settled at Mosna andwe had a clear goal: an autonomousfarm, which to procure its own healthyfood and a favourable environment forthe development of the children inharmony with nature. We did not

intend to obtain profit. The incomecovers the living costs.”

We started with two hectares of landand two cows. They integrated in thefarm circuit all self-supportcomponents: pasture, hayfield, animalbreeding, milk processing, surplusvalorisation. In 2000, we built thestable and shed and we bought a fewhectares of land. For two-three years,the valorisation took place by sellingfrom home and at Medias, based onorders and subscription (throughrelatives and acquaintances).

Now, they have six cows, seven hectaresof pasture, five hectares with hay, cloverand Lucerne and two hectares withcorn. “We must ensure the food for theanimals according to biologicalrequirements: without concentrates,cereals and soy, ensuring themaintenance of biodiversity by grazingand conscious landscapeadministration”, said Willy Schuster.Lavinia has implemented in our farmtraditional cheese making technologieslearnt in a course in Switzerland,diversifying the products: fresh cheese,sour cream, yogurt, butter, creamcheese, pressed cheese, cheese witharomatic herbs.

Association for valorisation

Between 2002 and 2003, a few farmersfrom the region, who shared the sameprinciples with Schuster family, startedto meet at Waldorf School from Sibiu.They were discussing, buying from oneanother or changing farm productsbetween them. This is how was born theidea of association for marketing theproducts in Sibiu in a private market. In2004, Willy Schuster benefited of an

USAID scholarship for youngprofessionals from agriculture, at theUniversity from Iowa. He found out that70-80% of bio products from USA areturned into good account throughcooperatives. When he returned home,he shared this information with thegroup of farmers from Sibiu and, in2005, he established “BioCoop”, thefirst cooperative for bio productvalorisation from Romania. “It is thefirst cooperative organised based on abottom-up approach. It was notestablished for the purpose of accessingfunds or obtaining other resources”,said Willy Schuster. BioCoop store, “theextended gate of my farm”, as it is calledby Schuster, has become too small forthe buyers from Sibiu. In his capacity ofpresident of BioCoop, Willy Schusterpromotes the idea of direct valorisationthrough cooperatives.

The story goes on

Willy and Lavinia are pioneers of bioagriculture in Romania. They made theconversion to ecological agriculture andthey were among the first people whoobtained ecological farm certificates.“Bio Mosna” has quickly become a truebrand in the world of producers andconsumers of ecological products.

Willy Schuster writes articles, givesinterviews, takes firm position on behalfof the peasants at conferences, inworking groups and consultationforums. Willy and Lavinia are trainers,mentors, advisers for hundreds ofpeasants who want to follow theirexample.

By affiliating to the world network ofvolunteers in ecological farms, manystudents at universities from France,Germany and Austria complete atraineeship in bio agriculture at theirfarm. The eldest of the children ofSchuster family study landscapearchitecture and agronomy,respectively. They already think aboutthe development of their farm: to breedbuffalo cow specific to the area, just liketheir grandparents, or horses, whichthey love very much. They have ideas,dreams and plans. With people likethem the future can be bright for ruralfarms!


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“In fair weather prepare for foul”, this iswhat an old proverb says. Well, tenyears ago, Bistrita ForestAdministration opened a shop where,under the guidance of Engineer SimionBodor, tens of sleighs and beautifulcarriages drawn by horses.

During the ten year period, thewonderful things that are crafted by theseven artisans from Bistrita havecarried thousands of tourists and thatbecause most of the sleighs andcarriages are bought by lodgings andhotels and they are used for touristicpurpose. The sleighs and carriages ofthe artisans have reached in cities likeBucharest, Calarasi, Alexandria,Giurgiu, Suceava or Satu Mare.

It is a team work and the ingredients fora perfect sleigh or carriage are passionand patience. If one of the artisans takescare of the carpentry section, the othertake care of the design and wraps themin leather. Each one is equipped with ametal chassis with breaking anddamping system, a woodsuperstructure, with a tapestry anddesign that makes you remember the

childhood stories. They are built inapproximately two-three weeks. Thesleighs and carriages built at Bistrita-Nasaud can be custom made, so that theclients may opt for the perfect colourcombinations, accessories andadditional modifications.

The shop builds two types of sleighs,with four and eight seats, and threetypes of carriages: for parade,promenade and hunting. Before findingtheir owners, the carriages and sleighsare homologated for driving on publicroads.

Because they are not manufactured inseries, Bistrita Forest Administrationsells an average of 40 sleighs andcarriages per year. There were moreprofitable years, like 2010, when thisnumber was exceeded, but also lessprofitable years, when they sold lessthan 30 sleighs and carriages. The priceof a sleigh is between LEI 4,900 andLEI 8,000, and of a carriage is betweenLEI 16,000 and LEI 18,000. The sleighorders increase one month beforewinter season, and the carriage ordersincrease in March.

The scope of the shop was not only torevive old traditions, but also to createjobs. Additionally, it was intended tocomplete a touristic circuit madeavailable by the ForestryAdministration. And, in order for thethings to go hand in hand, at threekilometres away from Beclean Citythere is an Equestrian Tourism Centreand Beclean Stud Farm (managed byBistrita Forestry Administration),which tourist can visit in exchange of afee with sleighs and carriages built inthe small shop. And also at Beclean, theNational Championship of Horse PairHarnesses has been organized for a fewyears.

A few facts in figures:• Bistrita Forestry Administration sellsan average of approximately 40 sleighsand carriages per year;• The cost of the sleighs is between LEI4,900 and LEI 8,000, and of a carriageis between LEI 16,000 and LEI 18,000;• Two-three weeks are necessary tobuild a sleigh.

Sleighs and carriages from Bistrita


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The specificity of the alternative foodsupply schemes is given by thecapacity to provide to the consumerthrough a food system alternative to(industrial) conventional productionfood products which contain relevantinformation on small agriculturalproducers and the extensive practiceswhich these food products originatefrom. This information refers to theproduction site, used methods (post-production: artisanal, traditional ormanufacture), the workers involvedin their production (often with namesand contact data), potentiallyincluding the values of the peopleinvolved in obtaining these foodproducts.

The short supply chains guarantee thequality of the products by directcontact with the producer or based ontraceability guarantees, but the

quality of these products is firstconditioned by the origin from asustainable agriculture, frompractices specific to post-productivemodel. This implies the compliance ofthe producer with a set of norms onsustainable agriculture or agri-ecology, artisanal or manufactureproduction, compliance with recipeswhich favour the nutritive qualities tothe prejudice of the long shelf life ofthe product and, last but not least, acorrect communication of the originof this product from a systemalternative to conventional foodproduction.

ASAT (Association for RuralAgriculture Support) is the formunder which such food supply schemehas been developing in Romania as of2008 as alternative to the local fruitand vegetable market, proposing a

firm partnership between a group ofresponsible consumers and a smallagricultural producer around atraditional or organic vegetableculture.

ASAT means a direct, immediatesolidarity relationship betweenconsumers preoccupied by the qualityof food and the farmers practicing anatural and small scale agriculture inthe proximity villages.

The groups of consumers reunited inASAT partnerships decide to equallydivide the production from thevegetable gardens traditionally ororganically cultivated by the smallproducers, paying an equalcontribution for the coverage of thecosts and remuneration of the farmer.These co-shared gardens have smallsizes (0.2-2 ha) and they are locatedin the proximity of the localitieswhere the groups of solidaryconsumers are set-up.

Around the fruit basket partnershipsother small partnerships are formedwith other small farmers forcomplementary products: dairies andcheese, honey, eggs, homemade breadand sweets, jams and syrups made offruits grown in traditional orchards orof berries.

ASAT solidarity partnerships betweenconsumers and small proximityfarmers are inspired by AMAP(Association for Maintenance of RuralAgriculture) movement from Francelaunched in the early 2000s, whichdevelop solidary local partnershipsbetween urban and rural. The culturaland historical differences between thetwo societies are pretty significant in

ASAT (Association for Supporting RuralAgriculture), ) solidarity partnerships, analternative form of food supply scheme

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order to have a specific approach ofthe problem of the small extensiveagriculture from Romania. ASAT hasits own identity built in the sevenyears of development in the context ofthe social and economic dynamics ofRomania.

Community-SupportedAgriculture at internationallevel

ASAT partnerships are part of thefamily of the Community-SupportedAgriculture (CSA), a movement withmore than 60 years of experience inthe world. CSA was set-up as areaction to a crisis (disappearance ofthe small farmers and of the benefitsprovided by them on the local foodmarket) and developed as a form ofsolidarity of consumers with farmers,by developing a win-win relationship.The role played by the partnershipsbetween consumers and farmers hasseveral dimensions: first of all,consolidation of sustainability ofmicro-farms engaged in traditionaland ecological agriculture; second,supporting a healthy lifestyle amongconsumers, who empower themselvesfor what they consume and also forthe world they leave to the futuregenerations.

The first forms of CSA were developedapproximately 50 years ago in Japanas reaction to the decline of semi-subsistence agriculture and reductionof access to local healthy food inurban industrialized communities.The first partnerships are developedby the Japanese mothers concernedabout the increase of vegetableimports, drastic reduction ofecologically exploited agriculturalplots and migration of farmers tocities. These women organizedthemselves in solidary groups ofconsumers and set up a new productproduction and procurement systemby developing a direct relationshipwith the local producers.

Today, at international level, there aredifferent initiatives which are part ofthe community-supported agriculture

family, of which we enumerate asfollows:• AMAP in France;• CSA (Community SupportedAgriculture) in Anglo-Saxoncountries;• ASC (Agriculture soutenue par lacommunauté) in Quebec (Canada);• Teikei in Japan;• Reciproca in Portugal;• GAS (Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale )in Italy;• Contractual Proximity Agriculturein Switzerland;• ASAT in Romania.

ASAT reinvents the producer-consumer relationship, which ittransforms in a mutuallyadvantageous partnership. On theone hand, the small agriculturalproducer, who can cultivate naturallyand organically, without fearing thathis work is going to be left unpaid orthat he would have to sell his productsat a loss because of the pressure putby long distribution chains onproducers, and of the competitionwith great agri-industrial producers.On the other hand, the consumer alsobecomes partner of the smallagricultural producer, in this way, nolonger being in the posture of passiveconsumer and participating in a newrelationship in which information onfood and the way in which it iscultivated are directly accessible tohim, being at the same time co-decision-maker with regard to thecontent of the weekly basket and tothe partnership development plan.

ASAT partnerships:• providing producers with aguarantee regarding selling ofproducts, the consumers concluding acontract with the producer in thebeginning of an agricultural season;• reducing the time for selling theproducts, the producers sell theproducts in one day per week, at apre-established time interval;• ensuring an equitable price to theproducer, which to cover all the costsincurred by the production, andallowing a reliable income forproducers and a decent payment of

the work;• supporting local agriculture, thismeasure being exclusively addressedto small agricultural producers whopractice traditional or organicagriculture;• favouring ecological practices (use ofnatural fertilizers, absence ofsynthesis pesticides, fertilizers andtreatments), favouring developmentof local biodiversity;• supporting a sustainabledevelopment model in agriculturalfield.

Short history of ASATpartnerships

ASAT solidarity partnerships weredeveloped in a pilot stage atTimisoara, between 2008 and 2011.In this stage, a vegetable producerfrom Timis County was supported inan experimental manner, and hisgroup of consumers has evolved from20 families to 180 families whoconcluded a firm contract for oneseason.

