Solidale Italiano Altromercato

Italian Organic farming meets fair trade

 

Solidale Italiano

Italian Organic farming meets fair trade

Solidale Italiano Altromercato is a Domestic Fair Trade brand of the best typical Italian fruit and vegetables, 100% certified organic, produced with tradition and innovation, cultivated with passion and respect for the environment by small producers all over Italy.

Healthy, Sustainable and Tasty.

logo Solidale Italiano Altromercato

It is Domestic because it enhances Made in Italy, generating a positive social impact in marginal areas, subject to various kinds of exploitation (from the mafia to illegal hiring, or in depopulated areas), making the social economy grow.

It is Fair Trade because it respects the same criteria as the international Fair Trade, the criteria of WFTO.

Solidale Italiano Altromercato is a Domestic Fair Trade brand of the best typical Italian fruit and vegetables, 100% certified organic, produced with tradition and innovation, cultivated with passion and respect for the environment by small producers all over Italy.

Healthy, Sustainable and Tasty.

logo Solidale Italiano Altromercato

It is Domestic because it enhances Made in Italy, generating a positive social impact in marginal areas, subject to various kinds of exploitation (from the mafia to illegal hiring, or in depopulated areas), making the social economy grow.

It is Fair Trade because it respects the same criteria as the international Fair Trade, the criteria of WFTO.

The farmers all around Italy that are united under the brand Solidale Italiano are all leaders in organic production and are bound together by their commitment to the same values:

  • to ensure the cultivation of organic products in full compliance with environmental sustainability;

  • to oppose all forms of human and ecological exploitation;

  • to ensure fair and stable prices;

  • to promote social projects for vulnerable groups in society;

  • to set high quality standards;

  • to maintain a short production chain.

Discover more

Our value to sustainable supply chains

Italian organic producers combine tradition with the newest technologies to produce the best organic quality, with the guarantee of an ethical and fair supply chain.

Quality

All the products Solidale Italiano are grown in the warm soil of Italy. The influence of the brilliant climate and the Mediterranean sea guarantee great quality and the very best flavour. No mass production, but careful traditional local farming on cultivation grounds that have been lovingly tilled for centuries.

Environmental Sustainability

To leave a better earth for future generations, it is necessary treat the earth, the air and the water with care. For this reason, our farmers respect the soil’s siesta as it guarantees a better yield in later seasons and choose organic farming, using agricultural practices that protect the earth’s resources.

Social Sustainability

We are all firmly convinced that the growth and healthy development of the farms must go hand in hand with the growth and healthy development of the social context where we operate as well. Fair pay, good training opportunities and social activities are high on our list. Solidarity, harmony of relations and openness: we consider them to be the fundamental elements to promote the growth of collective good.

Raccoglitori di uva bianca all'interno di O.P. Agritalia

>> Discover our products <<

>> Meet our farmers <<

Our value to sustainable supply chains

Italian organic producers combine tradition with the newest technologies to produce the best organic quality, with the guarantee of an ethical and fair supply chain.

Quality

All the products Solidale Italiano are grown in the warm soil of Italy. The influence of the brilliant climate and the Mediterranean sea guarantee great quality and the very best flavour. No mass production, but careful traditional local farming on cultivation grounds that have been lovingly tilled for centuries.

Environmental Sustainability

To leave a better earth for future generations, it is necessary treat the earth, the air and the water with care. For this reason, our farmers respect the soil’s siesta as it guarantees a better yield in later seasons and choose organic farming, using agricultural practices that protect the earth’s resources.

Social Sustainability

We are all firmly convinced that the growth and healthy development of the farms must go hand in hand with the growth and healthy development of the social context where we operate as well. Fair pay, good training opportunities and social activities are high on our list. Solidarity, harmony of relations and openness: we consider them to be the fundamental elements to promote the growth of collective good.

