Saxony-Anhalt promotes the establishment of village shops in rural areas.
In 2019 the Ministry for Environment, Agriculture and Energy of Saxony-Anhalt has started a call to allocate funding for “Village Community Shops” . These shops are an important contribution to integrated rural development. The aim is to preserve the rural regions and their villages as independent living, working, social and cultural areas.
With the help of village community shops, the quality of life in the countryside can be increased:
• They are social pivotal points of village community life.
• They serve the supply of food and other goods.
• They offer ideal conditions for mutual exchange and thus for the community in the village.
• They offer services (postal acceptance, etc.).
• They contribute to the preservation and design of the village character.
Institutions, initiatives or villagers from villages with less than 2,500 inhabitants in Saxony-Anhalt are invited to participate in the model program "Village Community Shop" in Saxony-Anhalt. Together with their community, they should establish a village community shop as a lively village center.
It is about local supply, services and about bringing a social meeting place for living together in the village to life in order to promote cohesion in the village.
Resources needed
The Ministry of has allocated 300.000 Euro for the call "Village Community Shop" in 2019 to give support for the expansion or further development of existing facilities, as well as for market analyzes and preparatory concepts for new community village shops. The funding rate is 90%.
Evidence of success
the programme will be implemented in the next months and evidences of success will be identified in the course of the implementation. 7 projects have been selected in the first round.
Difficulties encountered
the programme will be implemented in the next months and challenges will be identified in the course of the implementation
Potential for learning or transfer
First applications have been submitted in May 2019 and the funding decision will be taken in June 2019. The Burgenlandkreis has promoted the application of the village Schleberoda for a concept of a village community shop. It is planned develop this shop under usage of experiences from the SARURE partners. The mayor of Schleberoda participated in the SARURE Workshop in Greece in March 2019. The partner meeting in Burgenlandkreis in June 2019 will also visit the village.
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Tags: Development, Smart
