PROMAS
In the Arctic regions a meaningful part of local food production is based on what grows wild in nature. In Kolarctic region it is wild berries and reindeer. They both live and grow in a clean environment and are products of nature.
Food trends are going through big changes, partly because of changes in peoples understanding of the impact of food on health and the impact of food production on the environment. The appreciation of local food is rising.
Kolarctic Food Refining-project consortium decided to grab this topic vigorously. 11 organisations working in refining of berries, refining of reindeer or in business development work towards using and refining more and better than earlier the forest berries from Murmansk region, Nenets Autonomous Area and Finnish Lapland.
Training in making sausages, fudge, and drinks
The project carried out trainings in reindeer meat handling, product development of reindeer meat, handling of wild berries, and skills in developing and making e.g. marmalade and fudge. The raw materials are cloudberry, cranberry, bilberry, and raspberry. Also, another topic of the training was herbs, fermentation, tea, and the utilization of berry products in these.
In the background of the project there is some differences between countries and some development needs. In Finland, entrepreneurship in the branch of berry products and other nature products has been in a strong development phase for many years. The availability of berries is more or less a bottleneck in increasing of the production volume. The supply of fresh berries is better in Russia. The same differences applied in reindeer meat.
After the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the co-operation with Russian partners in Kolarctic CBC funded projects came to an end. The project continued training and product development in Finland.
Sixth training session of the project in Kemijärvi, Finland. Something delicious is being made.
Project: Kolarctic Food Refining
Lead Partner: NordGuide
Other partners:
- Lihankäsittely Hanhela avoin yhtiö, Ranua
- Arctic Berry Finland Oy, Rovaniemi
- Cooperative KorvatunturinMaan Osuuskunta, Savukoski
- Union “Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Murmansk region/Northern, Murmansk
- SPK “Put Ilitsa”, Khorey-Ver
- OOO “Kolsky kray”, Murmansk
- Agricultural Production Cooperative Fishing Collective Farm “Vozrozhdenie”,Teriberka
- North-West Centre of Food Security Issues (NWCFSI), St. Petersburg
- Nenets Centre of Energy Efficiency and Cleaner Production (NCEECP), Naryan-Mar
- SHPK “Tundra”, Lovozero