Raccoglitori di uva bianca all'interno di O.P. Agritalia

>> Discover our products <<

>> Meet our farmers <<

Our products

Fruit and vegetables are 100% organic certified and cultivated in Italy.

Traditional Local Farming guarantees great quality and the very best flavour

All the products are grown in the warm soil of ltaly. The influence of the brilliant climate and the Mediterranean sea guarantee great quality and the very best flavour. No mass production, but careful traditional local farming on cultivation grounds that have been lovingly tilled for centuries.

Here below some examples of products grown by our farmers in Italy.

Goel Bio - arance

RADICCHIO

Sometimes known as Italian chicory because of its common use in Italian cuisine., Radicchio is grown as a leaf vegetable and usually has colorful white-veined red leaves that form a head. It has a bitter and spicy taste.
Radicchio is a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that provide essential health benefits. This leafy vegetable is low in calories, low-sodium, fat-free, and cholesterol-free.
Radicchio is high in vitamin K, which is an important nutrient for healthy bodies and brains.

ORGANIC TAROCCO ORANGE

Cultivated in the countryside between sea and hills of the province of Reggio Calabria, the tarocco oranges have a roundish shape, a thin skin, color orange red and no seeds. The pulp has reddish pigmentation, a fine texture and the taste is a perfect balance between acidity and sweetness. Oranges have important properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-ageing and anti-free radical capabilities. In combination with vitamin C, they help renew the skin’s collagen, slow down the ageing of cells and improve the elasticity of blood vessels.

ORGANIC ITALIAN GRAPE

White organic Italian grapes are the main product of OP Agritalia, actually green in color, and are evolutionarily derived from the purple grape. Mutations in two regulatory genes of white grapes turn off production of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the color of purple grapes. They are a good source of carbohydrate, primarily fructose, which is an easily digestible, simple sugar. The fruit is firm, plump and tightly attached to the stems.

Pomodori Solidale Italiano

ORGANIC TOMATO

BIA offers different varieties of organic tomato from the typical Italian datterino, very crunch and sweet, to the cherry variety that has high sapidity due to the salts absorbed naturally by the plants during the growth phase. The Cam’oro organic tomato is one of the top products from Sardinia, that stands apart for its distinctive streaked color, influenced by seasonal differences in sunlight and weather conditions. The texture is crispy and the flavor intense, this tomato can be enjoyed without adding salt. It is rich in vitamin C, carotenoids and potassium.

ORGANIC MELONS

Valdibella offers different varieties of organic melon, from the Cantalupe who has a green, lined netted rind, with a musky and not overly sweet taste. The Gialletto melon known is known also as winter melon for the fact that it can be stored for a long period that can be up to all winter, the peel is bright yellow and the pulp white. Also the mini organic water melons are produced by Val di Bella, The smooth skin is characterized by wide light green striations. The flesh is bright red and contains small black seeds.

The complete list of products, with the origin and the period of availability, can be consulted here.

Certifications

Our farms and products are certified, to prove that we aspire to the highest quality standards.
Short chains of production (production and product processing on the same location) and high-standard quality control make sure that our fruits and vegetables are in perfect shape.

>> Learn more about our supply chain <<

>> Meet our farmers <<

Our products

Fruit and vegetables are 100% organic certified and cultivated in Italy.

Traditional Local Farming guarantees great quality and the very best flavour

All the products are grown in the warm soil of ltaly. The influence of the brilliant climate and the Mediterranean sea guarantee great quality and the very best flavour. No mass production, but careful traditional local farming on cultivation grounds that have been lovingly tilled for centuries.

Here below some examples of products grown by our farmers in Italy.

Pomodori Solidale Italiano

Sometimes known as Italian chicory because of its common use in Italian cuisine., Radicchio is grown as a leaf vegetable and usually has colorful white-veined red leaves that form a head. It has a bitter and spicy taste.
Radicchio is a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that provide essential health benefits. This leafy vegetable is low in calories, low-sodium, fat-free, and cholesterol-free.
Radicchio is high in vitamin K, which is an important nutrient for healthy bodies and brains.