After the pilot stage of the model,CRIES Association, together with itspartners, have supported apartnership multiplication effort inseveral regions from the country, in2014, ASAT partnerships beingpresent in Arad, Bihor, Buzau, Cluj,Giurgiu, Harghita, Salaj and TimisCounty. The cities in which groups ofsolidary consumers were formed are:Arad, Bucharest, Cluj, OdorheiuSecuiesc, Oradea and Timisoara. In2014, 400 families of solidaryconsumers and over 20 smallagricultural producers participated inASAT partnerships.

Sergiu FloreanGeneral Secretary of ASATAssociation.For more information:www.asatromania.ro, www.cries.roe-mail: [email protected]@asatromania.ropostal address: Timisoara, 11 . BogdanPetriceicu Hasdeu Blvd. , 300016,Timis county, RomaniaTelephone: (+4)0756.081.959.


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„Time passes and we cannot stop it,its law is our law”, said a peasant froma village from Hunedoara County tothe ethnologist Marcel Laptes. Wewill narrate about the time law, too,trying to rebuild a calendar which putthings in good order beforeorganizing them, a calendar whichdivided time into sacred and profane,an ancient calendar which hasreached present time. We will attempta presentation of the most importantholidays from the Popular Calendarmarked by the cyclical rebirth of YearGod, by the passage of the Sunthrough the zodiac, by cosmictimepieces which give birth tomythical scenarios and creatureswhen equinox and solstice areapproaching. We will see how Timedisguises into young divinities in thebeginning of the year (SaintLadislaus, Dragobete, Santoader,Sangeorz, Saint Friday, Palm Sunday,Sanziene, Ielele), afterwards, itbecomes mature (Saint Ilie, Samedru,Saint Andrew, Saint Friday,Inatoarea, Craciuneasa), becomingMos/Baba at the end of the year(Saint Nicholas, New Year’s Eve,Santa Clause, Baba Dochia),mentioning that, in the past, the 25thof December and the 1st of Marchwere also the first days of a New Year.In the beginning of a year, the peasantused to say that “time is settling” andhe wanted to know how the year and

life are going to be for him. This iswhy he opened the Gromovnic, he“made calendars” of onion leaves andcharcoal, he looked at the sky andcounted the stars-logostars, he askedthe zodiac, ally with the water, soil,fire…

Epiphany and Santion

Epiphany and Santion close the circleof winter holidays. The time purifiesthrough water and fire and themagical practices are more intensethan ever: people go from house tohouse singing, voodoo is made, castsare spelled over, fortunes are told, thepredestined husband/wife is foundout, forecasts are made as regards theweather and harvests of the new year.People light the immortal fire andscent the house and garden in orderto cast out the evil spirits, to attractluck and wealth, they practice anancient agrarian ritual for cropstimulation calledCiuralexa/Chiraleisa or Kira Leisa.Young men jump over the calmedflames of the fire in order to purifytheir bodies and souls. The maidens“enchant” intense love spells. The fireis the embodiment of the sun onearth, it is the sacred symbol of homefireplace, bearer of the spiritual light.Water appears from the moon light,washing the sins inherited from theancestors, and generates rebirth. By

blessing it on the day of Epiphany, thewater acquires magical powers, andthey extend to people, community,fertile field, protecting the entireworld and chasing away diseases,devils, ghosts, snakes and wolves. It isthe time of the year when Solomonariappear holding the Book of World’sSecrets in one hand and the lindenbast bridle in the other. They are themasters of storm clouds, the ones whoramble into the sky on dragons anddivert the hail as they wish. Theelderly say that the water which isblessed on the day of Epiphany hasmiraculous powers and it neverspoils. The Christian ceremony takesplace at a well from the village, in thecourtyard of the church or nearby arunning water. After being blessed,the water transforms into agheasma(holly water). People take this waterat home in especially prepared vesselsand pour a little in all the wells thatcome into their way. They also splashwater on their house, sheds, animalsand orchard in an ancient purificationritual.

Ritual time – Splitting theGroup of Young Men

The sky is opened, the treasures areburning, the guardian angel show tothe maiden her destiny, solomonariappear among people, and the futurecan be seen in the mirror. There are

The calendar of our villagesIulia Gorneanu

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days marked by the symbolicbeginning of the work, sitting underthe sign of astronomical observations,of drawing up the weather calendar,of trying one’s luck. On the day ofEpiphany, the Groups of Young Menare split, but not before theorganization of a last supper at thehost’s house, where all thoseattending take a piece from the roundritual bread. Songs are sang to thehost, the spiritual parents of theyoung men while the Group is stillunited and, afterwards, there is adance marking the end of thecommon party and, at the same time,the cancellation of the tasks of theGroup between years. The goat, thesheep, which came to life on the dayof Saint Nicholas, together with thegroup which accompanied every hour,dance solitarily before death. Playingthe role of Year God, the mask issymbolically killed in order to reborntogether with the calendar time.

Iordanitul femeilor –matriarchal relict

Women also organize in groups inorder to party in the beginning of theNew Year. The custom is calledTontoroi (or Carnaval, Iordanitulfemeilor) and it takes place on the dayof Santion and it is a relic ofmatriarchal period. On this day, thestrict norms of the traditional villageare abolished, women are consideredmore powerful than men, taking overthe excessive freedom and behaviour.In a special ceremony, the youngwives are welcomed into thecommunity of married women.Afterwards, they chose a host wherethey party until dawn, dancing,singing and drinking in excess.Normally, the Christian holiday haseclipsed the pagan holiday both bycelebration ceremonies, which bearthe name of the saint, and by settingthe “Day of Midwife” on January 7th,John the Baptist being alsoconsidered the protector of theinfants.

Sanpetru Lupilor (Saint Peter ofWolves) and the middle of thewinter

The middle of January brings us animportant holiday patronized by agreat mythical-folkloric divinity:Sanpetru de iarna (Saint Peter ofWinter) or Sanpetru Lupilor. Thefaith of old Dacians in the sacrednessof the wolf has caused the investmentof Saint Peter with the attributes of aseasonal autochthonous goddess,who, together with her brother,Sanpetru de Vara (Saint Peter ofSummer), divides the pastoral yearinto two seasons. The wolves werecalled “dogs of Sanpetru”, and thelegends say that they blindly obey hisorders. On the night of January 16th,when the peasants say that it is alsothe “middle of winter”, Sanpetru showbefore them on a white horse,presenting offerings to them andallowing them to killing and robbinganimals and people, sharing theirfood for the entire year.

For the Romanian peasant, Sanpetruoccupies a special place in the popularpantheon. He is mentioned inhundreds of carols, being the witnessof the world beginning, descendingfrom the sky on a wax ladder, andduring the intense sacrednessmoments over the year, when the skyopens, he is shown sitting at the tableon the right side of God. Still, thepopular imagination invested himwith human attributes, describinghim in stories as a man who likes toparty, who gambles in taverns, has apretty shepherdess, lost his horsesand oxen during ploughing time,when he needed them most… But hisdiligence, honour and kindness aremore important: God appointed himthe “guardian of sky pantries” andgives him the desired keys of Heaven.The day on which he is celebrated isalways in the middle of winter, animportant boundary of the popularcalendar, which, once passed, opensthe gates of spring. The peasants say

that from that moment on “winterstarts descending towards spring”.

Pastoral calendar – WinterPhilips

The Winter Philips mark the end ofthe wolves coupling period, whichbegan 80 days prior, on the day ofAutumn Philips. In some places, it isbelieved that Philips are greater saintsover all the wild beasts, in otherplaces, it is believed that they are thepatrons of wolves, while some say thatPhilips are even embodiments ofthese animals. In the gatherings ofTudor Pamfile, Philips appear ashouse gods celebrated especially bywomen in order to protect their homefrom “evil, danger, fire, wolves,snakes”. Also the women – throughceremonial practices and gestures –are the ones who keep the wolves atdistance from the flocks and homes.The beliefs in “bad days when wolvescome” were attested in all the areas ofthe country until the first half of the20th century. Today, they are stillcelebrated only in the pastoralenvironment, but the dates differfrom one area to another, comprisingthe interval between Sanpetru Lupilorand the last day of the month,patronized by the Limp Philip. Thefact that the divinity which completesthe cycle of festive days dedicated towolves is “important” places it in thepantheon of the underground gods, ofdeath and darkness, sheltered into thenight and dominated by themythological fear of the sun.

As you see, our world was divided into“before Christ” and “after Christ”.Does it mean that we are not goodChristians if we want to know whatwas “before”? Why is that on a Romancoin, Ianus, the great two-faced god –one turned towards the year whichpassed and the other turned towardsthe year which has just came – sitsbetween two worlds and smiles withindulgence…

We need our stories, legend, signs andancient language. We need to find outand to understand the rituals of ourancestors, their beliefs about the seenand unseen world. Every day we losewords, music, small blue houses,childhood games, plant cure, sacrednessof dances, customs, magical soul andworld dimension. Every day we sell ourdowry chests, handkerchiefs and

traditional blouses; the fairs are full ofthem, they are waiting on the counter forus to take them home, to elucidate theirsigns, to carry forwards the story of thewoman who sew them, a story whichcomes from ancient times and which, ifwe give it a chance, can be endless…Onlytogether we can recover this ruralpatrimony not protected by any law!Let’s propose to ourselves, in the

beginning of the Year and Calendar, tosave, according to our powers, a parentalhouse, a peasant skirt, a “zadia”, a girdleor a traditional blouse! Save a Romaniantraditional blouse is the generic advice.Saving a peasant object you save a pieceof Romania. And do not forget: thetraditional blouse, the veil, the peasantskirt, the rug, the girdle…maybe therewere made by your great-grandmother!

Save a Romanian traditional blouse (IE)!


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It is said that Decebalus guarded histreasures from Apuseni Mountainswith the help of giants. These humanbeings are often found in the legendswhich cover Crisana with mystery.Nowadays, the treasures of this areacontinue to be rigorously guarded. Weare talking about the treasures oftradition, which are guarded by “giant”artisans based on their talent andexperience.

Accommodation just like in the19th century

A few of them might be known in thesmall village of Runcuri, where thereare also accommodation options. CasaTraditionala Complex has fourbuildings with names and aspectdepicted from stories told by thefireside: Star House, Big House,Mulberry House and Shed coveredwith straws. The conditions are rustic,the ambiance is calm and the touristscan return in time in order to deal with

a challenge with historical perfume:facing the picturesque lifestyle fromthe 19th century. From the furniture tothe courtyard, everything isauthentically rustic; the tourists canmanage the household by themselves,just like their grandparents.

Dobrești commune, betweentouristic attractions and lacefabrics

Toplita Cave makes the junction withone of the longest caves fromRomania, Ciur Ponor Cave ofapproximately 15 kilometres length,ensuring a true underground routebetween the villages of Dobresticommune and Rosia.

The fabrics specific to Crisna regionare considered traditionaladornments. In Dobresti commune,this trade has been kept for hundredsof years in its authentic forms.“Anywhere in the country where I sell

the fabrics from Bihor, the peoplerecognize their origin. The fabricsspecific to Crisana clearly distinguishfrom the rest of the country, they areunmistakable”, explains Mrs VioricaStiube, weaver. “The patterns areunique in the world, I inherited themfrom the dowry chests of ourgrandmothers. There are ancientpatterns. The most representativeones are those with small ball ofthread, with laced aspect. They needa lot of attention; each thread of thefabric is separately placed, youcannot insert the large shuttle, a sortof thread ball is made; in the end, thefabric has a laced aspect. The specificcolours are the combinations of redand black and red and navy blue;there are people who want a little bitmoremodern fabrics, so, in their case,I use other colours, too, like yellowand turquoise.” In the past, theRomanian women used to weave onlyduring winter, when there was nowork to be done outside. Mrs Viorica

Crisana – the home of the giant artisans

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Stiube weaves on a regular basis,irrespective of the season.

