Italy

Take a unique journey into the heart of Murgia, where literature and nature come together in an immersive experience. Confabulare Open Air is a literary festival that blends outdoor adventures, author meetings, and tastings of local delicacies, creating a meaningful and engaging event for the whole family.

Murgia, with its striking karst landscape, forms the heart of Puglia, a distinctive region that hosts Alta Murgia National Park, Italy’s first rural park, established in 2004. In this breathtaking setting Confabulare Open Air comes to life, celebrating the deep connection between books and the natural world through a series of enriching and convivial experiences.

Taking place over three Sundays in March, the festival is designed for children and families, offering open-air activities, eco-friendly picnics, and the chance to meet exceptional authors. Guided treks provide an opportunity to explore the landscape with fresh eyes, while storytelling sessions and author talks bring narratives to life in the great outdoors. The festival also embraces the region’s culinary heritage, with tastings of traditional products that reflect the history and flavours of Murgia. Younger participants can explore the agricultural cycles of olive oil, wheat, and wine in hands-on, educational workshop led by the Cooperativa Sociale Ulixes.

Confabulare Open Air 2025 is organised by Libreria L’Agorà – Bottega delle Nuvole, in collaboration with local institutions and associations and with the support of regional and EU public funding. Key partners include the Bio-District of Lame, a core element of the GRASS CEILING project’s Italian Living Lab. The women innovators from GRASS CEILING will share their experiences and present their artisanal products, offering valuable insights into the importance of staying connected to the land and local roots.

More than just a festival, Confabulare Open Air is an invitation to slow down, immerse yourself in stories inspired by the land, and reconnect with nature through culture, food, and walking.

It’s an experience to embrace with curiosity and an open mind.

Ciheam Bari, a partner of the GRASS CEILING project, attended the first edition of EVOLIO Expo participating in the session “Women, Olives, and Oil: Energy and vision between tradition and innovation”. Held in Bari in January, the international trade fair EVOLIO Expo brought together key producers in the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) sector. CIHEAM Bari took part in the event, putting the spotlight on the strategic role of women across the entire olive supply chain –from production to processing– highlighting their contribution as drivers of innovation and sustainability.

The event featured inspiring stories and thought-provoking insights. Letizia Cuonzo, one of eight women participating in GRASS CEILING’s Italian Living Lab, shared the innovative journey of her organic farm, emphasising the role of women in strengthening the territory through sustainable agricultural practices. She also spoke about the exciting opportunities created by the project, particularly her plan to transform a traditional oil mill into an interactive agricultural museum, an idea that has developed over nearly two years as part of the design thinking programme in which she has been involved.

Another GRASS CEILING innovator, Liliana Tangorra, pointed out the importance of modern forms of communication and language, such as digital art and interactive exhibits, in promoting the cultural heritage of olive oil.

Through their inspiring stories and by sharing their visions and projects, Cuonzo and Tangorra reinforced the essential role of women in shaping the future of the olive sector.

The seventh Living Lab of the three-year Grass Ceiling project, funded by the European Horizon Europe program and dedicated to women’s innovation in their business rural settings, took place a few days ago in Ruvo di Puglia (BA), Italy. The project is in its final year and will end in December.

The Living Lab has always been an opportunity for collective discussion and learning about rural topics. So far, the eight women innovators involved have been working on new and engaging business ideas; in the last meeting, however, the time has come to a field test.

The Living Lab showed them the right path to innovation, by means of the use of solid methodologies. Through a workshop on the Business Model Canvas, lead by Francesco Notarangelo of Ciheam BARI, the participants made their projects more concrete, transforming what was so far just an idea into a structured plan.

Each project is thought out in detail: a museum on the history of an ancient oil mill, the rebranding of an essential oils brand, a Festival of the Seasons, these are just some of the options made up during the discussion. Each one of them aims to enhance the territory, thanks to the collaboration of the Bio-Distretto delle lame, which is following the evolution of this journey of female innovation in agriculture step by step, together with the two co-leads, Ciheam BARI and Legacoop Puglia.

There is great excitement for the upcoming, decisive milestones. After all, as the famous writer as Saint-Exupéry once said “Make your life a dream and a dream a reality,” and we are nearly close!

The unique journey of the Grass Ceiling Project was presented last week at an event organised by CREA’s Center for Policy and Bioeconomics, in collaboration with the University of Bari and the University of Calabria. The meeting highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary vision to tackle the challenges related to social sustainability in agriculture, with a special focus on gender issues.

In her speech, Raffaella Bucci, a representative of the Biodistretto delle lame which collaborates in the implementation of the activities, together with the two co-leads Legacoop Puglia and Ciheam Bari, explained how the Living Lab, as a collective learning laboratory, has been crucial in supporting the eight participants from different backgrounds (from agricultural producers to female entrepreneurs and cultural workers). She stated: “The Living Lab represents a unique space for discussion and growth, where participants share experiences and challenges and also create innovative solutions to improve the area”.

The project has helped strengthen ties and collaborations that go far beyond the duration of the project itself. A concrete example of this continuity is a new project promoted by the Municipality of Ruvo di Puglia, a kind of spin off involving GRASS CEILING partipants with the goal of creating a connection between the countryside and the city, in order to strengthen the link between rural areas and urban centres.

On September 25 in Rome, Legacoop’s national organization presented its new Sustainability Report 2024, a key tool for charting the path to a more sustainable and inclusive future. This year’s edition was enriched with specific tools and useful guidance for the entire cooperative ecosystem, encouraging active and informed participation by cooperatives.

On this occasion, Legacoop Puglia, the regional branch of Legacoop, proudly presented the “GRASS CEILING” project, an initiative created to promote gender equality and equal opportunities in the agricultural sector.

The project aims to break down invisible barriers that limit women’s access to leadership roles by creating opportunities for training and growth.

A big step towards a more equitable and sustainable society!