Project title: Local products in tourism
Project ID: 22310170
Amount of the support: 29.134 Euro
The project supported by Visegrad Fund.
The partner countries use each other’s good practices to involve local producers in tourism as effectively as possible. With the project an effective flow of information will be created between the local producers, the tourists and the participants of the project. It also can expand the range of tourism program options.
All project partners will share their experiences and exhange good practise in an online meeting. Partners can learn from each other, they can change their thoughs and they can use all the good practices later which they learned there. It is in the interest of all participating partners to make their own tourism offer more colorful, using the experience of others thereby promoting sustainable tourism. Local producers and craftsmen must be connected with interested local residents and tourist alike.
All the partners will search for the local producers in their area, a brochure and a map will be published for each country in which each participant country will presents its own producers in its own language and in English with photos and all contact details.
Each partner selects 3 local producers/craftmen which will present their activities and products at their own premises in a workshop so the participating locals and tourists will also be involved in the work processes. The participants can experience the process of making a product at the workshop and enriching their knowledge. Tourism offer of the region can be increased by promoting the local product and encouraging them to reach the market.
We will organize an event called Local Product Festival on the main square of Nyíregyháza as the closing event of the project where local producers, craftsmen and artisans from Nyíregyháza will present their products. We will also invite 3 producers / artisans from the partner countries as well. Two represetatives of the partners are also invited to present the achieved results.
Promotion of events on social media so the relevant information about the events can reaches as many people as possible.
Project partners:
1. Nyíregyháza Tourism Nonprofit Ltd.
Website: www.nyiregyhaza.info.hu
2. Municipality of Rzeszow
Website: www.erzeszow.pl
3. Košice Region Tourism
Website: www.kosiceregion.travel
About the workshops
– Nyíregyháza, Hungary –
Many people were interested in the workshops organized by the Nyíregyháza Tourism Nonprofit Ltd. The number of applicants far exceeded expectations, proving that demand and curiosity for local handmade products continues to grow.
Soap making workshop:
The participants were able to learn the basic techniques of soap making with the help of an experienced chemist-phytotherapist, Mária Tóthné Balogh, who guided them step by step in the creation process. The soaps were made from glycerine-goat’s milk ingredients, which could be colored with natural ingredients, herbs and 100% natural essential oils.
Ceramics workshop:
The event offered the participants the opportunity to get to know the pottery workshop of Elvira Szolanics and László Nagy and personally experience the secret of the birth of ceramics, from kneading the clay to firing it. They could learn about the creative possibilities in different techniques, colors and shapes. All participants could create unique ceramic objects and lasting memories with their own hands.
Cheese making workshop:
At the Marsalkó Family Farm, the participants could learn about the rural life and get know the horses and cows living on the farm. During the event, you could get a glimpse into the secrets of the production of the lump cheese and actively participate in the preparation process, taste locally made cheeses and freshly grown grapes.
– Kosice, Slovakia –
Three workshops were also held in Kosice under the professional supervision of local craftsmen/artists. The number of participants were limited and the interest was greater than expected. For those who did not get a place, they provided an opportunity to actively communicate with the craftsmen and organize another workshop.
Wood-metal-felt workshop:
Traditional materials in jewelry. Participants created beautiful souvenirs using felting and tinkering techniques. Velvet felting is a part of old textile techniques that, like wirework, have a rich history in Slovakia.
Figurative sculpture:
They held a workshop focused on figurative sculpture. The participants were inspired by ceramic folk sculptures, tree carvings and the ceramic work of the local artist Jarmila Mitríková.
Medieval pottery production:
The participants could try working with their hands in a traditional pottery workshop with equipment in a yard. They found there hand-drilled potter’s wheels, shelves for storing drying ceramics, traditional tools for processing clay such as coolers, molds, cutters, etc. The workshop offers a clay processing process and in the short term will be supplemented with the final firing of the product.
– Rzeszow, Poland –
Painting Magnets:
Ceramic magnets painted with acrylic paints, participants learned about traditional Carpathian symbols. The inspiration came from traditional Carpathian jewelry and its colors. The participants made ceramic magnets themselves.
Rzeszów Honey:
Participants learned about the life of bees (the mechanism of collecting food by bees) and tasted honey. It is a local product (honey) associated with the place. There are a lot of products imported from outside the country, so it is important to promote local apiaries. Tourists often buy local honey and can thus get a taste of the place. Each honey has its own specific taste related to the place of the apiary.
Carpathian Bracelet:
Participants learned the traditional technique of making Carpathian bead jewelry. They made it individually in accordance with the principles of local handicraft techniques. The bracelets are made of glass beads. It is a local souvenir sold to tourists in local fairs and markets.
Brochure and map of local producers
During the project, we searched for local producers and craftspeople, focusing on those who are open to presenting their activities to locals and tourists in the framework of an open day/workshop in the future, and whose products are easily available and can be purchased. We also displayed them and their works in the form of 1,500 copies of brochures and 3,000 copies of maps. We presented their activities and contact information in Hungarian and English with photos and a short text description. The brochures were also made by partner countries, presenting their own producers, in their own language and in English.
Downloadable documents:
Local producers and craftspeople in Nyíregyháza – brochure (.pdf 2.3 MB)
Local producers and craftspeople in Nyíregyháza – map (.pdf 0.5 MB)
Local Product Festival in Nyíregyháza
At the end of the project, the Nyíregyháza Tourism Nonprofit Ltd. organized a festival on May 17-18, 2024 to connect the city’s residents and visitors with unique products and values of local producers and craftspeople.
At the Local Product Festival, specialties made from the freshest produce and handcrafted masterpieces awaited all visitors on Kossuth Square. At the producers’ wooden houses, the visitors could fill their pantry with cheese, honey, syrups, jams, chili and pickles, and at the craftspeoples, they could surprise themselves and their loved ones with special ceramics, textiles, jewelry and ornaments.
The event supported by the Visegrad Fund. In 20 wooden houses, the participants were able to get to know the products of more than 40 craftspeoples and producers, including the products of Slovak and Polish partners, whose accommodation and meals were financed by the project.