Vadu Crisului and whiteceramics

Casa Zmaului or Turnul de la PortusCrisy continues to guard the region ofCrisna from the bank of Crisul RepedeRiver. From this 18th century fortifiedconstruction only a few ruinsremained, which impress with theirage and aspect; the tower was partiallyerected directly into the mountain rockand partially built with rock.Nowadays, it appears subdue; moss,flowers and bushes have conquered itcentimetre by centimetre.

In exchange, white ceramics fromVadu Crisului is immortal and timecannot win. The white ceramics isunique in the world due to the claywhich is made of. “It is the onlyceramics that can be used as non-enamelled version; the ceramics turnswhite by burning, and we paint itwith natural colours, whether darkblack or red-brown. Everything isnatural”, said Iosif Szolga, potter. Hetook over this trade from his mother,one of the most famous and oldestceramic artists from Vadu Crisului.“White ceramics from here does notneed to be enamelled. It keeps thewater fresh and cold without spoilingthe vessel. The secrets of whiteceramics are hundreds of years old;we use very old traditional patternswith floral motifs. Another extremelyused pattern is that of the hills drawnas background. Between or in front ofthe hills we paint the peasant fromBihor working the field.” The fame ofwhite ceramics is not limited todecorative or household pots. “It is anancient craft learnt from God whocreated Adam from clay and gave himsoul. We also make figurines fromwhite ceramics, but we cannot givethem life.”

Budureasa – talking with thestone and wood

Budureasa commune is located at thebasis of Bihor Mountains in a natural


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environment marked by stone andwood. The tourists come from all overRomania to talk to Piatra Graitoare(the talking stone) from the naturalreservation bearing the same name.Piatra Graitoare is located on one ofthe mountain crests; it has the aspectof a cupola cut into rock and its namewas given to it because of the intenseecho produced when tourists whispernearby.

The people from the communecontinue to support themselves,among other things, from the trade ofwood sculptures. Specific to Crisanaare the dowry chests made of oakwood, but also the gates from Bihorsimilar to those from Maramures, butstill different.

Catalin Iahar graduated Plastic Artsand specialized in wood gates andcrosses from Bihor. He makes them atimpressive scales. “The gate that Ihave made at Budureasa is one of thetallest from the entire locality. I amproud of it because it is 13meters longwith an aperture of approximatelyeight meters between the gates andfive meters tall. I made it of oak andfire wood.” The wood crosses made byCatalin Iagar are considered unique,because the patterns are traditionalfrom Bihor, but reinterpreted. “I getmy inspiration from the local motifs,but I do not copy them. I try not torepeat myself in the wood art. Thecarriage wheels are also famous atBudureasa, having elements specificto the area. They are often made ofoak and common oak wood and thenatural aspect of the wood is kept. Ido not use paint at all; the colour isnatural, which I enhance with a littleoil, which emphasizes the wood fibre.”

Madaras commune: weavingfaith and twigs

Homorog village from Madarascommune dates from the time ofMenumorut (the 9th century). It is oneof the oldest villages attested withdocuments, which has kept along thecenturies the Orthodox faith, despitethe pressure of the catholic religion.The church from Homorog, under thepatronage of the “Birth of VirginMarry”, from the 19th century, isfamous for its interior painting, whichhas remained intact until present time.

It impresses with the way in whichterrible biblical sequences aresupported by the fragility of the flowergarlands painted on the borders.

“Here, at Madaras, the weavingsspecific to Crisana can be observedeverywhere in the homes of thepeople, from baskets to decorations”,said Ghorghe Ruja, an old artisan. Hehas created so many objects out oftwigs that he lost their count. He iscapable of creating anything out oftwigs, but also out of wood. He evenmade furniture when it was necessary.“I can use weavings specific toCrisana in any way it is desired. I usethem as decorations on bottles, flowervases, even on wrought iron objects.The flower baskets for flower pots arethe most desired ones, because of thepicturesque aspect of the twigs. I havealso made benches covered by osierfor peasant houses.” The twigs aretaken from special plantations, notfrom anywhere. “In the past, therewere enterprises which wereadministrating these plantations.They were very large, wellmaintained and provided twigs forthe entire area of Crisana. But, in thelast years, the plantations started toreduce. The trade of weaving alsobegins to extinguish in Crisana afterhundreds of years.”

Roșia, the spirit of Crisana

The Chrystal Cave was discovered inthe second half of the 20th century byaccident by the workers of Farcu mine.It is a unique place in Romania, a cavewhich can be only partially visited, butspectacular due to its ceiling fromwhich true crystal figurines hang. Thebest known are the dragonflyfigurines. The landscape seemsdepicted from stories with crystalpalaces.

The water mill from Rosia is the mostfamous mill of Crisana, the only one ofits kind in the area, which still workstoday. It dates from the 19th centuryand it was built exclusively of wood,with a large water wheel, having tworooms: the one in which there is themilling mechanism and the miller’sroom. It belongs to a villager who isalways happy to receive guests.

The Stroh violin is a music instrument

specific to Crisana. The artisan DorelCodoban has lived and worked atRosia. In 2011, he died, but hisextraordinary invention, the violinwith two horns continues to survive inthe stories of her wife.

„My husband was a true artisan. Hehad a special musical ear. He hadworked for years to the Stroh violinand, afterwards, all of a sudden, heinvented the violin with two horns”,remembered Flori Codoban. “TheStroh violin is made only of sycamoremaple wood, because it is a light andvery manageable wood. The Strohviolin consists in three pieces all madeof wood: the frame in which the heartof the violin is placed, the wood headand the part called the chin, becausethe musician places it under his chinwhen he sings. The horn is an elementinspired by the horns used by theRomanian armies in time. It has thesame shape, but it is veryscrupulously processed.”

The Stroh violin from Crisana is aninstrument that is as representative asit is hard to procure. It implies manyhours of work, experience andscrupulousness. With regard to theviolin with two horns, Mrs FloriCodoban says that “unlike the normalviolin, it has a very powerful echo anda more alert rhythm”. “It has beenalways present in Crisana, especiallyat weddings. An American came to us,bought a Stroh violin and he noticedthe violin with two horns. He couldnot sleep at night because he did nothave it. He beggedmy husband to sellit to him, but Dorel Codoban did notwant, because it was his first inventedviolin. In the end, he sold it to him andthe American took it with him toAmerica.”

Adornments from Beius

The beaded jewellery are a tradespecific to Crisana. The art of adorningwith traditional jewellery is specific toboth men and women. Neckadornments and bracelets for womenand decorative beads for the hats ofmen are sold in the area of Beius. “Imake jewellery for both men andwomen”, said Mrs Catalina Simai fromBeius. “In our region, the men wearjewelleries on their hats or caps. Wecall them small collars with teeth.

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They are difficult to make. Thepatterns for men are made on 10, 12,16 up to 20 threads and they arefinished with wool tassels or smallbeads. The adornments for womenare made with maximum 12 threads,these being wider. We havecombinations of intense colours,which are pleasant for the eyes: whitewith red, orange, green and navyblue. We scrupulously combine everybead to have a beautiful effect.Specific for Crisana are the smallcollars with small ball thread, thethread being stronger than the usualone. We use the inherited patternsalso representatives for fabrics:clover, Christian symbols,geometrical shapes. The adornmentsfrom Crisana distinguish from therest because they include all thepossible colours.”

Other attractions and legends ofCrisana

The Bears’ Cave from Chiscau village,Bihor County, is famous for a grave ofbears. It is a specie of bears extinct15,000 years ago – the cavern bears.The huge bones of approximately 140bears were found here. They wereblocked inside by a rock that fell andcovered the cave entrance.

Soimos Fortress from Arad Countydates from the 13th century and itbecame a ruin because of its founder –a young virgin who boasted aboutbeing capable of building it in one daywithout the help of God. Aspunishment, the young woman wasturned into a white snake with crown.The legend says that she lives nearbythe ruins, expecting for the curse to be

removed.

About the old church from Gosii Noi,Arad County, it is said that it was builtwithout using nails, only choppedboards. It is under the patronage of the“Death of Virgin Marry” and itsexistence is related to a bloody legend:it was built with heroic efforts by asingle man punished in this way forkilling his wife.

The rose paradise

The rosary from Mandruloc, AradCounty, is the largest rose garden fromRomania. It is spread on threehectares and includes approximately2000 various species of roses. Thethree colour rose and Eden Roseclimbing rose are very appreciated.


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Steluta and Horia Fenechiu sold theirapartment from Bucharest, quit theirjobs with fix schedule and stable salaryfrom the capital and retired intoMartanus village from Covasna. Theybought there one hectare and a half ofland and started cultivatingblackberries, raspberries, blueberries,gooseberries, boxthorn andstrawberries. “It happened in 2010. Weleft the city and started a smallbusiness, but filled with satisfactions”,reminded Horia Fenechiu. “My fatheris from Martanus, so, in weekends wewent there and made jams and syrupsafter the recipes with whichmymothergrew. We have fruits at discretion onthe hills ofMartanus.We camewith theidea of transforming this occupationinto business because our friends keptspeaking highly of the taste and flavourof the jams we were making. I think itwas a momentary madness; we gaveup our city lives and returned to ourroots in the native place of ourparents.”Steluta and Horia Fenechiu only wantedto have a decent living from an

occupation which to bring them joy, notonly financial gains. After four years,they had not have the foreseen decentliving, but they did not lose hope. Thedaily satisfactions exceeded theexpectations of the two spouses. “I amelectronics engineer and my wife iseconomist. The hours spent at the officedo not compare in any way with themoments in which we work the land.We are doing all the work. When youwork the land you havemoments of joythat are hard to understand by thosewho sit at the office; it is very hard:you sweat, you injure, your back hurts,but, no matter what happens, all theefforts are rewarded when the firstfruit grows. It is a reward that fillsyour heart with joy; it is the same asraising a child.”

„Dealurile Martanusului” jam andsyrup

The first thing that attracts to thetraditional products of Fenechiu familyis the package. The jars and bottles haveoriginal customized labels which make

you think about a typical mountain areafrom Transilvania. Once you open a jaror a bottle, the product wins you overwith its special aroma. The jams aremade from cranberries, black currants,roses, raspberries, strawberries, greenwalnuts, blackberries and apples withcinnamon. The syrups are made of firbuds, common elder, lemon,raspberries, blueberries andstrawberries. “The ones which we sellare the tastes of my childhood, I grewup with them. My wife is an excellenthousewife and precisely complies withthe recipes left by my mother andgrandmother. The jars and bottles thatwe sell contain the memories of mychildhood”, said Horia Fenechiu. “Therose and green walnut jams are bestsold. But my favourite is wild rosejam.”

The secret of the taste has twocomponents: wood fire and springwater. “I have fitted up a special placein which we make the jam. We havetwo large cooking stoves which workwith wood. The water is from amountain spring. In the village thereare huge tanks which collect mountainwater; it is filtered and provided to ourhomes.”

Due to the fact that the products do notcontain preservatives, the shelf life isdifferent from that of the jams fromhypermarkets. “The law provides thateach producer must indicate his ownshelf life, which he responsiblyundertakes. I was afraid to play withthe shelf life, so I myself tested theproducts. If they are kept attemperatures of less than 20 degrees,the syrups last for one year and thejams for two years.”

The difference that counts

The market of traditional productsmade under individual enterpriseregime is pretty crowded as regards theoffer. But “Dealurile Martanusului” jam

People

The hills of Martanus - jam and syrup with thetaste of childhood memories

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tends to distinguish from the rest of thesimilar products. “We have the greatadvantage that we are from the city,born and raised in Bucharest;therefore, we are familiar with theclaims of the townspeople and weknow how to satisfy them. Thetownsman cares very much about thequality, but also about the aspect of theproduct; we are doing everything wecan to provide them with a naturaltaste, healthy products, impeccableaspect. We work fair and I think that,in the end, this is what makes thedifference on the market of traditionalproducts”, explained Horia Fenechiu.

