The present study is a collection of good practices in the field of educational action of rural women's organizations for the preservation of local culinary treasures. It has been prepared by all partner organizations participating in the Erasmus+ international partnership project with the acronym Rural Women's Clubs. 

The main objective of the project was to increase the diversity of the offer of rural women's organizations to increase the effectiveness of educational activities for local communities. Six partners participated in the project, including rural women's organizations from three EU countries: Poland, Cyprus and Greece. There were many differences between these organizations. legal form, number of members or scope of influence. They combined various forms of educational activities carried out for the benefit of the local community. 

Why local gastronomy? 

Because cuisine is part of the cultural heritage that passes from generation to generation. Because culinary habits are shaped by the needs and special characteristics of the local community. Because food is an important element of everyday life that unites people and characterizes the civilization and culture of nations. 

Why women's organizations? 

Because we know that these kinds of organizations have excellent knowledge in the subject of gastronomy and can become centers for the education of members of the local society, regardless of age, gender and education. 

The study is one of the results of the project and was created as a result of study visits attended by representatives of all partners. During meetings in Poland (June 2023), Cyprus (September/October 2023) and Greece (May 2024) we had the opportunity to learn about local traditions, exchange experiences, immerse ourselves in local specificity. These meetings were an extraordinary adventure for us, which opened us to joint activities, gave us the strength to prepare further interesting educational proposals for the local community. In the study, each culinary specialty is presented as an individual case of a general collection of examples from Poland, Cyprus and Greece. 

Three different culinary specialties from each country are described, linked to festive foods, local recipes or special preparations of local products. Each example includes a brief description regarding the meaning and nature of the dish and how it is made, as well as a collection of photographs that witness the actions that take place during the preparation "frame by frame". 

We have prepared the study in three language versions: English, Polish and Greek. We hope that the availability of three language versions will significantly expand the group of potential recipients. For the convenience of readers, we have marked different language versions with different font colors. And so the English version has a black font, the Polish version is red, and the Greek version is blue. 

We cordially invite you to read