The pretext is noble and courageous: in a period of pandemic, crisis and companies on their knees. Five young Sardinians, between 27 and 38 years old, set up an entrepreneurial activity. Dreams, visions, ideas, projects, commitment, work and now the Molino su Ghimisone is a new reality, one hundred percent Sardinian, in the industrial area of Oliena, in the Nuorese area. It specializes in the production of high quality stone-ground flours and semolina, through a careful selection of durum wheat grown in Sardinia, according to local tradition.

Behind this small entrepreneurial reality there are a chef from Oliena, Federico Lai, a nutrition biologist, his fellow villagers Pasquale Serra, his partner, Riccardo Serra the miller and Rossella Mattu, a graduate in Communication Science and Aurora Fois from Nuoro, a graduate in Marketing. and communication for companies. All in the name of sustainability and the recovery of traditions. A sign of hope and courage to keep young people in Sardinia and also to stimulate other peers, to create a circular economy by enhancing local specialties and gastronomic culture.

"The wheat we will use will be exclusively Sardinian, in addition to wheat we will produce flours of various types of cereals, from the ancient local ones to the so-called" minor "ones such as oats, barley, spelled, to get to the flour of legumes for the most demanding consumers », Explain Lai and Serra, souls of the project. Craftsmanship, quality, restoration and enhancement of a territory rich in art and knowledge, uniqueness and identity, are the distinctive signs.

"Enhancing and contributing to the improvement of the local economy is one of the first objectives we set ourselves, and for us it is only a pride to be able to achieve it in our small way - adds Federico Lai - another goal is to safeguard people's health by proposing only high quality products that fully comply with quality and organoleptic standards. To preserve a good state of health over time there are many factors and nutrition plays a role of primary importance ».

In this regard, introducing bread or pasta that retain all the nutraceutical characteristics into the daily diet becomes the basis: "Our flours and semolina are alive, that is, rich in those components that are usually discarded - explains Federico - first and foremost the germ of wheat and above all the aleuronic layer of the cereal kernel, in so doing we preserve noble proteins, fatty acids and very important vitamins such as tocopherols and B vitamins as well as all mineral salts. The phenomenon of longevity in Sardinia was possible precisely because our grandparents consumed these raw flours rich in nutraceutical properties ».

A return to the origins but at the same time a contemporary vision, adhering to the latest health and wellness guidelines. "Suffice it to say that in Italy obesity and diabetes are increasing substantially and the search for healthy and quality food is one of the solutions we have left", observes the young chef and biologist. They leaf through the pages of a book Federico, Pasquale, Riccardo, Rossella and Aurora: «Sardinia was once the granary of Rome, and we must restore and enhance our identity».

But how was the project born? "Pasquale wanted to involve me in this new adventure, to combine the practical technical knowledge of each of us in our sectors in order to concretely enhance the food sector", continues Federico Lai, who was trained in Urbino, between university studies and work in a restaurant , but always with his homeland in his heart and mind. Like the other members of the team, he has a passion for the culture of his territory. From the time of middle school and then high school he enjoyed interviewing the elderly and centenarians of his country, to collect their memories, write down ancient recipes, food preparation techniques, idioms, customs. «A special thanks goes to my paternal and maternal grandparents. Everyone has contributed to pass on the strength of our culture and the importance of safeguarding our traditions. I became a nutritionist biologist and this motivated me to enhance the local raw material also and above all from the point of view of nutritional quality and the protection of people's health, who need to eat healthy food and give importance and priority to our health. Returning to Sardinia and doing business was a very courageous choice, especially when you accomplish everything with your own strength without help from anyone ».

Along the same lines, Pasquale and the others: "We are creating a network with increasingly desperate farmers as Sardinian wheat is not paid correctly and its production is slowly decaying, we want to work only Sardinian raw materials, enhance our own land and protect the most authentic culture. We are young and we believe in it ».

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