Slovenian minority in Hungary opens local products shop
Szentgotthard, 19 July - The development agency of the Slovenian minority in Hungary has opened a local shop selling food and handicraft products from local producers at a model farm in Felsőszölnök (Gornji Senik) in west Hungary, just across the border from Slovenia. For now, five Slovenian farmers and producers from the region are taking part.
The shop was set up as part of the Ethos Land project, which is funded by the Interreg V-A Slovenia-Hungary cooperation programme, with the development agency as one of the lead partners.
Ethos Land, launched three years ago, is based on ethical tourism. "The most important goal of the project is to develop tourism in the region," said project manager Viktorija Hanžek.
The shop, which was opened last Friday, was set up on a Slovenian model farm. First, the agency sought out local producers who already grew fruit and vegetables but did not yet have a registered processing business.
The agency then helped them to register their business and organise all the paperwork, as well as advising them on how to design the products now sold in the shop.
Five Slovenian farmers and producers from the region are currently involved in the project, four from Felsőszölnök and one from Szentgotthárd (Monošter). They sell home-made juices, syrups, dried fruits, spreads, jams, pumpkin seed oil, vinegar and handicraft products.