An ethical project that affects the entire Susa Valley: today there are 35 hectares under cultivation
MULINO VALSUSA CELEBRATES ONE YEAR OF LIFE
For the anniversary "Gustinsieme" was born with local artisans
Mulino Valsusa celebrates exactly one year. It was December 1, 2019 when, under pouring rain, the ribbon was cut in old nineteenth-century mill of Bruzolo , brought back to life, the only one in the Susa Valley restored for production purposes. A relaunch project for the entire Valley, which has made ethics its diktat: « It has been a year turned upside down by the pandemic. This has proven to be a strong, healthy, good project that does good for an area. It has yet to find economic sustainability, but this does not slow down the enthusiasm » says Massimiliano Spigolon, creator and soul of the project.
An entire valley at work: 30 farmers involved in 2020
Since its inception, the Mill has aimed to stimulate a valley, that of Susa, by involving farmers and returning to cultivating areas that have been abandoned for years, guaranteeing them fair prices for the sale of grain, supporting them economically in the cost of sowing and harvesting. If last year, at the start of the project, the farmers involved there were 14, now it has risen to 30 . At the same time we have moved on from 12 hectares of cultivation, many with ancient recovered varieties, to 35 hectares . « We reiterate that this is an ethical project, based on good agricultural practices and cultivation » explains Spigolon. The other work done was on the final product. The Valsusine flours produced by the mill were destined for the Valley: they are finished in around twenty restaurants, refuges and farmhouses , as well as in around twenty shops, from Sestriere to Pianezza. An agreement was also signed with large-scale distribution.
However, the pandemic has blocked this sale given that requests from restaurants have stopped and many shops are in difficulty and have blocked orders: for this reason, while the shop inside the Mulino, in Bruzolo, continues to be always open, in recent weeks it has the site was launched www.mulinovalsusa.it with a e-commerce : « What surprised us is that orders have arrived from Sardinia as well as from France and Austria, from Veneto and Lazio, a sign that the project is appreciated. Sensitivity has increased significantly and flours are recognized as a valid product ."
Il Mulino, celebrated this year, hopes that i bakers and pizzerias in the valley get involved more: « We know that our flours are more technically difficult precisely because they do not use improvers and stabilizers and therefore require greater skills to work with them, but we know that in the valley there is no lack of skills – explains Spigolon - This choice would have a positive impact on the quality of the products but above all in support of the territory ."
The new challenge: “Gustinsieme” is now born with the Valsusini artisans
On the occasion of the birthday, the Gustinsieme project was launched. «After having worked to create an agricultural supply chain and reawaken a sector of the Valley, we decided it was right to work on a transformation supply chain ». In practice, putting together a team of excellent craftsmen for the creation of one hundred percent Valsusa products : created with the mill's flours, made by Valsusini artisans. Another idea that does not only concern the interests of a single reality, but seeks to support various local actors, precisely in this period where the crisis feels closer.
The recipes? They are those of the history of this area and are kept, to guarantee the project, at the Mill. For now, Gustoinsieme offers biscuits, meliga pastries, rusks and Prosperous panettone .
At the moment, it involves the Matteo Marzo's bakery , which has offices in Susa and Venaus , the Rege biscuit factory in Sant'Antonino di Susa and the Amo laboratory in Bussoleno . « We are launching a call: we would like to involve as many artisans as possible. The idea is of an entire valley becoming an artisan workshop ." Meanwhile, the one hundred percent Valsusa products branded Gustoinsieme are already on sale on the Mulino website and are a way to support the Susa Valley at Christmas.