A very important aspect: “In thisbusiness, whether you want it or not,you associate with God. With His will,you have a good or not so goodharvest.We take our berries from threesources: our own cultures,spontaneous flora and our parents’orchard around the house.”

„I cannot describe in one word thespirit of my products”, said HoriaFenechiu. “But I can describe it in oneimage – the image ofmy hands andmywife’s hands, the hands with which wework the land, we pick the fruits andturn them into jams and syrups. Theyare hands that do a fair work.”

“Dealurile Martanusului” jam and syruphave customers who are family friendsand their friends. The products are alsosold on the internet in an online storeon Delurile Martanusului website.

„Mr Daniel Constantin, the Minister ofAgriculture, gave me a brilliant idea:to try to sell the products to lodgingsfrom rural area, which do not have afruit farm. On the other hand, anextraordinary help would also be a listwhich to make the direct connectionbetween the producers andconsumers.”


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Black ceramics from Marginea isunique in the world and it could notbe reproduced elsewhere, saidGheorghe Magopat, potter. Withinthe last hundred years, several pottersfrom other localities persisted intomaking black ceramics, but no onesucceeded. Furious and humiliated,some of them said that black ceramicsis only a practical joke made of pitchor show polish. Still, black ceramicsexist, but it seems to remain a mysterysolved only by the potters fromMarginea. One of them is GheorgheMagopat, whose name has been, forhundreds of years, synonym with thatof black ceramics.

The main secret of black ceramicsfrom Marginea is the technique;Gheorghe Magopat thinks that it waspassed from generation to generation

with all its mysterious particularaspects. Therefore, only the pottersfrom Marginea are capable of creatingblack ceramics.

„I represent the fifth generation ofblack ceramics potters fromMargines. For approximately 400years, all Magopat men have beendoing this trade. I passed thisoccupation to my children. The sameas our great-grandfathers, wepractice the art of pottery withpassion”, said Gheorghe Magopat.

Old potters and new potters

Black ceramics from Marginea isfamous for hundreds of years. Thedemand for pots was very high, beingsold not just locally, but in the entireMoldova. The potters were loading

the carriage with ceramics and wentto Iasi, Botosani, the bank of PrutRiver and Radauti, where they soldtheir merchandise. Often, theyexchanged ceramics with otherproducts, not money. “The potter wasmissing from home for about threeweeks, wandering the country to sellhis pots. He slept where he could andpaid for his food with black ceramicpots. It was hard, but that has beenthe life of the potters from Margineafor approximately half ofmillennium. The best sold were andstill are the milk and cabbage andmeat roll pots. The potter returnedwith the carriage loaded withcereals, because Marginea is anuphill locality.”

Until 1989, black ceramics fromMarginea kept its importance. Therewere approximately 50 families ofpotters and their creations were soldvery well, especially at fairs: thecompetition between potters wasfierce, the offer was generous and theprices were accessible as compared tothose from stores. Nowadays, thereare only three families of potters leftin Marginea.

The secret of black ceramics

Black ceramics from Marginea is thepride of Magopat family. All membersfound out its secrets and they can tellthat it is no magic, but patience andyears of practice; between thetechnological process that isexplained and the one that is appliedthere are essential differences. “Oneshould consider many details, someof them apparently insignificant,how much wood is used, at whatdepth are the pots placed in thefurnace, at what temperature andwhich is the burning time”, said MrMagopat.

Gheorghe Magopat from Margineathe „magician” of black ceramics

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The main significance of blackceramics from Marginea is given bythe colour obtained in the mostnatural way possible, withoutcolorants or dye.

“The black colour of ceramics isobtained by burning into the furnaceat temperatures of approximately750 degrees for eight hours in a firststage and for other 12 hours in thesecond stage. We burn resin wood,whether fir or spruce, and the potsbecome incandescent. Because thefurnace is hermetically closed, itgives out carbon monoxide and fromhere results the black colour.”

The legend of black ceramics

There are different theories regardingthe age of the ceramics fromMarginea. Some of them say that itwould date from 400-500 years ago.Others say that it would be a Dacianheritage. Irrespective of the age, theappearance of black ceramics fromMarginea is by pure chance,according to Mr Magopat.

„At first, the potters from Margineamade red ceramics; the burningprocess was finished immediatelyafter the pots turned brick-red. It is

said that one of them invented blackceramics by accident. After burning,the red pots were left over night inthe furnace in order to cool down.One night, because of the humiditycaused by rain, the clay furnacecollapsed over the pots. It was foundin the morning of the following day.Inside, the pots had turned black andit was subsequently discovered thatunder the collapsed walls of thefurnace a piece of wood continued tosmoulder and the smoke hadnaturally blackened all the pots.”

Black ceramics of... Magopat

From the entire process of productionof black ceramics it is nothing thatGheorghe Magopat loves more thanclay moulding, because it is thenwhen his hands give shape and life,mould, change and then again giveshape and life.

“A potter is an artist. For up to fivetimes, the same piece of clay can bemoulded into a new shape by hishands; it depends on each potter togive life to the clay on the wheel. Wemould the clay from ourimagination. Of course, the pots formilk and cabbage and meat rollscontinue to be best sold, but the

pattern and decorations are alwaysdifferent; we make them based onour own talent. Each moment that Iwork on the potter’s wheel is acreative joy and satisfaction.”

“Wework all pots by hand andwe donot think to give up this style only forthe sake of money. We received hugeorder from USA, but we had to pass.They ordered 100,000 pots ontrimester basis in exchange of anadvantageous amount of money, butwe do not work at industrial level.Black ceramics from Marginea is anact of manual creation. I rejectedthat order.”

The shop of Gheorghe Magopat wasopened in 1990 and he currently has12 employees. Most of them arefamily. “From this perspective, Iensured the future of black ceramicsfrom Marginea: two of my childrenwork in the shop and they intend topass their knowledge to mygrandchildren. Both children areuniversity graduates, they also havemaster’s degrees, but they are onlyinterested in one thing: blackceramics fromMarginea. It is in theirblood!”


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Graduate of the Faculty of Agriculturefrom Zollikofen, Christian Hani hasbeen dreaming for a long time to havean ecological farm. Therefore, in 2004,he decided that it was time to movefrom Switzerland to Romania. Tenyears have passed since then and hedoes not regret anything. Beforearriving to Romania, Christian Hani hasprospected several countries from theregion – he was looking for a goodagricultural area with fertile soil, but ata reasonable price. He found it in 1998in Firiteaz village, Arad County, and hemoved there with his entire family. Firstof all, he convinced his family, and in2008, her sister and brother in law alsocame and, soon after, they set up abusiness, BioFarmland, based onpeople and principles of sustainable

agriculture, which does not harm thesoil or the environment. It was not easyin the beginning, it was necessary toovercome the language barrier andcultural differences, but they rapidlysucceeded to integrate.

Record of ecological cereals

At the farm from Firiteaz, Hani familycultivates cereals, with which theystarted when they first came toRomania and which are a great part ofproduction, but also leguminous plantslike beans, peas and lentil. In total, thefarm has 800 hectares, all of which arecultivated in ecological system. Inaddition, Hani family cultivatesmedicinal plants and spices, likecoriander, mustard and basil. A total of

18 employees work at the farm fromFiriteaz, all of them being from Firiteaz,and a few tens of women from thevillage takes care of the packaging ofmedicinal teas and spices.

In 2008, the firm had its first crop of biocereals of 550 tons, and in the followingyears, the Swiss family has harvestedbetween 350 and 700 tons per year.Last year, they had a production recordof 800 tons of ecological cereals (wheat,rye, oat), and the leguminousproduction was of 300 tons.

Half of the cereal crop they sell based onpre-contracts and the other half on thefree market. In both cases, 90% of theentire production obtained at the farmfrom Firiteaz is exported, 30% in

The Swiss farmers from Firiteaz, Arad County,and BioFarmland products

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Germany, 65% in Switzerland and 5%stays on the internal market. Thevegetables are also exported, but in asmaller proportion as compared tocereals (approximately 60%).

Why are the products of the Swissfamily not sold in Romania the same asabroad? First of all, because of the price.Because the production is small, theprice of the products is high – theculture is biological, without pesticides,additives or plough. Although thedemand on the autochthonous marketis small, the farmers are optimistic thatthe percentage will start to increase,because within the last few years, theyfelt a positive change in theconsumption of ecological products byRomanian people.

Before reaching the record productionfrom the last year, Hani family hasprepared the land. They use the whiteclover in order to ensure the fertility ofthe soil, to fight weeds, afterwardsreplacing it with spelt wheat (the oldestof the cereals and the ancestor of thecommon wheat, with a slight nuttyflavour), oat and rye. The clover fixates

the nitrogen, reduces weeds andincreases the biological activity of thesoil. Additionally, the farmers use earthworms to break up the soil and to createpaths for the circulation of water intothe soil and for a better development ofthe roots. The Swiss family rotates thecultures every eight years.

At first sight, giving up the comfortablelife in Switzerland in order to doagriculture in Romania seemed a betdestined to be lost, but reality hasdemonstrated otherwise. They doubledthe will to set up an ecological farm withexperience and knowledge. If ChristianHani had agricultural studies beforecoming to Romania, her wife wasspecialized in agrarian ecology andenvironment protection and his fatherhad worked for ten years in a bank fromSwitzerland before moving to Firteaz.

Medicinal plants from Firiteaz

The plans of Hani family include theextension of the business with bioproducts by setting up plantations offruit trees and vine. Until now, thediversification of production from

Firiteaz has consisted in cultivating andselling aromatic plants for tea,production of several types of mustard,spices, but also whole flour. Thissegment is still at beginning and itrepresents a small part of what isproduced at the farm from Firiteaz.

If a great part of the production ofecological cereals is exported, when itcomes to medicinal plants, things aredifferent. Part of the products withwhich the village women work reachinto the stores from Arad andTimisoara, the rest is delivered directlyto buyers.

The farm from Firiteaz in figures:• 800 cultivated hectares;• 800 tons of cereals was theproduction record in 2014;• 95% of bio cereal production issold on the external market;• 90% of the production ofmedicinal plants and spices fromFirteaz is sold in Romania;• Medicinal plants and spices:sage, blue bottle, watercress,basil, coriander, mustard, dill.


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The Romanian people seem to showan increased interest about theproducts based on medicinal plants.The proofs are the numerousnaturopathic stores which wereopened all over the country, sellingointments, tinctures, teas, foodsupplements. In the field of medicinaland aromatic plant cultivation andprocessing, in Romania, there are alsobig companies with numerousemployees, but also small producerswho try to find a niche on this market,which appears that it develops.

Marius Gheorghe Tirban from Poieniide Jos village, Buntesti commune,Bihor County, is naturopath, knownfor his natural products which hepresents at fairs of traditionalproducts from all over the country.

„The best sold products at my standare: dioscorea communis, diabetes

tea, renal tea and hepatic andgallbladder tea! But also pine budsyrup and ointments are sold verywell”, said Marius Gheorghe Tirban.