Cultivated in the countryside between sea and hills of the province of Reggio Calabria, the tarocco oranges have a roundish shape, a thin skin, color orange red and no seeds. The pulp has reddish pigmentation, a fine texture and the taste is a perfect balance between acidity and sweetness. Oranges have important properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-ageing and anti-free radical capabilities. In combination with vitamin C, they help renew the skin’s collagen, slow down the ageing of cells and improve the elasticity of blood vessels.

White organic Italian grapes are the main product of OP Agritalia, actually green in color, and are evolutionarily derived from the purple grape. Mutations in two regulatory genes of white grapes turn off production of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the color of purple grapes. They are a good source of carbohydrate, primarily fructose, which is an easily digestible, simple sugar. The fruit is firm, plump and tightly attached to the stems.

BIA offers different varieties of organic tomato from the typical Italian datterino, very crunch and sweet, to the cherry variety that has high sapidity due to the salts absorbed naturally by the plants during the growth phase. The Cam’oro organic tomato is one of the top products from Sardinia, that stands apart for its distinctive streaked color, influenced by seasonal differences in sunlight and weather conditions. The texture is crispy and the flavor intense, this tomato can be enjoyed without adding salt. It is rich in vitamin C, carotenoids and potassium.

Valdibella offers different varieties of organic melon, from the Cantalupe who has a green, lined netted rind, with a musky and not overly sweet taste. The Gialletto melon known is known also as winter melon for the fact that it can be stored for a long period that can be up to all winter, the peel is bright yellow and the pulp white. Also the mini organic water melons are produced by Val di Bella, The smooth skin is characterized by wide light green striations. The flesh is bright red and contains small black seeds.

The complete list of products, with the origin and the period of availability, can be consulted here.

Certifications

Our farms and products are certified, to prove that we aspire to the highest quality standards.
Short chains of production (production and product processing on the same location) and high-standard quality control make sure that our fruits and vegetables are in perfect shape.

>> Learn more about our supply chain <<

>> Meet our farmers <<

Our Producers

Solidale Italiano producers are gathered in various cooperatives in northern and southern Italy. Each of them has its own specificities, but they work for common objectives: the social and environmental sustainability of the territory in which they live.

>> Discover their products <<

EL TAMISO is a cooperative of organic agriculture producers in Veneto, a region in the north of Italy. Born in 1984 promoting organic agriculture as the only way for a healthy life, it still works for a sustainable economy and to preserve the territory from the massive attach of chemical pesticides used in conventional agriculture. Today the Cooperative has 59 members spread all over Italy, but most of them are situated in Veneto, representing the core business and where all the activities are organized: help small producers to sell their products in outdoor markets in the center of Padova, Mestre and other cities, promote organic as a way of life and create relationship with clients.

The productions of the farmers of EL TAMISO follows the principle of crop rotation; an agronomist is sent periodically to help producers to plan productions and give them support in plant care. Ethic work along with a strong social and environment responsibility are the values that join all the members of the Cooperative.

EL TAMISO promotes organic as a cultural choice for an economy and productions model based on respects of workers, of the land and the environment. The main goal of the Cooperative is the production organization and the sale of its members’ product. In order to guarantee all year long fresh fruit and vegetables for every season EL TAMISO works also with small organic producers not members from all over Italy that have the same commitments.

GOEL is a non-profit community movement in southern Italy challenging the mafia by building a legitimate economy based on ethically run social enterprises. It is a viable alternative to the political corruption and violent oppression of the Calabrian mafia, ‘Ndrangheta, which is now one of the world’s most powerful criminal organizations.

Goel creates space for the rebirth of civil society in one of the poorest and most corrupt regions of Europe. Its network of co-operatives works across a wide range of economic sectors – including organic agriculture, health services, food distribution, hospitality, responsible tourism, eco-fashion, textiles and organic cosmetics.

