More Than Just a Shop

Bottega – It typically refers to a small, often traditional establishment where goods are crafted, sold, or services are provided by skilled artisans or tradespeople. The term carries a connotation of quality, authenticity, and a personal touch, distinguishing it from larger, more generic stores. reference

When anyone of us is considering a move, we look at what essential amenities are provided. Is there a pharmacy? Groceries close by, and how far do I have to travel to have those? What about doctors and their services? There are tradeoffs when you move to a small village here in Italy, but in the end it all can work out just as you dreamed.

Here, in the beautiful village of Tufillo, with a current permanent population around 325, we have found that we can easily live here with the provided amenities, even though we add shopping trips to the city of San Salvo, less than 30 minutes away at the coast. With traveling vendors arriving on their weekly schedule and established businesses in Tufillo, we have the big basics: meat, cheeses, fish, veggies and fruits, household goods, pharmacy, bakery, doctor’s office. There is also has a home restaurant, theater, museum, community center, two churches and the bar.

Having these amenities is important, not only for daily living, but to look to the future for repopulation of small villages. Many villages across Italy lost their young workforce as jobs just weren’t available locally for next generation. Working the land or olive groves did not prove to hold the younger population. They moved on to the bigger cities or on to other countries, and many villages were abandoned or left to struggle with miniscule population. Now the work has begun these past few years to offer a way of life that encompasses a gentle way of living with opportunities and a community thrives.

Network of Villages

The network of Borghi IN is a project funded by Confcooperative Nazionale and promoted and coordinated in Abruzzo by Confcooperative Abruzzo. The network is made up of more than 30 Abruzzo villages that have chosen to face the problems of depopulation and abandonment with a new form of business: the community cooperative. Community cooperatives are created by the citizens of a specific territory who together create and develop projects articulated in various sectors to increase the economic and social well-being of the community, create job opportunities and protect the cultural heritage of the villages.

Community Cooperatives

The Community Cooperative is: a form of social enterprise that puts the person at the center; an innovative tool that creates synergies for the increase of a common good; a business model in which people are users and beneficiaries of goods and services; A company that starts from the bottom to create a local regeneration.

The community cooperative is an immediate response to the needs of a specific territory that is given by those who experience that territory firsthand. The community cooperative is the commitment of each one to a common goal.

Objectives

The network of Borghi IN was created to structure a work system that manages to put in synergy all the community cooperatives belonging to the network. The objective of the network is to structure a development model for the most fragile local economies, capable of self-generating and bringing territorial economic and social well-being by creating new jobs and strengthening the developmentof the territory. The community cooperatives work individually on local needs and synergistically with the other cooperatives for larger and more structured projects coordinated by Confcooperative Abruzzo.

Comunità Cooperativa Tufillese l’Alveare

The cooperative was founded in 2018 as a result of the animation and promotion action of Confcooperative Abruzzo aimed at the revitalization of inland areas through the creation of community cooperatives. The aims of the institution are to be able to reverse the demographic decline of the community by creating services and job opportunities while enhancing the “dormant” assets of the territory. The cooperative supports the management costs in the first 3 years thanks to a national call for proposals from Fondosviluppo. From 6 founding members, it increased its membership base over time to the current 44. The cooperative works in a network with the other Abruzzo community cooperatives (BORGHI in RETE – Rete di Impresa Cooperative d’Abruzzo ) to develop projects in synergy throughout the Abruzzo territory.

In the context of the InAbruzzo project, where a hub for information and tourism promotion of the area is opened in each community involved, the Comunità Cooperativa Tufillese l’Alveare decided to take over and relaunch the only local shop which, with its closure, risked leaving the community without an additional essential service. Therefore, the relaunch of the village shop moves on the research and gradual introduction of products both from the neighboring territory and from the Borghiin network that involves the entire Abruzzo territory, in addition to the territorial tourism promotion on which the cooperative is also involved in the construction projects of the Monti Frentani tourist destination promoted by the Gal Maiella Verde and in the Valle del Trigno consortium which also relates to the territory and Molise operators.

We are very excited about the relaunch of La Bottega! What a fresh new look! The shop just sparkled this Christmas season with lovely displays of local products and gift baskets (crafted by Francesca Capitanio). This shop is so important to our community and we are very thankful that our coop stepped up to continuing to offer this vital service, and with a new improved look and many new products.

Going forward, as John and I age, having a shop and all the other amenities in close walking distance is just one of the many plusses of living here in Abruzzo, in a small village, full of community-minded folks. We are truly blessed. I hope you have a chance, sometime in the near future, to visit Tufillo or to even move here.