WOMEN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE TRADITIONAL PRODUCTS AGIOS ANTONIOS

Our Women's Agricultural Cooperative was founded in 1999 and is the first women's cooperative in Thessaloniki. The purpose of the cooperative is employment in agriculture, strengthening the family income, the development of rural areas, and finally the conservation and dissemination of tradition, through the production and marketing of a series of wholesome traditional homemade products made with care.

The need to produce these products was determined after a market research showed a vacuum for the specific products which brought about the creation of the Cooperative.
We added value to the local products and made our village famous since the products are sold under the name of Women’s Cooperative of San Antonio. We have survived despite the competition while maintaining consistent quality, good prices, and continuous display of our work through the media.
San Antonio is a village nestled in the Mountains of Kelavros, 36 km from Thessaloniki. 800 residents are currently living there, who until recently were occupied with agriculture and animal husbandry. Today, farming is a growing scarcity and the cultivation of the land can not meet the needs of our families.

The continuous declining of farming income led us to take part in seminars which were designed to support women in less developed regions.
For a limited time these products were prepared in our homes but very quickly a building that housed milk was given over to us for our use.
With funding from support programs for rural women's entrepreneurship and personal capital gains we were able to improve facilities, buy new equipment as well as buy a car for the distribution of our products.
Currently working in the Partnership are 20 women ranging in age from 20 to 75, and produce over 30 kinds of traditional local pasta, sweets and jams. We also undertake catering events.

Of great importance for the development of the Cooperative is education. In order to remain competitive and updated we continuously take part in seminars.
In 2008 using funding programs for rural development, we began the operation of a traditional coffee house (at the entrance of the village) with a fine garden and playground to come directly in contact with our customers.
The cafe customers can taste the local traditional pie and fresh pastries along with their coffee or tea.

The location is very beautiful with a great view of Mount Olympus. In this wonderful coffeehouse, full of smells from the preparation of local pastries, we offer friendly service while the customers enjoy the tranquility of the magnificent view and the natural environment.

Upon leaving the place, the customer has the moral satisfaction of having contributed to the economic strengthening of rural women who are an example of good practice to revive our villages.

Our success is allocated, to the quick response of the needs of the markets mainly in Thessaloniki, asking for traditional quality products.
We were the first manufacturers of such products and managed to establish ourselves, before the competition. We gave special importance to the traditional way of developing these products, the old fashioned way, hand made, that differ from the manufactured.

We continue to highlight and promote our products by participating in exhibitions and workshops. But the best advertising is the satisfied customers, who recommend these products to their friends and acquaintances.
The media often refers to the Cooperative through programs that deal in issues of rural development, traditional women and farming as well as health food.
The development of the partnership continues with facility modernization and better service. The Coffeehouse is constantly renovated and a small farm and a mill are also some of the future plans of the Cooperative.

Furthermore, it is very important for us to teach our children our traditions and show them the way for a healthy life.

Concluding, I would like to state that, every day, the Women’s Cooperative gives a lesson of hope, an example of good practice to revive our villages and to employ these women in such a creative way.