Goel includes 11 social co-operatives, an ordinary co-operative, two voluntary service organizations and 28 companies. Most of the farms GOEL employs about 200 people directly, excluding external or temporary workers and consultants. Co-operative members now control more than 350 hectares of Calabrian farmland, producing organic oranges, mandarins, clementine and lemons. Thanks to the special micro – climate, Calabria is an open -air botanical garden with abundant natural resources: a perfect land where agriculture can produce fruits with special flavors and scents.

GOEL is the leading movement to revive democracy and economic prosperity in Calabria. Altromercato is proud to sell the organic citrus because using the region’s natural resources is the only way to create an ethical economy based on networks of community and social enterprises.

OP AGRITALIA is a farmers’ organization, born in 2011, who gathers producers in Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily. Today the organization counts 120 workers.

All the farmers respect the ecosystem; they provide a wide range of organic fruits and vegetables, from grape to melons and peaches of different varieties.
All the chain from the production to the processing has a traceability that guarantees the goodness of the products and the respect of the land and of the workers. OP considers research a strategic key factor and they are leaders in the south of Italy in programs of zero residues crops, traceability with GPS from the field to the warehouse, modernity equipment, studies and research applied to experience and knowledge of their land.

OP AGITALIA is socially committed: they promote inclusion projects in agriculture to help people who live on the margins of society and immigrants. In the South of Italy exploitation and illegality in agriculture is frequent, working in the field is very tough and immigrants have no other choice to survive to accept these inhumane conditions. OP has several social projects like for example PRIMO PASSO, done together with Altromercato, that involves men and women from Libia, Senegal and Ivory Coast in the harvesting and packing of organic grape. The Project not only organizes training courses to learn a professional job in agriculture and the language, but also gives a house to live in and transport to work. This project is a concrete example that agriculture can be a strategic sector to fight against illegal work involving all social actors, companies and institutions.

VALDIBELLA is a cooperative founded in June 1998 in Camporeale, Palermo, Sicily, an area with a strong agricultural and rural vocation. Together with the Ithaca Salesian community, Valdibella gives job opportunity to young people with social discomfort and promots their inclusion in the way of working through social projects.

From the beginning the cooperative knew that the only way to succeed was the union between different farmers, alone each farmer could not arrive to anything, only all together it was possible to restore dignity to farmers, to promote actions against commercial and labor exploitation, focusing on organic agricultural methods on biodiversity and native crops.

The production of Valdibella focus to develop the local agricultural territory. The farmers believe in organic as the only choice for the future, applying valuable measures to establish a quality biological and environmental equilibrium. Focused on creating a more sustainable and balanced agro-ecosystem, every commercial crop is interspersed with indigenous plants (grapevine, olive, almond, fig and pomegranate). They are also surrounded by native flora and fauna in the Camporeale countryside.

The cooperative is committed to social opportunities like offering jobs to young people in difficult situation from the Itaca Community, giving them a real job opportunity. In 2004 Val di Bella was one of the first organization who entered in the movement Addio Pizzo, against racket from mafia. All products have the logo against rackedt. The products are all organic certified and typical of this area, starting from the pasta to wine to an autochthonous durum wheat flour variety. Valdibella produces also a delicious organic avocado, oranges, grapefruit, melons.

BIA is an agricultural consortium composed by organic fruit and vegetables producers born in 2011 thanks to the intuition of a group of farmers already specialized for 20 years in the sector of organic agriculture.

The members consider the aggregation as the best way to directly reach Italian and foreign customers of the mass distribution circuit and organic specialized stores, without relying on commercial operators.

Today Bia is composed by 15 farms and each of them is the leader of their own productions. The management board are the farmers itself. All members of Bia share the same values, which have set the ground for its development and growth.

It is a system of agricultural production that respects not only the environment, but also who works the land and who buys the products.

