Salento Km0 APS

Salento Km0 is an association that promotes sustainable food production, and seeks to valorise and safeguard local agro-biodiversity and agri-food heritage. The association supports a solidarity economy network constituted by agricultural producers employing agro-ecological practices and growing local forgotten crops and cultivars, artisanal food producers, solidarity purchasing groups, restaurateurs and consumers. The association fosters inclusive and sustainable territorial development by engaging in circular economies and food based educational initiatives. Salento Km0 was founded in 2011 as a solidarity economy network, bringing together agricultural producers, manufacturers, restaurants, solidarity purchasing groups and volunteers, with the intent of safeguarding and promoting the local environmental and cultural heritage, through agricultural and food related practices. The association organises educational events and workshops, co-produces publications and audiovisual products, collaborates on conservation and valorisation initiatives with institutions at multiple scales, and provides spaces to connect different actors within and beyond the network, such as farmers’ markets and social dining events. These activities mostly take place at the headquarters of the association located in Zollino. This space, defined as an urban laboratory, is called To Kalò Fai which in the local greek dialect translates to ‘the good food’. The association aims to foster sustainable and inclusive development for the region, by supporting a rural economy that provides an alternative to the conventional market. Such a network is founded on an appreciation for healthy and culturally relevant foods, local agro-biodiversity and land(scapes), and the traditional (and innovative) practices, livelihoods and identities rooted in mutualistic relations among people and the environment. The association is governed through participatory mechanisms, where the members themselves have established the criteria for participating in the network and are also responsible for monitoring compliance. Hence, along with supporting the rural economy, the network strives for self-determination by establishing a community that shares knowledge, practices, resources and responsibilities.