GC WP6 – Page 2 – GRASS Ceiling

Ines Dundović, director of Veggie, a company with three shops in the Zagreb region, participates in the Croatian GRASS CEILING Living Lab

Veggie is a vegetable production and processing company co-founded by Ines Dundović, one of the youngest participants in the Croatian GRASS CEILING Living Lab.

Veggie started out drying tomatoes and today supplies fresh and processed vegetables to restaurants, schools and Gruntek, the largest marketer of organic vegetables with direct sales to the end consumer through weekly vegetable boxes.

Since its inception in 2015, Ines has managed to open three Veggie shops, where she sells her fresh and processed vegetables, to which she has added the products of other local producers. Undoubtedly, Ines is contributing a lot to the development of agriculture in the Zagreb region.

Ines has been working on her parents’ farm all her life and it was after finishing her studies in horticulture at the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb that she started Veggie. Recently, the business has expanded to include rural tourism. Ines is a communicative woman who likes to share her knowledge. She is very active in her local community. In fact, she chairs her community’s agricultural committee, which she helped to set up. She has participated in many European projects which have allowed her to acquire new knowledge and to travel abroad a lot to learn about good practices.

Ines stresses that the greatest benefit of the GRASS CEILING project lies in the creation of networks of women innovators.

United Nations declares 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer

General / By GC WP6

2026 has been declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer by the United Nations General Assembly.

The United Nations hopes that this will be an opportune moment to raise awareness of the crucial role of women farmers in the world’s food systems. Women farmers are key to ensuring food security, food access and nutrition for people, and therefore to eradicating poverty.

2026 is expected to be a year in which effective policies and actions are adopted to address the barriers and challenges faced by women farmers, and to promote gender equality and their empowerment.

According to the FAO’s report “The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems” (2023), despite the fact that women farmers represent 39 % of the global agricultural workforce, women suffer significant discrimination, continue to face challenges in land and livestock ownership, do not enjoy equal wages, are not taken into account in decision-making and have difficulty accessing credit or financial services.

The International Year of the Woman Farmer aims to enhance global commitment to addressing these disparities.

With this commemoration in 2026, the United Nations recognises “the fundamental role of rural women in global food systems and is committed to addressing the challenges they face” and expects the effort and collaboration of countries, UN entities, civil society, academia, the private sector, local communities, indigenous peoples… to raise awareness, implement concrete measures and pave the way for more efficient and inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems.

Many questions stimulated creativity at the 4th Italian GRASS CEILING Living Lab Meeting

General, Italy / By GC WP6

The 4th Italian Living Lab, held on 11 May at the Officine Culturali in Bitonto (BA), reached a crucial point: the ideation phase.

In the previous stages of this dynamic Design Thinking journey, promoted as part of the three-year multi-actor project GRASS CEILING, eight rural women innovators explored the real needs of users to be involved in their future individual business projects.

It is finally time to step out of the comfort zone and think out of the box! The generation of ideas, in fact, is the beating heart of the method and requires creative efforts. The innovators tried to identify some possible alternatives to better define solutions to the problems detected in the initial context analysis.

During the morning they experienced how there are no good or bad ideas: at this stage the most important thing to do is to create, using specific facilitation methodologies such as the World Café technique.

After meeting up with stakeholders in discussions around tables, they open the door to their imagination. The output of the activity was a colourful mosaic of ideas and questions to continue the journey in coming months.

In the afternoon, the working group reasoned about the future through the practice of Foresight. It is certainly not easy to predict the future, but it is still possible to be prepared for what may happen. Through a group exercise, the innovators were able to build a medium/long-term vision, expanding the boundaries of perception.

In the next meeting, the eight participants will focus more on the realisation of their ideas and no longer rely simply on their imagination.

The work was led, as usual, by the two co-leads Legacoop Puglia and CIHEAM Bari, with some local stakeholders who collaborated in the morning activities. They included Mariano Frachiolla, agronomist for the Bio Distretto delle lame, Gianvito Turi, visual designer for corporate communication, Francesca Volpe, local food policy expert for CIHEAM Bari, and Vincenzo Fucilli, professor at the University of Bari.