We are what we eat and workers make the company are the main claims of Bia.

The farms are located in the south of Italy, in Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Campania and Sardinia.

Social sustainability

Fair pay, good training opportunities and social activities are high on our list.

The workers who operate in the farms are not brought into contact with harmful substances. Nor are they subjected to outrageous work schedules. They are all equipped with adequate health and safety clothing and they are granted efficient security systems.

All workers are recruited through a regular and legal work contract and they are remunerated according to trade unions agreements of each category of workers. We are all firmly convinced that the growth and healthy development of the farms must go hand in hand with the growth and healthy development of the social context where we operate as well. Solidarity, harmony of relations and openness. We consider them to be the fundamental elements to promote the growth of collective good.

>> Learn more about our supply chain <<

Our Producers

Solidale Italiano producers are gathered in various cooperatives in northern and southern Italy. Each of them has its own specificities, but they work for common objectives: the social and environmental sustainability of the territory in which they live.

EL TAMISO is a cooperative of organic agriculture producers in Veneto, a region in the north of Italy. Born in 1984 promoting organic agriculture as the only way for a healthy life, it still works for a sustainable economy and to preserve the territory from the massive attach of chemical pesticides used in conventional agriculture. Today the Cooperative has 59 members spread all over Italy, but most of them are situated in Veneto, representing the core business and where all the activities are organized: help small producers to sell their products in outdoor markets in the center of Padova, Mestre and other cities, promote organic as a way of life and create relationship with clients.

The productions of the farmers of EL TAMISO follows the principle of crop rotation; an agronomist is sent periodically to help producers to plan productions and give them support in plant care. Ethic work along with a strong social and environment responsibility are the values that join all the members of the Cooperative.

EL TAMISO promotes organic as a cultural choice for an economy and productions model based on respects of workers, of the land and the environment. The main goal of the Cooperative is the production organization and the sale of its members’ product. In order to guarantee all year long fresh fruit and vegetables for every season EL TAMISO works also with small organic producers not members from all over Italy that have the same commitments.

GOEL is a non-profit community movement in southern Italy challenging the mafia by building a legitimate economy based on ethically run social enterprises. It is a viable alternative to the political corruption and violent oppression of the Calabrian mafia, ‘Ndrangheta, which is now one of the world’s most powerful criminal organizations.

Goel creates space for the rebirth of civil society in one of the poorest and most corrupt regions of Europe. Its network of co-operatives works across a wide range of economic sectors – including organic agriculture, health services, food distribution, hospitality, responsible tourism, eco-fashion, textiles and organic cosmetics.

Goel includes 11 social co-operatives, an ordinary co-operative, two voluntary service organizations and 28 companies. Most of the farms GOEL employs about 200 people directly, excluding external or temporary workers and consultants. Co-operative members now control more than 350 hectares of Calabrian farmland, producing organic oranges, mandarins, clementine and lemons. Thanks to the special micro – climate, Calabria is an open -air botanical garden with abundant natural resources: a perfect land where agriculture can produce fruits with special flavors and scents.

GOEL is the leading movement to revive democracy and economic prosperity in Calabria. Altromercato is proud to sell the organic citrus because using the region’s natural resources is the only way to create an ethical economy based on networks of community and social enterprises.

OP AGRITALIA is a farmers’ organization, born in 2011, who gathers producers in Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily. Today the organization counts 120 workers.

All the farmers respect the ecosystem; they provide a wide range of organic fruits and vegetables, from grape to melons and peaches of different varieties.
All the chain from the production to the processing has a traceability that guarantees the goodness of the products and the respect of the land and of the workers. OP considers research a strategic key factor and they are leaders in the south of Italy in programs of zero residues crops, traceability with GPS from the field to the warehouse, modernity equipment, studies and research applied to experience and knowledge of their land.

