Projects and Workshops

The projects are the operational heart of Rural Hack. Designed as research-action labs, they make it possible to turn reflection into concrete experimentation, where practical models of food system governance are tested in the field.

Every project begins with a question that arises from specific contexts—regions, supply chains, communities, and institutions—and unfolds through on-site activities: meetings, analyses, workshops, research, prototyping, and experimentation. The workshop becomes a space for exploration where ideas are tested, compared with local realities, and enriched by collective experience.

This process generates content, analysis, and structured resources. The insights generated by the projects are not left informal: they are formalized and made available on the website, with the aim of fostering broader reflection and contributing to the public debate.

Rural Hack projects function as tools for collective learning that connect thought, action, and transformation within the food system.

Workshops

Completed

Creativity and Innovation for the Sustainable Development of the Agri-Food System

Workshops

Completed

The One Health Approach between training, innovation and soil

Projects

Completed

50 years of Nuovo Cilento. A wish that looks to the future.

Workshops

In progress

December 2025

Mediterranean Diet, Health, and the FutureDieta Mediterranea, Salute e Futuro

The workshop explores how to promote and update the Mediterranean Diet—a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage—by making it compatible with modern life and the new frontiers of scientific and technological research.

Workshops

Completed

December 2025

One Health – Soil, Education, and Innovation

The laboratory promotes the One Health approach through training and technological innovation, raising awareness amongst stakeholders in the supply chain about soil management as the foundation for healthy and sustainable food production, whilst providing practical tools for the ecological transition.

Workshops

Completed

November 2024

Creativity and Innovation for the Agri-food Sector

The workshop brings together design, communication and local manufacturing enterprises to develop new languages and models forbusiness in the agri-food sector, revitalising rural identity through the exchange between different forms of knowledge.

Workshops

Completed

May 2024

Smart Wine

The laboratory supports winegrowers in adopting smart agriculture technologies — from field monitoring to winery optimisation — to combine product quality, resource efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Workshops

Completed

June 2023

Wine 4.0: technology, research, and sustainability for the wine sector

The laboratory bridges the gap between research and wine-producing businesses to promote technological innovation that can be applied to businesses of various sizes, using two concrete examples—the GREASE and VINTES projects—as models of sustainable, locally rooted production.

Workshops

Completed

October 2022

FoodSystem 5.0: Side event of the FAO Science and Innovation Forum 2022

The workshop reports on the side event organised by Rural Hack as part of the FAO Science and Innovation Forum 2022, which focused on the role of research, universities and local hubs in innovation within the food system, featuring a discussion between various stakeholders aimed at steering the transformation towards sustainable models that respect local communities.

Workshops

Completed

September 2022

Data commons to improve the efficiency and sustainability of smart agriculture. The AGRIMED project in the Mediterranean area.

The workshop explores the AGRIMED project and the role of data as a common good in smart agriculture in the Mediterranean region, focusing on how data sharing can generate value for farmers, businesses and local communities.

Workshops

Completed

July 2019

CampdiGrano 4.0: rural social innovation and Industry 4.0 technologies

The workshop describes a co-design workshop organised by a community in a rural setting to develop solutions for agriculture with precision open-source technologies applied to the cultivation of indigenous cereals, integrating open-source hardware, traditional knowledge and participatory genetic improvement.

Projects

Completed

March–December 2023

GREASE Project: Sustainable Cultivation Models for the Greco Grape Variety

The GREASE project is developing sustainable management models for the Greco grape variety, funded by the 2020–2022 Rural Development Programme, with the aim of optimising the balance between plant growth and production and increasing profitability and environmental sustainability. Rural Hack helps to disseminate the results to local wine-producing businesses.

Projects

Completed

17–19 April 2026

April of Herbs – Cilento FoodSystem 5.0

The project integrates traditional ethnobotany and a Foodsystem 5.0 vision in Cilento, transforming the collection and study of wild herbs into experiential training to enhance local biodiversity and strengthen the connection between community, landscape, and ecological transition.

Projects

Completed

13 April 2026

Women, Wine, and the Future (Vinitaly Report)

The project analyses the role of female leadership in the wine sector as a driver of sustainability and innovation, equipping businesses with advanced tools such as AI-powered monitoring to optimise their environmental impact and build a network of women-led businesses at the forefront of the digital and ecological transition.

Projects

In progress

March 2026

Tarallo Lab

The project establishes a permanent workshop in Palo del Colle to map and strengthen the tarallo supply chain, bringing together producers, local residents and innovators through workshops and co-design, with the aim of promoting local grains and traditional craftsmanship as a driver of sustainable economic development.

Projects

In progress

January 2026

A Pact for Rural Areas

The project establishes a “Pact for Living” to transform inland areas — such as Cilento — into hubs of social and technological innovation, encouraging policies that help young people to stay in or return to the area through the co-design of social and digital infrastructure.

Projects

Completed

September 2025

Campania Mater

The project promotes a new narrative around Campania’s rural heritage, creating models of territorial development based on caring for the land, promoting local biodiversity and regenerative agriculture, with the aim of generating economic, social and cultural value for rural communities.

Projects

Completed

September 2023

Agrifood Future Research

The project develops applied research on emerging trends and digital transformation in agri-food supply chains, producing studies and reports that translate complex data into accessible guidelines to guide public policies and corporate strategies towards sustainability.

Projects

Completed

Irpinia and Sannio – Promoting the Wine Industry and Digital Development

The project supports wine-producing businesses in Irpinia and Sannio — accounting for over 65 per cent of Campania’s wine production — in integrating traditional production with digital innovation, boosting their presence on digital channels and strengthening the positioning of indigenous grape varieties on global markets.

Projects

Completed

Digital Transition and Local Communities

The project positions Rural Hack as a catalyst for the digital transition in rural areas, democratising access to technological innovation for small-scale producers and younger generations through summer schools, smart agriculture workshops and international networking, with the aim of developing circular economy models that strengthen the identity and competitiveness of local communities.

Projects

Completed

May 2025

Agrifood Future Award

The project promotes the Agrifood Future Award, an accolade for businesses, start-ups and research centres that stand out for their innovative solutions within the agri-food sector, with the aim of turning these examples of excellence into replicable case studies to accelerate the sector’s ecological and digital transition.

Projects

Completed

September 2024

Agrifood Future

The project analyzes the impact of emerging technologies—AI and the Data Economy—on agri-food supply chains, supporting companies in adopting sustainable and circular practices and facilitating technology transfer to local systems.

Projects

Completed

Irpinia and Sannio at Vinitaly

The project supports wine producers in Irpinia and Sannio in their participation at Vinitaly, combining regional storytelling with digital innovation to strengthen the positioning of native grape varieties and the brand’s identity on international markets.

Projects

Completed

September 2023

Agrifood Future

The project promotes dialogue between the research community, institutions and businesses to facilitate technology transfer in the agri-food sector, supporting the adoption of sustainable and accessible Agriculture 4.0 models, with a focus on human capital as the driving force behind the ecological transition.

Projects

Completed

October 2022 / January 2023

Digital Marketing and Social Impact Communication for Food & Wine (DIGITAL4FOOD5.0)

The program trains social media managers and content curators who specialize in digital communication about the region’s food and wine heritage, combining digital storytelling, Web 2.0, and artificial intelligence to promote local products and traditions.

Projects

Completed

November 2022

Post-Harvest School

The project features Rural Hack as the Italian partner of the EIT Post-Harvest School, a program funded by EIT Food (EU) that offers an intensive, hands-on course on sustainable and regenerative agriculture and its impact on food production systems.