Heuvelland, (BE)
Through a local cooperation involving a newly set up pottery workshop and local wine producers, pottery ware with contemporary utility use are being produced in Kemmel, Belgium. By working together, the new Kemmel wares can be commercialized and bring new business opportunities to the region. This is one of the developments in the CUPIDO-project in Heuvelland municipality.The pottery operation – Kemmelwaar - is part of three main developments within the CUPIDO-project in Heuvelland where the centre of excellence is placed at the visiting centre in Kemmel. From there all actions are set up and coordinated.
- We consciously try to make the link between tourism and the local economy. Our viticulture is a good example of this, and we want to tap into a new market with Kemmelwaar, says Stefaan Decrock, project manager for Cupido in Heuvelland.
The other two main developments are a land art project and a branding exercise sprung from the DNA mapping of the region that was carried out earlier in the project by University of applied sciences in Howest.
The land art project is an installation on the flank of the Kemmelberg, a local hill with great geographical and historical value. The installation involves raising nine monoliths and building two entrance gates, both referring to the prehistoric past of the site. The installation is made by a land art artist, but also involves about 20 students from Vives University of Applied Sciences in Roeselare, in the direction of green management.
- They will learn the knowledge of dynamic braiding, typical of land art, with the aim of using this technique later in their own professional career, says Stefaan.
The branding exercise was started in 2019 together with local stakeholders, the DNA of the region was mapped which led to a number of new tourist advertisements and products. And work on this was continued in 2020.
- The aim was to develop new packages and products linked to our DNA together with our actors. To this end, an inspiration evening was planned in March and an inspiration guide was developed. Due to the pandemic it was postponed to November, but due to the second wave we had to translate this into a zoom session. As a result, this met with limited interest. Nevertheless, a number of new packages are in the pipeline: a wine tasting, a multi-day hiking offer, a picnic package, an offer for campers, says Stefaan.
In the longer perspective there is more activities planned, in September 2021 ‘The festival of the moon rabbit’ and a pottery festival on the Kemmelberg in summer 2022.
- Under our impulse, a local entrepreneur is also working on a digital wine shop on which all Heuvelland wines will be offered. Heuvelland wine land gets extra promotional attention because of all this, says Stefaan, who also sees more business opportunities for local stakeholders going forward.
- New packages and products linked to our DNA stimulate sales with our local actors. The wine arrangement, for example, will stimulate sales at our winegrowers. Together with local actors, we will develop new products as part of the "Festival of the moon rabbit" or the pottery event on the mountain.
Partners:
VZW Dranoeter
University of applied sciences HOWEST
More articles about the pilot
Kemmel wares bring new business opportunities to Heuvelland, Belgium