About us

The partnership for the implementation of the project “Discover and Preserve the Bulgarian – Pass It On.

The Path of the Grain, the Embroidery, and the Song!” was established 4 years ago and is carried out between Local Initiative Group “Lyaskovets–Strazhitsa,” Local Action Group “Troyan–Apriltsi–Ugarchin,” Local Action Group “Samokov,” Local Action Group “Belenе–Nikopol,” and Local Initiative Group “Slivnitsa–Dragoman.”

The project for inter-territorial cooperation will be implemented on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The experience that all 5 Local Initiative Groups will acquire during the project’s activities can be multiplied in other LIG territories.

The achievements can be promoted as good practice.

The established virtual space will be publicly accessible, including an English-language summary, thereby being promoted as good practice within the EU. The local groups will share the results achieved in various forms, which will generate similar ideas within the CLLD community.

The achievements will provide a good starting base for building upon ideas to stimulate local development in rural areas and to increase employment and territorial cohesion.

The joint activities carried out will continue to contribute to the sustainable development of local communities in all settlements of the beneficiary and the partners, with the experience being shared on a regional and national basis.

The innovative activities introduced at the local level can be interpreted on regional, national, and European levels, including through new partnerships.

The most important achievement in the context of this experience is the new way of promoting products, brands, activities, and landmarks characteristic of the local territories and communities of the three LAG territories.

The activities of this project have strong multiplying potential for other LAG territories as well, since they are local initiatives with community participation and can be implemented not only through the CLLD approach but also as public–private partnerships.

Art installations and creative workshops on various themes can be carried out in the territories of other LAGs, as well as within LAGs from the EU, since their implementation depends not only on financial resources but also on the motivation and activity of the local community itself.

The collection of authentic materials and products related to Bulgarian cultural heritage, which must be preserved and passed down between generations, is an activity that any research team can undertake with broad public involvement.

Creating added value in the field of producing local bread and grain products, embroidery, and authentic songs is a suitable activity for any rural area.

The regions possess diverse assets that distinguish them with products and landmarks characteristic of local territories and communities. Geographically, they will present and promote the path of bread, embroidery, and song with their own territorial authenticity.

The five LIGs will carry out joint activities contributing to the sustainable development of their local communities.

The five LIGs have experienced teams, administrative capacity, and financial resources to implement the project.

The project partners are motivated, and we have reached full consensus on the activities. They embraced our idea for the project and assured us that in their territories there is sufficient motivation and resources, which is the key to a successful project.

About the Project

The project is the result of a long-term and already established partnership between 5 LAGs, which have successfully implemented joint initiatives in previous years. The motivation of the 5 teams, with continuous partner consultations held during the project’s development, is proof of their commitment to the theme of preserving Bulgarian traditions as part of the development of local communities and territories.

“The Path of the Grain, the Embroidery, and the Song” was established 4 years ago and is implemented between Local Action Group “Lyaskovets–Strazhitsa,” Local Action Group “Troyan–Apriltsi–Ugarchin,” Local Action Group “Samokov,” Local Action Group “Belene–Nikopol,” and Local Action Group “Slivnitsa–Dragoman.”

The current project foresees joint activities for discovering and preserving Bulgarian heritage and promoting it in 5 different geographic areas, contributing to the sustainable development of local communities across the territories of the 5 LAGs. These activities directly support the achievement of the CLLD strategies of the LAGs.

The planned joint initiative unites the efforts of LAGs covering a total of 162 settlements, aiming to position local and regional identity and contribute to enriching and promoting the national identity, since Bulgarian bread, embroidery, and song are carriers of this identity and are preserved within local communities.

The project activities include analyses of the bearers of Bulgarian traditions in the territories, training, sharing of experience and know-how, joint initiatives, and the creation of common products across the 5 LAG territories. These lead to development and build upon results already achieved under other cooperation projects and the ongoing CLLD strategies.

The project also involves active research in the territories, with many organized events and campaigns — so that Bulgaria may endure, and the Bulgarian roots, embodied in bread, embroidery, and song, are remembered and cherished.

The joint products include Bulgaria’s first Virtual Museum of Bread, Embroidery, and Song, a mobile application, catalogs, collections, festival events, and creative workshops. Greater awareness and promotion of the 5 LAG territories will have a direct positive effect on the number of tourists visiting them and purchasing local products.

Inter-territorial cooperation is an established and successful model for joint activities between local groups. Partnerships under the CLLD approach support the achievement of the CLLD strategies and the RDP 2014–2020 objectives through various joint initiatives. They build on the accumulated capacity of LAGs via meetings and training, stimulate the introduction of innovations at local level with creative and new ideas for the communities.

The partnership also provides LAG territories with the opportunity to promote rural areas as bearers of Bulgarian identity and to implement joint events for its popularization. The project contributes to the development of 5 CLLD territories in different geographic regions and their 143 settlements.

Cooperation through this project is a way to expand local perspectives and bring new knowledge into the 5 territories through mutual learning and achieving critical mass in terms of knowledge, experience, applied methods, and resources.

The project sets the following main objectives:

Preservation and promotion of bread, embroidery, and song as bearers of Bulgarian heritage and identity in rural areas;
Creation of innovative products for the sustainable development of the territories;
Implementation of joint initiatives to mobilize and engage local communities;
Ensuring continuity between generations;
Creating added value for the territories;
Contributing through local identity to regional and national identity.

Research and promotion of the bearers of Bulgarian heritage will give momentum to the economic and social development of the territories through the involvement of local communities. Preserving Bulgarian traditions is an important element due to its added value to the local economy, and taking the right steps for its development will support the intensive growth of LAG territories and the prosperity of their population through the CLLD approach.

Cooperation and interaction between several Local Action Groups is a key working principle in applying local approaches and supporting local development through the use of innovations for the territories. The current cooperation project will increase the benefits for rural areas and their populations and will contribute to their sustainable development. The products developed under the project will help reposition the territories.

The formulated objectives will be achieved through the implementation of activities, including innovative ones for the territories of the partner LAGs, contributing to:

The sustainable development of local communities and supporting the achievement of the CLLD strategies’ objectives;
Support for promoting products, activities, and landmarks characteristic of local territories and communities;
Development of local and regional identity as the foundation of national and European identity.