The GRASS CEILING project is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and runs until December 2025, with several Living Labs held in the 9 countries involved in the European partnership.

The Living Lab is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship and discussion within the working group.

No need to wait long for upcoming activities: the next Living Lab will be held in June. Stay tuned!

GRASS CEILING Lithuanian Living Lab gains insight into marketing and the circular economy in the agro-food sector

General, Lithuania / By GC WP6

In 2024, the second meeting of the GRASS CEILING Living Lab took place in Zapyškis, Lithuania, featuring eight women innovators (Karališka Uoga, Šeimos ūkis “Geltoni botai”, Bačkonių ekologinis ūkis, Rasa Prusakova, 50 Arų. Darbo ir džiaugsmo, Saldūs žiedai, Justė Jankauskienė, Šamūkis, Gurkė, Justina Gikniūtė Kočetova, Rūta Aliukonienė, Lina Vysniauskaite, Aliejus- sveikatai ir grožiui) and two experts in marketing and the circular economy.

Greta Stasiulevičienė, a marketing consultant, delivered a presentation on social networks and advertising opportunities for small businesses. She introduced us to concepts such as warm/cool audiences and how to shape the format of advertising, budgeting, and management. We also learned about the potential of free advertising.

Virginija Kargytė, a lecturer at the Vytautas Magnus University VDU Bioekonomikos plėtros fakultetas and representative of Lithuania BIO, presented the key insights from the ongoing study “Circular Economy Development in the Agro-food Sector: the Potential of Industrial Symbiosis”, which creates future opportunities for cooperation among farms based on the management of material flows, involving local authorities, communities, and other businesses. Industrial symbiosis is presented as a process whereby one producer’s material residue becomes another producer’s resource.

We received a warm and hospitable welcome in Zapyškis, near St. Peter’s Church Senoji Zapyškio bažnyčia, by the “Stuba, House of Activity and Creativity”. Its founder and director, Daiva Vaišnorienė, presented the activities of the women-founded organisation and shared her experience.

Vesna Jakić: A sheep wool ambassador on the Croatian island of Cres

Croatia, General / By GC WP6

Vesna Jakić is a Croatian entrepreneur who participates in the GRASS CEILING project’s Living Lab in Croatia. She works with local wool as a raw material in her company RUTA Wool & Design. In addition to creating original wool designs, Vesna recovers sheep wool that is often abandoned in the fields of the island of Cres (Croatia), thus providing a solution to a serious environmental problem and allowing her to produce island souvenirs by processing the original wool.

Vesna’s work is making a difference on the island of Cres and her products are certified as Croatian island products.

However, Vesna, a textile designer, never knows what her next wool inspiration will be. Before her current business, she led the Ruta association for 20 years, focusing on improving the quality of life on Cres. Already then, her projects were based on the use of wool as a raw material, she taught felting courses and organised numerous craft and art events.

It can be said that Vesna is an ambassador of sheep wool, a material that is no longer used on the island of Cres.

Her greatest passion is working with young people and children. That is why she teaches felting in schools and students come to her to practise. She has led many local and European projects where children have acquired felting and sewing skills. As part of these projects, children also explore the island of Cres and learn about local plants, nature, and the sea… All with the aim of helping them become more aware of the importance of nature, their local environment and sustainable development.

This innovative woman began drawing clothing models at the age of nine and received her first sewing machine at the age of fourteen. She later graduated in Textile Design and Fashion from the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb. After completing her studies, she returned to the island of Cres, where she now lives and has made, in her words, a dream come true.

For Vesna, GRASS CEILING is “a great opportunity to network with innovative Croatian women” and she assures that the biggest benefit of the GRASS CEILING project is “the exchange of knowledge, especially of solutions to the many obstacles they face on a daily basis.”