„What we produce we have inheritedfrom our parents and grandparents.It is a village tradition. We are 15-16families in the area who have asoccupation the medicinal plants.Each family has their ownproduction, complying with thenorms imposed for the use ofmedicinal plants. We have 100%natural products which treat variousdiseases. They are just like foodproducts. These plants and teas werefirst sold unpacked, as food products,at the market. Before, tincture wasnot sold. Only dry plants were sold,and, when mixed, they had the samerole as the tincture. Nowadays,people evolved and we try to providenew products.Wemake the tinctures,

ointments and syrups, we pack andwe sell them even in pharmacies.Some recipes and combinations ofplants are very old, others are new,appearing as a necessity for diseaseswhich our parents have not heard of.Because of our modern lifestyle andbad habits, we negatively influenceour life and health. Health is themostprecious asset of a man. Which is thehappiness of a sick person? Oneshould fight against a disease with allprophylactic and curative meansavailable: both by chemotherapy andbiotherapy. Our products areauthorized by IBA Bucharest(National Research andDevelopment Institute for BiologicalFood Resources), which means thatthey can be also sold in pharmacies.We can say that we are among thefew ones who have this authorizationin our area. At the same time, we alsomake customized treatments and

Business with medicinal plants in Bihor:naturopath Marius Tirban prepares teas, tinctures,syrups and ointments for various diseases

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combinations of plants upon therequest of the client.”

“We want to bequeath these recipesandmodalities of using themedicinalplants. We go together with ourchildren to collect the plants. This is

how they learn. Everybody knows ushere, in Bihor, for our plants. Butthere are also other people in thecountry, in other regions, where weare known for other plants and othermixtures of plants from our area.”

The plants that he uses are collectedfrom the spontaneous flora ofApuseni Mountains. He cultivateswatercress and lavender. The list ofhis products is increasingly varied.

We enumerate below the details of a few products:

Dioscorea communis tincture, a natural product obtained from the root called dioscorea communis, is used for: acute orchronic rheumatic pain, knee pain, lumbosciatics, muscular pain, cervical spondylosis, chilblains, bone deformation,meniscus pain, arthritis, bunions, swelling, frontal sinusitis, cold, tendril, gout.Our lady’s bedstraw tincture is used to treat thyroid diseases, tonsillitis, laryngitis, pharyngitis, lymphatic disorders, cystitisand renal diseases, epilepsy, and helps face skin rejuvenate.The tincture against hair loss is made by maceration in alcohol of several plants, namely: stinging nettle, sea grass, commonbur, watercress, birch, chamomile, walnut, aloe vera. The hair falls because of several reasons like the lack of calcium,radiations, frequent use of hair dye or oxidants, but also because of the stress. The tincture fights against seborrhoea,dandruff, alopecia, stops hair fall, rejuvenates hair root, regenerates the hair.Haracleum tincture is used for impotence, frigidity, sterility, premature menopause, ovarian failure and epilepsy.Box thorn tincture is used as immunity stimulant, vitamin booster, general tonic, it eliminates and relieves the inflammatoryprocess, facilitates cicatrisation, prevents indigestion and urinary inflammations.Blueberry tincture is used to treat diabetes, enterocolitis, renal and urinary infections accompanied by puss discharge andbleedings.The products, among which there are various assortments of tea, can be also ordered online, at www.naturiste-tirban-plant.ro.


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Razvan Rusu is a 25 years old manfrom Reghin, who, in 2012, when hewas student at the Faculty ofEconomic Sciences and BusinessManagement from Cluj-Napoca, gotinvolved in a research for theestablishment of a berry collectioncentre in Idicel Padure from MuresCounty. People were pleased with theidea, because they had a lot of fruitswhich they did not use.

After a few weeks, in May, Razvanreturned to the village and looked forsomeone to support him and to puthis idea into practice. He found acourageous woman, VeronicaGavrilas, who helped him make jam.He started with a few jars of cherryjam. He put posters in the entirevillage that on “d” day, people wouldcome downtown to bring fruits to sell.Although sceptical at first, the peoplefrom the village gradually realizedthat there is no scam, but a seriousthing. Razvan told how, in thebeginning, he used all his savings andeven money obtained after selling itsmobile phone. He worked at a farmfor three months where he was paidenough to invest in his project,subsequently buying raspberries andblueberries, too.

He wanted to sell his products on theinternet, but things were not goingsmooth. Now, he also has a website,www.dulceatalurazvan.ro, but the bigmoney do not come from this. He ispart of the Association for Promotionof Romanian Food (APAR) and hebegan valorise his advantages.

In the autumn of 2012, Razvan wentto France to practice in a vineyard.There, he made friends, who helpedhim go to the International Fair ofFood Products (SIAL) from Paris.Although he brought only 21 jars of

The jam of Razvan - from a hobby in a smallcountryside house to a successful business

jam, he had a tremendous successwith his cherry, raspberry andblueberry jams, and he met retailerswho helped him penetrate the marketfrom Romania. Two years later, hereturned at the international fair withhis own stand prepared from home,this time provided with 1,500 jarswith jam.

Because his dream was to establish asmall factory, he contacted anacquaintance from London, whom tosupport him in putting his plan intoapplication. In 2013, he found aninvestor who offered him EUR20,000. He built a jam “shop”, moreexactly, a house in rural style, atIdicel, on the terrain of Mrs Veronica,close to the wood. He does not usemachines, but boils the fruits whichhe buys from the villagers(approximately five tons per year) andprepares them in the most traditionalway possible, in a cast-iron kettle, ashe explained.

The inauguration of this project tookplace on August 25th, 2013, in thepresence of some friends who cameespecially from Cluj. Each year,

between June and October, his jamshop produces stocks for the winter.As of 2014, the team who producesthe jam in a traditional way, only fromfruits and sugar, according to theproducer, has extended, consisting infour women from the village. From“Camara cu dulceturi” small jars withblack currant, blueberry, wild rose,sour cherry, yellow cherry, blackcherry, raspberry, blackberry jam,sugar-free plum marmalade,marmalade in boxes and, lately,zacusca can be bought.

After SIAL 2014, Razvan wrote on hisblog: “In the future, I see my brandstill on the local market, I collect thefruits from our forest, I prepare themwith the women from the village andI sell them on the local market. I thinkthat for the next three years all I needto do is to buy cast-iron kettles and tomake jam and whatever I think ofboiling in them in order to reach theshelves of the people who appreciatea good and healthy taste! In the end,this is the simplest idea, all we haveon the table must be local. This givesyou a feeling of pride, seeing howmany dainties can be made in your

country by people who make aproduct with passion, above a directfinancial interest. After SIAL 2014, Ihave reached many conclusions, butthe most important is not to give upmy kettles, and if I want more, todevelop with my own resources!”

In December, 2014, Razvan opened atCluj a “Razvanarie”, a store withproducts, where he also makespancakes which he serves with hisfamous jam. But, the biggest sale isthrough a supermarket network fromBucharest and Busteni with which hehas been collaborating for more thanone year. Also, with the help of somedistributors, he sells his products inItaly and UK, but in small quantities.

If in 2013 the production was of30,000 jars, last year it increased to50,000 jars. The shelf life of theproducts is of two years. Theinvestments have been made withsupport and loans from his family andfriends, said Razvan, who adds thatfor 2015, he wants to extend hisproduct range with zacusca, honeyand new jams and to spend at IdicelPadure as much time as possible.

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From 2012, at Corbu, ConstantaCounty, there has been established themost modern farm of quails and thesingle slaughter house for these birdsfrom Romania and Eastern Europe.“Ferma Buna”, the family business ofRazvan and Geanina Tonea providesfor sale ecological products at thehighest food quality and safetystandards, being a success “Made inRomania”.

Engineer and philologist, husband andwife, they became experts in raisingquails. Razvan Tonea, engineer, andGeanina, her wife, who is philologist,had worked until 2009, in privatecompanies. Without having a specialtytraining in the bird raising field, being

rather a hobby, they decided that itwas time to start a business. The ideaof raising quails for sale came not onlyto make a profitable business, but alsoto be able to offer to many Romanianpeople products with certain benefitsfor the health. “We found out aboutthe benefits of the quail eggs andmeatfrom the podiatrist of our children,because he was recommending ustreatments with quail eggs forimmunity. Thus, we wanted forRomanian people to start appreciateand consume these products, the sameas abroad”, said Geanina Tonea.

This is how we started “Ferma Buna”Company, a centre where quails areraised for meat and eggs, with 5,000

birds, established in ConstantaCounty, Corbu commune, Vaduvillage.

Increase of capacity with the helpof European funds

The business proved to be profitablefrom the beginning. Benefiting, shortafter the establishment of the farm, ofa sale contract abroad, Tonea familysucceeded to clear off their investmentin one year. They made an extensionplan, and in 2010 they submitted aproject called “Quail Farm” underMeasure 121 – Modernization ofAgricultural holdings, and in 2012,they obtained the approval of theproject in amount of approximatelyEUR 1,700,000 of which 45% werenon-reimbursable funds.

With this money, they erected a newconstruction representing the quailfarm, with an area of approximately590 sqm., and a slaughter house withan area of 662 sqm. The farm isequipped with modern quail raisingequipment, automatic egg collectionsystems, automatic dejection cleaningand automatic feeding and watersupply line. “We have opted for allthese automations in order to offerbirds good living conditions and tokeep a strict hygiene, because we donot give any medicinal product orgrowth hormones to these birds; theyonly need optimal living and hygieneconditions”, said Geanina Tonea.

What makes the clear distinctionbetween the business of Tonea familyand the other businesses in the field isthe slaughter house, a brickconstruction equipped with sanitary

ExperiencesMy farm:Made in Romania: „Ferma Buna”, the mostmodern farm from Romania where quails areraised and slaughtered

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filters, lockers and areas for meatdrying, packaging, refrigeration andfreezing. The slaughtering line has acapacity of 1,000 birds per hour, beingan all in one equipment; finally, thebird reaches the “clean area”, which iscompletely clean. The slaughter housepersonnel consists in six employees.The farm has a capacity of 35,000adult birds and 15,000 young birds,and it is currently populated with12,000 birds.

With regard to the number ofemployees, as a result of this project, itincreased from one to eight employees(two of which work at the farm and sixat the slaughter house).

The safety of “Ferma Buna” productsis guaranteed by HACCP certification.

At the quail farm from Corbu, the eggsare daily collected. Those forconsumption are packed and stored inrefrigerating rooms where they arekept at temperatures between 4 and 14degrees Celsius, and those forproduction are brought into theincubation room. When eggs hatch,the small birds are moved into thegrowing rooms, where they are feduntil they reach maturity. Only twoemployees work at the farm, due toautomation, but also due to the fact

that these birds are very sensitive anddo not like too many persons nearthem. One of the advantages of thisbusiness is that the birds begin to layeggs early, at 6 weeks, and at 8 weeksthey are perfect to be slaughtered.

The range of sold products is wide:fresh eggs, boiled and vacuumed eggsand marinated eggs and also fresh,frozen and marinated quail meat. Theproducts are found on the shelves ofthe retailers from Bucharest,Constanta, Ploiesti and Brasov. Due tothe state of the art equipment and tothe compliance with the hygienenorms, both the farm and theslaughter house have obtained theauthorizations which allow “FermaBuna” products to also be sold abroad.Thus, S.C. Ferma Buna S.R.L. is theonly sanitary and veterinaryauthorized quail raising company fromthe country which has implementedHACCP (Hazard Analysis of CriticalControl Points) system, thisguaranteeing that the safety of theproducts is completely under controland the supplied products are safe forconsumer.

Material satisfactions and theconscience of a useful enterprise

Tonea spouses are happy with the

choice made. The business which theydeveloped brought materialsatisfactions and much more. “Wefocused on selling quail meat on theRomanian market in order toaccustom Romanian people with thisproduct and to appraise the benefitsof quail meat consumption. We wantfor our products to be known by theentire population of Romania, being100% Romanian products, and also,to cross the borders of the countrywith them, because they comply withall the norms, in order to also beappreciated abroad”, said GeaninaTonea.

