Umbria gourmet tour, Italy

Environment

1) We choose our suppliers among the ones that sustain the environment. For example, Monte Vibiano farm has been awarded with the prestigious "Premio Impresa Ambiente" award, "the highest recognition for Italian private and public companies that have distinguished themselves in the interests of Sustainable Development, Environmental Issues and Social Responsibility". It has been the first farm in Italy to receive the prestigious reward and certification of DNV ISO 14064, to have reached the zero emission of CO2, using solar and wind power. We sustain them also by buying their precious wine for our guests. We organize only tasting of locally grown products (organic or integrated farming).
2) We support a local NGO, TAMAT, that is working on a project to develop sustainable mobility (h2power project) and we buy their gadgets to fund their activities. They are working, with other partners, on developing a demonstrator vehicle that is using as fuel a variable mixture of methane and hydrogen, that can be produced from renewable energy sources. We also support their awareness raising events for citizens and students about sustainable development and mobility and about the solution to preserve our environment

Community

1) We recommend to our guests to visit some local art and crafts workshops that maintains alive old techniques. In 2010 an association of craftsmen “Associazione botteghe artigiane del centro storico” was set up in Perugia to promote the historic, artistic and cultural heritage of the city and make people aware about Umbria cultural heritage. The association promotes the project “ArtiCity” to support the local handicraft, among them : the Studio Moretti Caselli that still uses a characteristic ancient technique to produce stained glasses, the Giuditta Brozzetti Atelier, that produces woven fabrics with ancient techniques, and Anna Barola’s workshop “Art and craftsmanship” that produces handmade traditional embroidery
2) We give information to our guests to visit and buy souvenirs and presents from a social cooperative, RELEGART, that employ people with physical and psychological disabilities to support their social inclusion and to give them the chance of a real job. They work leather and paper to bind books, and to produce home accessories and notebooks. Most of the products are handmade. The cooperative is not only a place where people with disabilities can work but it’s also a place where they can use their competences and skills in producing artistic objects in a friendly environment.