The problem:
Snail farming is a practice that has the potential to be profitable, sustainable, and positive for the wider population. It is quite a versatile activity whose produce is relatively healthy and that has a relatively minimal environmental impact. The issue is that all too often, snail farming businesses fail quite early on, or cannot grow beyond a relatively small operation. If heliculture is to raise its profile and be part of a growing sustainable economy, the barriers holding these businesses back must be identified and overcome.
The solution:
The Snailville project aims to identify and provide solutions to barriers that prevent growth and success among snail farming businesses across Europe. Through the life of the project, the consortium will undertake research on the issues facing heliculture, design and create a training course addressing these issues, and integrate this course into a training game that users can play. In this way, users will be able to gain valuable knowledge in and engaging and straightforward way.
Project objectives:
The project has the following objectives:
- To identify barriers that prevent growth and success in heliculture businesses and then real-life solutions to them
- To develop a course that addresses these barriers, provides these solutions, and helps the user implement them
- To develop a training game that imparts this knowledge to users in an accessible and engaging way
- To create a community of practice for heliculturists and other stakeholders through a virtual Academy in which they will be able to share knowledge and broaden the reach of the game and its benefits
