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New
Entrepreneurship
The inhabitants
of the Marches have never lacked entrepreneurial spirit, and the region
had to face an insufficient offer of labour if compared to demand.
Long-standing experience linked to the soil cultivation and an inborn
curiosity led the region’s inhabitants to exploit as best as they could
their own traditions and creativity.
Suffice
it to think that at present the Marches host over 153,000 entrepreneurial
activities, one entrepreneur every nine inhabitants. Many of them have
recently established small artisan-concerns that renew and enhance ancient
occupations. They thus took on a precious legacy which might have
disappeared in the oblivion of modern life, clear examples may be found in
the new and creative generations of ceramists and lutists, basket-makers
and craftsmen specialized in wrought iron, prestigious goldsmiths and
refined weavers.
Many
farms slightly changed their daily activities and turned into excellent
farm holiday cottages, providing visitors with an unsullied rural
environment in which they can experience tastes and rhythms that seemed
lost.
In
the name of an increasingly important entrepreneurship which commits to be
environmentally friendly many projects were launched with the aim of
recycling waste. New professions were born from the need to protect a
territory rich in unparalleled natural resources, and new jobs include
guides, advisers and experts working in the Marches’ Natural Parks. They
have gathered in co-operatives and are now managing important activities
related to environmental education and information, as well as promoting
vocational training courses for naturalistic guides. They are working in
collaboration with the regional authorities and the WWF to lay the
foundations for the establishment of new companies focusing on
environmental services.
The
entrepreneurial initiative cannot ignore the Internet potentials as a
means for communicating and disseminating information. Dealers and
entrepreneurs, craftsmen and farmers are now starting to offer their
products on the Internet and to exploit e-commerce. E-commerce is now a
reality especially in the Marches’ hills, as entrepreneurs are being
advised by local companies specialized in this field.
© 2001
Liberation Ventures Ltd.
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