The two farmers consider thataccessing European funds isbeneficial, although a simplification ofbureaucracy would be beneficial whenit comes to preparing the file. Here istheir advice: “All those who want tostart such business must have a lot ofpatience and perseverance inaccessing funds, because they have along road ahead of them, and forthose who want to set-up a quailfarm, we wish them good luck andadvise them to do it with love becausethe quail is a bird that needs all theattention of those involved in raisingit.”


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MARIAM Medical Centre was the firstRomanian medical clinic established inthe rural area, which benefited of non-reimbursable financing under theNational Rural Development Program,Measure 312 – “Support for creationand development of small enterprises”.The clinic is located in Pischiacommune, Timis County, at 20 kmfrom Timisoara, and it also has twolucrative points in Giarmata communeand Masloc commune, Alios village.

Mirela Sas, the manager of the centre,says that it was not easy at all for her aspath breaker in the field of accessingEuropean funds for establishing a clinicin the countryside. The 200,000 Europroject, of which co-financing of thecompany from Timis accounted for30%, was focused on purchasingmedical equipment. The financingcontract was signed in 2009, when the

economic crisis started, and this had anegative effect on projectimplementation.

Mirela Sas told that it was very hard toconvince a bank to give her a creditnecessary to co-finance the project,because, at that time, the medicalcompany was a start-up. Therefore, theinitiators of this investment resorted toseveral banks in the attempt toconvince that the idea of establishing amedical centre in the countryside isviable. They finally succeeded to take aloan of EUR 150,000 for which theypay a substantial monthly instalment,according to Mirela Sas. Thus, in orderfor the loan to be granted, the buildingof the medical clinic had to bemortgaged in favour of the banktogether with other real-estates locatedinside the built-up area, which are theproperty of the shareholders of the

company, and also the equipment to bepurchased within the project had to bepledged.

The problem faced, for which theyfought to change the rule, was that, notbeing VAT payer, it was not consideredeligible expenditure upon purchasingthe equipment. They submittedaddresses to the Ministry of Financesand to other state institutions, but theproblem was not solved. Eventually, theauthorities from the field of theEuropean funds took notice andchanged the Guide of the Applicant forMedical Institutions, so that VAT shallbe considered an eligible expenditure.Only that the law does not applyretroactively and, therefore, therequests of the clinic from Pischia torepair this “injustice” were rejected.

Because in the rural area, people have

My business:MARIAM Medical Centre from Pischia, TimisCounty: a state of the art clinic for the patientsfrom rural area

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limited financial possibilities, the clinichas concluded contracts with theCounty Health InsuranceAdministration for several medicalspecialties, so that the villagers fromPischia and the adjacent communes tobenefit, based on the reference noteissued by their family doctor, of thefacilities provided from the state budgetfor the support of the health of theinsured and uninsured persons,namely, of consultations by thespecialist doctor, laboratory tests,receipts for free or compensatedmedicinal products, free physiotherapytreatment cures or saline therapy.

MARIAM Medical Centre offersmedical care to its patients for thefollowing specialties:physiokinetotherapy, internalmedicine, cardiology, obstetrics-gynaecology, E.N.T., dermato-venerology, stomatology, orthodontia,labour medicine, laboratory medicine.The dental services are provided by ateam of seven doctors who providemedical care especially for the childrenand young persons from rural area, butalso for adults and elderly.

The patients of the clinic are not onlyfrom Pischia, with its villages Bencecude Jos, Bencecu de Sus, Murani andSalciua Noua, but also from RemeteaMare, Giarmata and Cerneteaz, Fibis,Masloc, Bogda, Altringen, Zabrani,Chesnit or Neudorf.

One of the achievements of MARIAMCentre is the creation of the firstmedically approved artificial salinefrom Timis County. The saline is fit upat the semi-basement of the building,and the patients may request medicalinvestigations and recommendationsbefore starting a cure of saline therapy.

Also, MARIAM Centre hascollaboration contracts with the schoolsfrom Pischia, Giarmata, Masloc, Fibis,Ghiroda for dental services and other

medical services.

Unfortunately, the city-halls haveinsufficient funds from the localbudgets to allocate finances for theequipment of medical cabinets inschools, salaries and transportation ofhealth professionals. The interventionof the clinic is opportune for the healthof the children from the area. MirelaSas considers that it would be a goodidea to teach children in schools, duringone course per week, sanitary hygienenorms and to perform education andprevention activities in several fields,like psychological counselling,especially that one locality, Murani, hasmany children, approximately 200,waiting to be adopted, many underagechildren having their parents at workabroad.

With regard to the mission of the clinicthe clinic that she manages, Mirela Sastalks about her desire of providingpatients, especially to elderly, the mostnumerous persons who currently live inthe rural area, with the chance ofbenefiting of quality medical services,modern investigations and treatmentmethods, professionalism andexperience in an increasing number ofmedical specialties. Also, the clinicwants to offer different facilities to thepeople from the rural area who paytaxes to the state budget, based on thecontracts signed with the employersfrom the public sector.

Although, lately, it is attempted toovercome the bureaucracy from thehealth system, the contract with theHealth Insurance Administration beingblocked at county level, with regard tothe family medicine sector, Sas saysthat she is not giving up and that shewill do all the necessary efforts for thegood operation of a medical centrewhich the people from the rural areaneed.


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The workers from agriculture arestarting to understand that it is easier tosucceed if you are part of an associationthan by yourself. It is also the exampleof the group of producers called“Slobozia Moara Natural” fromDambovita County.

Already known in the entire country forthe vegetable production, in DambovitaCounty there are several associations ofagricultural producers, which havealready imposed on the market withquality harvests. In Moara Nouacommune and Brezoaele Commune, 33

individual producers associated in2007, forming “Slobozia MoaraNatural” group of producers. On 100hectares, the entrepreneurs fromDambovita County cultivate whitecabbage, red cabbage, early potatoes,beet and radishes.

The great benefit of association –penetrating the great outletmarkets

The association provided them with theseries of benefits. First of all, they can

purchase in an organized way and for abetter price diesel fuel, seeds, fertilizersand other necessary agricultural inputs.

A producer can buy these products byhimself, but for a much higher price,and the delivery period is longer. For agroup of producers, significantlyincreasing the quantity, the price willproportionally decrease and the term ofdelivery is shorter.

Having provided in due time and in thedesired quantity indispensable forcultivations, the production shall not bedelayed or show syncope. Anotheradvantage is that the agricultural worksare also carried out in an organized way,each member benefiting, one at a time,of the agricultural machines which arein the patrimony of the association. Ajudicious programming of everythingthat is production process –preparation of soil, seeding, fertilizing,harvesting – determines for allproducers to have the harvests in timeand at the desired standards.

But maybe the most importantachievement in such association is theassurance of production sale. Avegetable gardener can market itsproduction by himself, usually, inmarkets and fairs, but it cannot have theguarantee of selling the entiremerchandise volume. The association ofthe 33 people from Dambovita Countyhas ensured their entrance on the greatmarkets, their vegetables reaching theshelves of the supermarkets. For 11months each year, from June untilApril, “Slobozia Moara Natural” groupof producers delivers its production to alogistic platform from Ciorogarla, and

My community:Many hands make light work!The vegetables of a group of producers fromDambovita County are sold in supermarkets

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from here, the vegetables aredistributed to supermarkets from allover the country. Dumitru Ionescu, oneof the members of this association,thinks that penetrating such a market isthe key of success, only that themaintenance of the standards isdifficult.

“The vegetables delivered insupermarkets must comply with aseries of strict quality and calibrationconditions. In case they do notcorrespond to the requirements of thebeneficiary, the batches are rejected.Also, packagingmust be in accordancewith certain requirements. Similarly,the storage must comply with specialcriteria in order for themerchandise tohave the required standards. For thisreason, we are going to invest inwarehouses and purchase a state of theart packaging line”, said DumitruIonescu.

Development implies accessingEuropean Funds

In order to meet these objectives,“Slobozia Moara Natural” group ofproducers considers accessingEuropean funds. The first step wasalready made by one of the members,Mihai Georgel, who signed onDecember 23rd, 2014, a contract offinancing under Measure 112 – “Settingup young farmers”. For theprocurement of amount is of 50%.

For the time being, from the 100hectares of the association, a productionof 20 tons per hectare is obtain, ofwhich 75% goes organized insupermarkets. The difference isindividually sold in markets. Theproducers from Dambovita Countyhope that the production, but also thequality of the vegetables will increaseonce better equipment and the packageline are purchased.

Red beet, a vegetable which is ingreat demand

„I think the benefits of the red beet, avegetable so appreciated for its healingeffects, have determined the increase ofdemand.We ensure our buyers that wecultivate the beet in the cleanest way,in the sense that we do not usepesticides because it is simply notnecessary. Anyway, in the cases inwhich we use pesticides and fertilizers,we do it in the most judicious way inorder for the vegetable to be consumedwithout any risk for the health,” saidDumitru Ionescu.

Having several associations and groupsof producers like “Slobozia MoaraNatural”, and also European financingaccessed for modernization ofagricultural holdings, Romania couldsuccessfully reclaim its position ofleader in European agriculture.


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Marginimea Sibiului Local Action GroupAssociation is a public-privatepartnership established in 2010 on thehistorical territory of MarginimeaSibiului area, an old agri-pastoral areawhich has kept old traditions andcustoms.

About the localities which are part ofMarginimea Sibiului, George Barit saidthat they are spread on the border of themountains of Sibiu County just like the“beads on a thread” and “surroundtowards south and west, with someintermediate establishments, thefamousmedieval fortress of Sibiu”. Theyare inhabited by “well-known andfamous inhabitants of Marginimea,from the people of Rasinari to the peopleof Jina, for cattle breeding, butespecially for sheep breeding.”

Marginimea Sibiului Local Action Groupis located on the territory around Sibiuand it consists in 12 administrative-territorial units, namely 10 communesfrom Sibiu County (Cristian, GuraRiului, Jina, Orlat, Poiana Sibiului,Poplaca, Rasinari, Riu Sadului, Sadu,Tilisca), Susag commune from AlbaCounty and Saliste, a city from SibiuCounty.

The headquarters of MarginimeaSibiului Local Action Group Associationis in Rasinari commune, the place weretwo personalities of Romanian culturewere born: Octavian Goga, “the poet ofour sufferings”, and the well-knownphilosophe Emil Cioran.

The local development strategy has threepriorities and considers the ancestraloccupations of the people fromMarginimea Sibiului, the agriculture,and especially animal breeding, the factthat many of those who were doingagriculture reoriented towards activitiesrelated to rural tourism, agri-tourism,ecotourism and, last but not least,environment protection, in order toensure a sustainable development ofMarginimea Sibiului Local Action Groupterritory.

The total financial allocation for theimplementation of the localdevelopment strategy of MarginimeaSibiului Local Action Group was of EUR2,250,012. Until December, 98.40% ofthis amount has been contracted (EUR2,214,005). 49 financing contracts weresigned, of which 35 with publicbeneficiaries and 14 with privatebeneficiaries. A single project is in the

stage of signing the financing contractunder Measure 322, and in January,2015, a last selection call is going to beopened under Measure 421 in amount ofEUR 10,000 for cooperation projects.

Successful projects of MarginimeaSibiului Local Action Group

The public beneficiaries of the 19projects implemented under Measure322 are:• Rasinari, Sadu, Poplaca and Tilisca –park, sports ground and playground fit-out;• Orlat, Gura Riului and Sugag –extension of drinking water and wastewater networks;• Cristian, Poplaca and Gura Riului –street rehabilitation and modernization;• Sadu and Rasinari – providingequipment to community centres;• Jina, Gura Riului, Poiana Sibiului, RiuSadului, Cristian, Rasinari and Orlat –procurement of equipment for localpublic services.