The joy of working with animals: Miriam’s story in the GRASS CEILING project

General, Italy / By GC WP6

Miriam del Re is the youngest farmer (26 years old) of the Italian Living Lab and one of the eight women innovators who participate in the GRASS CEILING project. She has a degree in economics, but while she was preparing for her final exams, she realised her passion lay elsewhere – with animals. This childhood love has led her to devote herself full-time to their care.

In 2021, Miriam decided to repurpose the disused land on her partner’s farm for raising laying hens. The business began modestly with 50 hens and has grown to include 250 free-range hens, along with goats and turkeys.

Looking ahead, Miriam aspires to open an educational farm to showcase the fulfilment that comes with working with animals. During the Easter break, her “Colle di Seta” and “Uova di Seta” Agricultural Society hosted a fun “Egg Hunt” event for curious children.

The event tagline playfully stated, “Come help us find our hens’ eggs! The rabbit ‘Pasqualino’ was very naughty and hid them!” This light-hearted invitation brought many families to spend weekends with the mischievous bunny. The festivities involved egg decoration, group games, and colourful make-up activities for children and their families.

Miriam was delighted with the outcome. “There was a very joyful feeling,” she remarked, “and seeing the excitement of even the adults in painting the eggs was wonderful. We received very positive feedback from many families who requested more events like this one.”

Well done, Miriam!

Laura, a Spanish poultry farmer, happily surrounded by hundreds of happy hens

General, Spain / By GC WP6

Laura has found happiness among hundreds of hens, who are also happy thanks to her. This is not the beginning of a children’s story. It is the real story of Laura Polo, a Spanish woman who decided to swap the hustle and bustle of the big city, Bilbao, for the noisy clucking of lots and lots of hens.

She is one of the participants in the GRASS CEILING Spanish Living Lab, an initially self-taught entrepreneur who later trained in agriculture and livestock farming to be able to set up her happy hen farm. However, she claims that there is still not enough training in poultry farming for those who, like her, want to earn a living by raising hens.

Her company is called Avicultura Granja Pepín and it is located in a small village in the province of Palencia, called Alba de Cerrato. “Hens are my passion,” she told the Spanish public television programme “La Aventura del Saber” (La 2 TVE), “and they must be given the care they deserve.”

Her hens eat noble cereals such as wheat, barley, corn, and sunflower seeds, when there is no soya. They do not consume animal or vegetable fats, nor do they consume colourants or palm oil. And as a supplement, they eat vegetable waste from the family garden that Laura tends with her husband. “The eggs that our hens produce have the quality seal that comes from the way we care for them: good food, respect and a large natural space where they can move around. The hens know us and that shows in the flavour of the eggs,” says Laura.

Laura has learned to live without a clock, although she works from dawn to dusk. “We use sunlight as a natural clock.”

In 2017 she opened her first shed with 500 hens. Four months later she set up the second shed with 740 hens. In 2018 the third shed arrived to house another 450 hens. In 2019 she reached maximum capacity: a fourth shed where she halted expansion. “We don’t want to lose the essence of the care and craftsmanship of our final product. With this number of hens we can earn a good living, manage the farm and care for our animals.

She says that GRASS CEILING is providing a great opportunity for the voices of rural women to be heard in European institutions. She has met other women in the sector with similar problems, and sharing their experiences helps them to find joint solutions. “We must continue to enhance the visibility of rural women. We are gradually making progress, but there is still much to be done”. However, the main drawbacks they have are the low population density in rural areas and the limited services available. “It is essential that small towns have access to basic services that allow us the quality of life we deserve. This would attract new residents and entrepreneurs”, Laura says.

“I hope, at least, that we can continue to make a living and our brand can become well-known… I am happy here … no one can change that”.

GRASS CEILING Croatian Living Lab’s 4th meeting hosted by two of its women innovators

Croatia, General / By GC WP6

The GRASS CEILING Croatian Living Lab (EWE) held its fourth meeting on the islands of Cres and Krk. These islands are home to two of our Living Lab participants, Vesna Jakić and Jasminka Gršković, who are innovators working with wool, olive oil, and wine production. The main programme took place at Moise Palace. Vesna hosted the Living Lab on Cres, and Jasminka hosted it on Krk.