OP AGITALIA is socially committed: they promote inclusion projects in agriculture to help people who live on the margins of society and immigrants. In the South of Italy exploitation and illegality in agriculture is frequent, working in the field is very tough and immigrants have no other choice to survive to accept these inhumane conditions. OP has several social projects like for example PRIMO PASSO, done together with Altromercato, that involves men and women from Libia, Senegal and Ivory Coast in the harvesting and packing of organic grape. The Project not only organizes training courses to learn a professional job in agriculture and the language, but also gives a house to live in and transport to work. This project is a concrete example that agriculture can be a strategic sector to fight against illegal work involving all social actors, companies and institutions.

VALDIBELLA is a cooperative founded in June 1998 in Camporeale, Palermo, Sicily, an area with a strong agricultural and rural vocation. Together with the Ithaca Salesian community, Valdibella gives job opportunity to young people with social discomfort and promots their inclusion in the way of working through social projects.

From the beginning the cooperative knew that the only way to succeed was the union between different farmers, alone each farmer could not arrive to anything, only all together it was possible to restore dignity to farmers, to promote actions against commercial and labor exploitation, focusing on organic agricultural methods on biodiversity and native crops.

The production of Valdibella focus to develop the local agricultural territory. The farmers believe in organic as the only choice for the future, applying valuable measures to establish a quality biological and environmental equilibrium. Focused on creating a more sustainable and balanced agro-ecosystem, every commercial crop is interspersed with indigenous plants (grapevine, olive, almond, fig and pomegranate). They are also surrounded by native flora and fauna in the Camporeale countryside.

The cooperative is committed to social opportunities like offering jobs to young people in difficult situation from the Itaca Community, giving them a real job opportunity. In 2004 Val di Bella was one of the first organization who entered in the movement Addio Pizzo, against racket from mafia. All products have the logo against rackedt. The products are all organic certified and typical of this area, starting from the pasta to wine to an autochthonous durum wheat flour variety. Valdibella produces also a delicious organic avocado, oranges, grapefruit, melons.

BIA is an agricultural consortium composed by organic fruit and vegetables producers born in 2011 thanks to the intuition of a group of farmers already specialized for 20 years in the sector of organic agriculture.

The members consider the aggregation as the best way to directly reach Italian and foreign customers of the mass distribution circuit and organic specialized stores, without relying on commercial operators.

Today Bia is composed by 15 farms and each of them is the leader of their own productions. The management board are the farmers itself. All members of Bia share the same values, which have set the ground for its development and growth.

It is a system of agricultural production that respects not only the environment, but also who works the land and who buys the products.

We are what we eat and workers make the company are the main claims of Bia.

The farms are located in the south of Italy, in Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Campania and Sardinia.

>> Discover their products <<

Social sustainability

Fair pay, good training opportunities and social activities are high on our list.

The workers who operate in the farms are not brought into contact with harmful substances. Nor are they subjected to outrageous work schedules. They are all equipped with adequate health and safety clothing and they are granted efficient security systems.

All workers are recruited through a regular and legal work contract and they are remunerated according to trade unions agreements of each category of workers. We are all firmly convinced that the growth and healthy development of the farms must go hand in hand with the growth and healthy development of the social context where we operate as well. Solidarity, harmony of relations and openness. We consider them to be the fundamental elements to promote the growth of collective good.

>> Learn more about our supply chain <<

GET IN TOUCH

Need additional information or have a question?
Please feel free to leave a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

MIRIAM FARINELLA

mobile: +39 339 4825642
email: miriam.farinella@altromercato.it

ANDREA CANTIERI

mobile: +39 327 4295254
email: andrea.cantieri@altromercato.it

GET IN TOUCH

Need additional information or have a question?
Please feel free to leave a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

MIRIAM FARINELLA

mobile: +39 339 4825642
email: miriam.farinella@altromercato.it

ANDREA CANTIERI

mobile: +39 327 4295254
email: andrea.cantieri@altromercato.it