The public beneficiaries of the 10projects in the process ofimplementation under Measure 313 are:• Cristian, Riu Sadului, Sadu, GuraRiului and Tilisca – local touristic

Updated leader

Marginimea Sibiului Local Action Group98.40% of contracted non-reimbursable funds

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outdoor bar fit-out and execution oftouristic promotion materials;• Stork Friends Association, RasinariEuropean Confluences Association andGura Raului Commune AdornmentAssociation – touristic promotionprojects in the area of MarginimeaSibiului;

The public beneficiaries of the sevenprojects in the process ofimplementation under Measure 125 are:• Sadu, Poplaca, Gura Riului and Saliste– modernization of agricultural roads;• Tilisca and Poplaca – modernization offorest roads.

With regard to the beneficiaries from theprivate area:

•Under Measure 141 – „Support of semi-subsistence agricultural farms”, fourprojects were signed and they are in theprocess of implementation;

• Under Measure 112 – „Setting-upyoung farmers” eight projects weresigned and they are in the process ofimplementation for setting-up apiarian,live-stock and mixed holdings;

• Under Measure 313 – „Encouragementof tourism activities” two projects weresigned and they are in the process ofimplementation for the construction ofagri-touristic lodgings at Tilisca andSugag.

Additionally, under Measure 421 –„Implementation of cooperationprojects”, one contract in amount ofEUR 20,000 was signed for the project

“Common actions for the developmentof the traditional areas from the south ofTransilvania”.

A few projects – examples of goodpractice

Funds were accessed and financingcontracts were signed with NGO’s fromthe territory, under Measure 313 –“Encouragement of tourism activities”,these being examples of good practicesfor the development of a sustainabletourism on the territory of MarginimeaSibiului Local Action Group. Thus,Rasinari European ConfluencesAssociation implements the project“Marginimea Sibiului – Culturaldestination for all”, Stork FriendsAssociation is currently executing theproject “Cristian, the Stork Fortress” andGura Raului Commune AdornmentAssociation – the project “Watercivilization in Marginimea Sibiului”.

Ioan Gheorghe Gligorea from Orlatcommune has accessed Measure 141 –“Support of semi-subsistenceagricultural farms” and signed aFinancing Contract in amount of EUR7,500, in this way continuing anancestral tradition of the people fromMarginimea Sibiului, sheep breeding. Byreceiving EUR 1,500 every year, he candevelop his farm, purchasing moresheep.

In a village belonging to Saliste City,Veronica Vitoroi has set-up an apiarianfarm and signed a financing contract ofEUR 12,000 under Measure 112 –“Setting-up young farmers”. She is

currently extending her holding and sellsher products at fairs from Sibiu County.Nicolae Balea from Tilisca Commune hasaccessed funds under Measure 313 –“Encouragement of tourism activities” inamount of EUR 99,648 for theconstruction of an agri-touristic lodgingin Poiana Verde. Tilisca commune. Theproject is in the construction phase. Thebeneficiary has in the family a goodadviser, her wife, Irina. Long beforemeeting her husband, Irina Balea hasfitted-out in her home from Tiliscaseveral rooms where she receivestourists from Romania, France, Hollandand Belgium.

The legal representative of MarginimeaSibiului Local Action Group, BogdanBucur, said: “The percentage ofcontracting funds is of 98.40% at thelevel of Marginimea Sibiului LocalAction Group and we are glad that thebeneficiaries have understood theimportance of submitting projects inorder to attract non-reimbursablefunds. I thank the members of the LocalAction Group team, the representativesof local public authorities who gotinvolved in the implementation ofLEADER program in MarginimeaSibiului areas and also to all those whowork at county, regional and nationallevel in EAFRD institutions. Now, weare expecting with confidence 2014-2020 period in order to continuetogether with all the local actors thedevelopment of Marginimea SibiuluiLocal Action Group territory in orderfor it to really be at European level.”


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Tinutul Argesul de Mijloc Local ActionGroup Association (Tinutul Argesul deMijloc Local Action Group) reunites 52public and private partners and 13administrative-territorial units (12 fromArges County and one from ValceaCounty). We are talking aboutBaiculesti, Balilesti, Budeasa, Cosesti,Ciofrangeni, Mslureni, Merisani,Micesti, Moraresti, Poienarii de Argescommunes and the city of Stefanesti –from Arges County and Golesticommune – from Valcea County.

The partners from “Tinutul Argesul deMijloc” have defined two prioritiesspecific to the territory:• increase of productive performance ofagricultural and forest activities withinvestments in and modernization offarms and organization of farmers;• development of economic activitiesalternative to agricultural activities withnon-agricultural investments, laying thestress on creation of jobs and increaseof the quality of life.

Tinutul Argesul de Mijloc Local ActionGroup was authorized in December,2012.

The permanent preoccupation ofTinutul Argesul de Mijloc Local ActionGroup team was to animate and informthe population from the territory withregard to LEADER approach and also topromote the financing measures whichcould be accessed. Thus, untilDecember, 2014, 46 financing contractswere signed on the territory of the LocalAction Group, their total (EUR2,489,525) representing 96% of thefinancing plan afferent to 2007-2013local development strategy.

“At first, the beneficiaries were reticent,they were interested in projects, theywere participating in meetings, butthat was all. They did not submitfinancing applications.Wewere forcedto extend the first session for almosttwo months. Afterwards, the startedcoming…and they still want to submit,

but there is no money left…This showsthat we have chosen the correct motto«Trees that are slow to grow bear thebest fruit » (Moliere): only withperseverance, patience and hard workwe can obtain good results.” (IonelaMocanu, manager of Tinutul Argesul deMijloc Local Action Group).

Status of the projects contracted byTinutul Argesul de Mijloc Local ActionGroup:

- 9 projects under Measure 141 „Support of semi-subsistenceagricultural farms”, with a non-reimbursable amount of EUR 40,500;- 10 projects under Measure 112„Setting-up young farmers”, with a non-reimbursable amount of EUR 248,000;- 1 project under Measure 121„Modernization of agriculturalholdings”, with a non-reimbursableamount of EUR 59,926;- 3 projects under Measure 123 „Addingvalue to agricultural and forestproducts”, with a non-reimbursableamount of EUR 246,486;- 4 projects under Measure 312 „Support for creation and developmentof small enterprises”, with a non-reimbursable amount of EUR 494,523;- 2 projects under Measure 313„Encouragement of tourism activities”,with a non-reimbursable amount ofEUR 165,087;- 17 projects under Measure 322„Revival and development of thevillages, improvement of the basicservices for rural economy andpopulation and conservation andupgrade of rural heritage”, with a non-reimbursable amount of EUR1,234,000.

The projects under Measure 141 hadbeneficiaries from the territory, whoown mixed and apiarian farms, thereceived amounts supporting thedevelopment of holdings by acquisitionof land, animals and bees.

Tinutul Argesul de Mijloc Local ActionGroup - 46 contracted projects

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The investments proposed underMeasure 112, dedicated to youngpersons who set-up in the rural area,consist in modernization of goat farms,acquisition of animals, equipment andland, use of solar energy at the farm.

Under Measure 121, a project in theimplementation process, providing theplantation of a super-intensive appletree orchard in Balilesti commune. Twoof the projects implemented underMeasure 123 were already completed byacquiring equipment, and a thirdproject is in the process ofimplementation and its object ismodernization of the meat processingfactory of S.C. Radicstar S.R.L.

The projects contracted under Measure312, intended to support non-agricultural activities, are varied,including the acquisition of equipmentin order to manufacture metal piecesand related works, setting-up andfitting-out pellet processing line,manufacturing of cork articles and ofother weaved vegetal materials. Part ofthese projects have already beencompleted.

The 17 financings contracted underMeasure 322 were accessed by sevenadministrative-territorial units and onefoundation. The funds were dedicatedto the acquisition of snow removalequipment, rehabilitation of a sportsground, fitting-out two recreationalparks for children and one small sportsground, rehabilitation, modernizationand fitting-out community centres,building a child care centre.

The child care centre was requested byMaracineni commune, which has agreat number of pre-school children.Many of their parents are employed,and, in order to include the children inan extended program, they resort tokindergartens and nurseries fromPitesti. In order to support them, aproject was conceived for theestablishment of a centre opened 8-10hours for minimum three years oldchildren. For a period of five years, afoundation shall voluntarily ensurequalified personnel, and the rest of theexpenses shall be the responsibility ofthe city-hall, without levying any fee toparents. The total amount of the project

is EUR 380,893, and the amountrequested through the Local ActionGroup is EUR 136,850.

The purchase of snow removalequipment was completed, “Lumina inSuflet” Foundation has fitted-out tworecreational parks for the children fromMerisani commune, and the sportsground from Merisani commune wasrehabilitated and equipped. The otherprojects are in the process ofimplementation.

In December, Tinutul Argesului deMijloc Local Action Group had opensessions for the last available amounts

within 2007-2013 NRDP. We aretalking about EUR 60,000 underMeasure 322 “Revival and developmentof the villages, improvement of the basicservices for rural economy andpopulation and conservation andupgrade of rural heritage” and aboutEUR 2,115 under Measure 421“Cooperation projects”. The due datefor submitting the financingapplications was January 8th, 2015.

Contact data:[email protected]


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Also in the meeting dated December29th, 2014, the Government ofRomania adopted the draft decisionregarding the implementation of astate aid scheme in the animalbreeding sector, the draft decisionbeing initiated by the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.

This state aid scheme concerns thecoverage of administrative costsafferent to drafting and maintenanceof genealogical register, and also of the

costs afferent to the tests for thedetermination of genetic quality orgenetic output of livestock, except thecontrols made by the owner of thelivestock or the routine controls withregard to milk quality.

The aids are provided as servicessubsidized for small enterprises, tosmall and medium-sized enterprises,individual and family enterprises,natural authorized persons, naturalpersons who hold certificate of

producer/attestation of producer, asthe case may be, and also to legalpersons, which carry out their activityin the field of agricultural productproduction.The total maximum value of the stateaid scheme for 2015-2020 is of881,100,000 lei, of which267,000,000 lei for bovinae, buffaloes,swine and equine, and 614,100,000 leifor sheep and goats.

News from the MARD

National transitory aids in the vegetal sector

Aid scheme also in the animal breeding sector

The Government of Romania hasadopted the draft decision for theapproval of the quantum of thenational transitory aids in the vegetalsector for 2014, the amount being ofEUR 19.81/hectare. These aids aresupplemented with paymentsrepresenting specific nationaltransitory aids, uncoupled from

production, for the cultures of flaxand hemp for fibre, hop, tobacco andsugar beet. The area for which suchpayments are provided is 6,887.601thousand hectares and it wasdetermined by APIA (Agency forPayments and Interventions inAgriculture) based on the paymentapplications submitted by the

beneficiaries, and the total amountsnecessary for the application of thenational transitory aid scheme are140,539.377 thousand Euro and theyrepresent the public contributionfrom the state budget, through thebudget of the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development for 2015.

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Between December 18th andDecember 21st, 2014, the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Developmenthosted “Quality and Tradition forRomanian People” Christmas Fair.

The chees assortments from Brasov orBotosani, the cabbage and meat rolls

from Maramures, the fish dishes fromTulcea and Prahova, Plescoi sausagesand Topoloveni plum jam, the syrupsand jams from Covasna, the winesfrom famous vineyards of the countryand also many other ecologicallyattested and certified traditional foodproducts made from this event a true

culinary feast.

Together with taste artisans therewere wood carving artisans fromValcea. The visitors participated intasting sessions and they weredelighted to buy these productsespecially for Christmas.

The Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment was the host of the Christmas Fair

January, 2015, begins, for theNational Rural DevelopmentNetwork, with a photographycompetition with the theme “Thevillage – life, work, customs”.In this competition, opened betweenJanuary 5th – June 30th, 2015,

competitors aged at least 14, can enrolfor the following sections: landscape,people and activities, customs andtrades, farms and rural businesses.Ten photos shall be selected, two foreach category, for an itinerantexhibition at the events organized by

NRDN.The best three photos for eachcategory shall be published in“Romania Rurala” magazine.

