Continuing education and opportunities related to cork production

From 18 to 20 October, Sugherificio Molinas took part in three days of continuing education sponsored by the NGO FSC Italia in collaboration with the Town Council of Alà dei Sardi and various local bodies such as FoReSTAS, Agris Sardegna, ANARF – National Association of Regional Forest Operations, University of Sassari and the support of D.R.E.Am Italy within the ResAlliance project.

During these days, there was also a field visit and an institutional event with workshops to discuss the possibilities and the improvement of the management and the market of the Sardinian cork.

The opportunities identified could potentially affect the entire Sardinian landscape, which features highly productive multifunctional landscapes with a high environmental and social identity.
There are currently around 1,000 hectares of FSC-certified cork oak forests in Sardinia, spread over six public or private estates: these include the 169 hectares managed by Società Agricola Limbara in Calangianus, which is owned by our cork mill.

During the workshop, four working groups were set up to look into the following topics: the market, governance, ecological services and training in the cork sector in Sardinia.
Our delegation was part of the working group on governance, where the problems of cork management and possible solutions were discussed.
Other aspects that emerged were the neglect of management, competition with other countries, excessive bureaucracy, the lack of specific professionalism and information, and, on the other hand, the opportunities offered by forms of association, training, technological innovation and economic quantification studies.