Following the official meeting, which included an innovation process session and a stakeholder session, Vesna offered a wet felting workshop for the Living Lab participants and project team. She also introduced the team to her handicraft business and the Ruta Cres association.

On the second day, the Croatian Living Lab members visited Krk and Jasminka’s family farm. After a meeting with the city authorities, Jasminka hosted a dry felting workshop for their colleagues in her olive grove, where they learned how to make woollen Easter eggs.

Letizia Cuonzo, a member of the Italian GRASS CEILING Living Lab, welcomed the students of CIHEAM Bari’s Master programme

General, Italy / By GC WP6

Azienda Agricola Cuonzo welcomed CIHEAM Bari students from the Master programme in Open Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship in the Agrifood Sector interested in learning more about the living lab implemented as part of the GRASS CEILING project.

By applying organic farming methods, enhancing native olive varieties and using an innovative mill to produce organic oil from Ogliarola and Coratina cultivars, Cuonzo is a true beacon of sustainable agriculture. The company strives to connect theory and practice, bringing together ideas and action through the GRASS CEILING project.

The visit to Azienda Agricola Cuonzo was led by Letizia Cuonzo, a member of the Italian Living Lab for the GRASS CEILING project. Letizia has a background in Modern Literature and Art History studies. In 2010, she became the owner of the farm previously run by her father with the help of PSR Puglia, a source of regional funding for young people starting agricultural businesses. She participates in the Italian Living Lab as a women innovator thanks to her experience in managing the family organic olive oil farm and processing olives. She is also an olive oil taster.

During the harvesting and processing season, the farm welcomes schoolchildren and tourists, increasing awareness of production practices and offering basic information for tasting extra virgin olive oil. A few days ago, Letizia hosted the visit from the master’s students to tell them about her professional journey as a woman innovator in the GRASS CEILING project.

This project involves eight inspiring women from the biodistrict of Lame and is expected to reshape Puglia’s agricultural landscape.

A multitasking rural businesswoman turned Norwegian TV star

General, Norway / By GC WP6

Marthe Kilen is a rural woman. She lives on the rural Fosen peninsula, and works in Rissa, a Norwegian town of just over 6000 inhabitants. She participates in the Living Lab of the GRASS CEILING project, as one of the innovative rural women in the agricultural sector and in food production.

As she defines herself, “I am a cook, baker and pastry chef by training, and I don’t know how to do anything else… but I do this very well”, although she is now also a pastry judge on a well-known Norwegian television program from the NRK Channel.

Last year she had to disappear, literally from her village, for six weeks to focus on filming the first season of a television program that has made her very well known in Norway. This spring, she will be filming season two of the baking show. But let’s not forget that she is a rural entrepreneur, owning and operating a small business, working with a small staff and living in a small town.

This time her going away for filming and appearing on TV will not come as much of a surprise. In fact, she is already training the workers of her business, Fru Nelik (Missis Nelik) to be able to operate the business during the two months that the new shooting will last.

It’s not easy for a rural entrepreneur to get ahead by managing a business, controlling purchases, maintaining equipment, designing new products, selling and distributing those products, and now… being a judge on a TV show. Teamwork is key for her, and she relies heavily on both her board of directors and the skills of her employees.

Each one of them is now receiving instructions to be able to undertake specific responsibilities, so that it will not be necessary that everything has to go through her. Starting in April, she will be filming in the TV studio. The brand new ice cream she is launching for summer has to be tested and ready before she leaves, and the warehouse has to be stocked with products. Her small business produces for other suppliers who buy cakes and products from her and sell them in their stores. She also stocks a self-service Fru Nelik pastry store in downtown Rissa.

It is clear to Marthe that innovation is about exploring new opportunities and appreciating the effects that new challenges bring. That is why this year, she will continue to attend the biggest event for locally produced Norwegian food, the Trondelag Food Festival.She is committed to training and knowledge as a way, not only to learn, but also to obtain tools that will allow her to continue to open up avenues of expansion and growth that will benefit her business and, with it, her employees and her people.