You can find out more information onwww.rndr.ro

Rural Romania seen through photographic lens

Honey, the miraculous food product,shall be present this year also in amultitude of combinations and formsof presentation at thematic fairs at thelevel of the entire country:- Apiarian Fair from Targu Mures, the1st edition, January 24th-25th, 2015;- Apiarian Fair from Slobozia, the 6thedition, February 5th-7th, 2015;- Apiarian Fair from Craiova,February 7th-8th, 2015;- Honey Fair from Campina, the 10thedition, February 20th-22nd, 2015;- A(R)piculture Arad, the 1st edition,

February 28th – March 1st, 2015;- The Days of Apiarists from RamnicuSarat, Ramnicu Sărat, the 6th edition,March 7th – 8th, 2015;- „For a Healthy Future” ApiarianFair, Cluj-Napoca, March 7th-8th,2015;- International Spring Apiarian Fair,Timisoara, the 5th edition, March7th-8th, 2015;- „Bee smart… bee happy” ApiarianFair, the 3rd edition, Braila, March14th-15th, 2015;- Apiarian Fair from Iasi, the 7th

edition, March 14th-15th, 2015;- Apiarian Fair from Faget, March21st-22nd, 2015;- Apiarian Fair from Targu Jiu, the2nd edition, March 21st-22nd, 2015;- “Honey Feast – Blaj” Fair, the 8thedition, March 26th-27th, 2015;- Apiarian Fair from Galati, the 6thedition, March 28th-29th, 2015;- Apiardeal Apiarian Fair fromSighisoara, the 4th edition, August28th-30th, 2015;- Bucharest National Honey Fair, the7th edition, September, 2015.

Calendar of apiarian fairs in 2015

The University of AgriculturalSciences and Veterinary Medicinefrom Bucharest hosted betweenDecember 11th and December 12th,2014, the thematic conference of theMountain Forum from Romaniaorganized by the National RuralDevelopment Network occasioned bythe International Mountain Day.

With this occasion, there werediscussions about the ecologicalmountain family farm regarded as afood sovereignty element, agri-forest-pastoral mountain system, a necessityfor the mountains of Romania, andalso the consolidation of the capacityof forest owner associations for asustainable forest management, aproject financed from the Swiss-

Romanian cooperation program.

The Report of the Mountain Forumfrom Romania for 2014 was alsopresented at the event. Also,discussions took place with regard tothe mountain agricultural researchand the new financing methods.Finally, examples of good practicesand development projects were given.

Thematic debates on the International Mountain Day


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In numerous communities from the south of the country,the people understood that, sometimes, it is necessary forthem to take their lives into their own hands in order tochange the things that displease them. PACT Foundation– Partnership for Community Action andTransformation, whose team has been active for morethan ten years in the field of community development,works with such people with initiative.

Until now, within the programs and projects performedby the organization in approximately 120 villages andsmall cities from the south of the country, informalinitiative groups or legally established organizations wereset up and they executed projects for the development oftheir community. Approximately 50 such organizationsor initiative groups are currently active. PACT Foundation(www.fundatiapact.ro) has financed in thesecommunities over 100 community projects andapproximately 12,000 persons are the direct beneficiariesof the activities from these projects.

The mission of the organization is to supportcommunities in their effort to build a better lifer for theinhabitants by facilitating, financing and promotingcommunity development initiatives.

One of the current projects of the foundation called “AtHome in Your Community”, tries to improve the life often communities from Arges, Calarasi, Dambovita,Giurgiu, Mehedinti and Valcea.

The project takes place during 27 months and it is apartnership between PACT Foundation, Habitat for

Humanity Romania and Village Life Association financedwithin the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Program, underNGO Grant Scheme. The three partners intervene in tenpoor communities which have a high percentage of Romapopulation: Burila Mica (Mehedinti), Daiesti (Valcea),Dorobantu (Calarasi), Eselnita (Mehedinti), Francesti(Valcea), Gaujani (Giurgiu), Simian (Mehedinti), Spantov(Calarasi), Valea Corbului (Arges) and Vizuresti(Dambovita).

The basic principle is the participation of the communitymembers in activities which concern the improvement ofthe environment and of the living and habitationconditions in community. The communities will receive5,000 lei to fit out a space which to enjoy together – forexample, a park, a kindergarten or a club for the youngpeople – or to set-up a social business: a greenhouse, ahair salon or a woodwork shop. Besides the financinggranted by PACT Foundation, communities bring asignificant local contribution, consisting in voluntarywork, materials and other resources which are availableto them.

For more information on our projects, please, contact usat:PACT Foundation – Partnership for Community Actionand TransformationBucharest 2, 6 Hangiului Street, 024049Tel./fax: +4 021 410 10 58, Tel: +4 031 690 09 61/62

www.fundatiapact.rowww.pactpentrucomunitate.ro

Introduction of the National RuralDevelopment Network membersCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMES TO LIFE IN THE SOUTH REGION OF ROMANIA

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UNIVERSITY OF AGRONOMIC SCIENCE AND VETERINARY MEDICINEFROM BUCHAREST – A PRESTIGIOUS HIGHER AGRONOMIC AND

VETERINARY EDUCATION INSTITUTION

The University of Agronomic Science and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) from Bucharest is one of theoldest education institutions in Romania, having a history of 163 years.

It followed the Institute of Agriculture from Pantelimon, which was founded in 1852 by the Prince ofWalachia, Barbu Dimitrie Stirbei, and the Central School of Agriculture and Forestry from Herastrau, which,in 1929, became the Academy of Higher Agronomic Studies. USAMV Bucharest is a prestigious education andresearch unit.

Currently, the University has seven faculties: the Faculty of Agriculture, the Faculty of Horticulture,the Faculty of Animal Science, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Faculty of Land Improvement andEnvironment Engineering, the Faculty of Biotechnologies and the Faculty of Management, EconomicEngineering in Agriculture and Rural Development and carries out training programs on the three study levels:bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and PhD.

For the bachelor studies with a duration of four years, the students study 22 specializations: Agriculture,Soil Science, Protection of Plants, Biology, Forestry, Horticulture, Landscaping, Animal Science, Fish Breedingand Aquaculture, Agricultural Product Processing Technology, Cynegetics, Veterinary Medicine, Control andExpertise of Food Products, Agricultural Biotechnologies, Medical and Veterinary Biotechnologies,Biotechnologies for Food Industry, Land Improvements and Rural Development, Environment Engineeringand Protection in Agriculture, Economic Engineering in Constructions, Land Measurements and Cadastre,Economic Engineering in Agriculture, Engineering and Management in Public Food Supply and Agri-tourism).

Within master’s studies with a duration of two years, there are 29 specializations: SustainableAgriculture, Improvement of Plants and Seed Production, Agricultural Consultancy, Exploitation of TechnicalSystems for Agriculture, Territorial Fund Management and Survey, Protection of Agri-ecosystems andPhytosanitary Survey, Biodiversity Preservation Management, Urban Vegetal Landscape Modelling andPreservation, Integrated Technologies for Procurement and Valorisation of Horticultural Products, Viticulturaland Wine Making State of the Art Technologies, Management and Marketing, Ecological Horticultural Science,Design and Development of Zootechnical Farms, Biosecurity of Food Products, Special Technologies in theFood Industry, Survey of Agri-food Products, Control and Survey of Ecological Food Products, Halal and Kosher,Environment Engineering and Protection in Rural Area, Geomatics for Environment Engineering, Engineeringand Management, Management of Investments in Ecosystems, Modern Applications of Biotechnologies inAgriculture, Biotechnologies in Environment Protection, Food Safety and Biotechnology, Biotechnologies inPharmaceutical Industry, Agribusiness, Rural Management and Development, Quality Management andInnovation in Agri-food Field, Management in Agri-tourism and public food, Internal Management and Audit,Management of Continuous Training in Agronomic Education.

In addition to the fulltime study mode, the university organizes distance courses and part-time coursesfor those who have a job and want to acquire higher education in our fields of competence.

Our PhD studies are organized in five fields: agronomy, horticulture, zootechnics, veterinary medicineand biotechnology. The study programs specific to each form of education, study level and specialization providestudents with the necessary knowledge in order to carry out activities in the area of production and services inagriculture and in the related fields, including in the food industry, research, design, education andentrepreneurship.

The practical, research, innovation and technological transfer training activity of the students is carriedout in the three didactical stations: Station for Research and Development for Viticulture and Winemakingfrom Pietroasa, Nursery and Fruit Growing Farm from Istrita and Moara Domneasca Didactic Station, and inthe nine Research Centres accredited by CNCSIS (National Council for Scientific Research and HigherEducation) .

These units have an important role in the execution of fundamental and applied research projects andthere are considered centres for technological promotion and transfer of the novelties from the field. They aremade available for the Romanian farmers and they contribute to the implementation of 2014-2020 NationalRural Development Programme.

Under a new motto, “Agriculture for Life, Life for Agriculture”, the University of Agronomic Science andVeterinary Medicine from Bucharest continues its mission to train specialists in a society that continuouslychanges, dealing with the new challenges from the Romanian agri-food sector.

We invite you to participatein the Elaboration ofthe MagazineDo you want to share from yourrural development experiences for apossible publication in the magazine?

ParticipationGuideThese indications are for orientation, forthe homogenization of the contributions.The authors understand that the editorialstaff may amend the received text, forbetter comprehension.

• Author: He/she must be identified bysurname, first name and current occupa-tion.

• Introduction: A short introductionmust be included to reveal the relevance ofthe presented topic.

• Article length: 400 – 800 words

• Correct information: Present onlyinformation that you are 100% sure of andthat you can support. Mention the sourceof the information when you present data coming from other institutions or organi-zations.

• Style: Speaking of a magazine article, itis desirable for the text not to resemble areport. That is why, the following areindicated:» Simple expression.» Relevant data to support the main ideaof the article, and not all the details of theproject.» Avoidance of the excess of acronyms.» The full denomination, followed by theacronym, must be inserted when itappears in the text for the first time.» Avoidance of comments and externalreferences which may be controversial ormisunderstood.

Photos and images• The images must illustrate an experience.

• The images will be sent as separate electronic files (high resolu-tion >300 dpi and > 850 KB).

• All the files containing images will be sent in.JPEG format.

• We are asking you to include a short title for each sent photo/image, as well as the photographer’s /author’s name.

Letters to the Editorial Staff• The letters must be related to a ruraldevelopment theme and not exceed 200 words.• The editors may intervene on the text, inorder to adjust it to the necessary style, length, clarity and accuracy and does notguarantee that all the letters will be pub-lished.• When space is insufficient, the letterswhich are not published in the magazinecan be published on the website of NRDN.

We invite you to send us your experiences,photos, letters and articles at the e-mailaddress: [email protected]

OPEN TO THE FUTURE

CONTACT:National Head O�ce of the Network Support Unit (NSU)

39-41, Nicolae Filipescu St., 6th �oor, 2nd District, Bucharest, postal code 020961Tel.: 031 690 0214, Facsimile: 031 690 0215

E-mail: [email protected] , Internet: www.rndr.ro

Roots of an European country

�is publication was created by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Romania,within the project entitled “Establishment and Support of the National Rural Development Network”.

Project co-�nanced by FEADR by Measure 511 within the 2007 – 2013 National Rural Development Programme.

January 2015�e content of this material does not necessarily represent the o�cial position of the European Union.

It is distributed free of charge.

Short food chain - interview with Tiberiu Cazacioc in Rural Romania

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