The objective of the 1st edition of the MedArtSal International Fair on artisanal salinas was to shed light on the traditional and innovative production of saltworks in the Mediterranean, as well as creating through B2B meetings, partnership opportunities between professionals - in a key sector for coastal ecosystems - potential clients and partners around the common goal of: “supporting the commercial diversification of traditional and artisanal saltworks”. 

Between managers of artisanal saltworks,  salt producers, national, regional and local administrations, representatives of professional chambers and associations, public authorities and consumers and  the team of EU ENI CBC Programme, the fair received the visit of over 400 in-person visitors. Almost 1,000 participants registered on the platform of the event, of which more than 850 were interested in following the event remotely and 20 represented media outlets. Approximately 100 B2B meetings were held in-person and 20 virtually. between Tunisian and international participants.

During the event, organised by the Tunisian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, IUCN-Med presented the approach to ecotourism of the MEET Network, which is being applied to salinas in Cadiz to diversify economic activities. 

The project MedArtSal, funded by the ENI CBC MED Programme, works to establish a sustainable and an adaptable management model for artisanal salinas, including a marketing strategic plan, a biodiversity strategy, an e-commerce platform, a capacity building programme, an international network, and many other tools to support artisanal salt producers to preserve a thousand-year tradition.

It further addresses common challenges for artisanal salinas in four Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Lebanon and Tunisia), with 15 pilot actions for the development of new products or services in selected salinas and 2 demonstrative projects on the diversification of salina-related products (i.e. food and cosmetics) and services (i.e. HO.RE.CA) carried out in La Esperanza, Cádiz (Spain) and Sidi Al-Hani (Tunisia).

https://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/medartsal

Image : © Tunisian-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry