Tartu region eRural resilience stakeholders met Latvian colleagues

On May 21st, a study visit of the Tartu region eRural resilience stakeholders and Tartu County Bioeconomy Network took place. The study visit was organized by eRural resilience partners – Association of Municipalities of Tartu County and Tartu County Development Association. This time, the focus was on exploring innovations in the bioeconomy field and learning best practices of our project partner in Latvia, Valmiera Development Agency.

• Our first visit was to the Estonian mycotechnology company Shroomwell, a leading functional mushroom producer. Participants were introduced to Shroomwell’s product development process, which currently features health products made from five of the most researched and well-known functional mushrooms. Each of these mushrooms offers distinct health benefits—such as reishi, which helps calm the mind and improve sleep quality, or chaga, renowned for its immune-boosting properties.

Beyond health supplements, the company highlighted other innovative and circular ways to enrich and utilize the fungal kingdom more effectively. These included spruce seedlings inoculated with chanterelle mycelium and repurposed mushroom-growing substrate blocks, which, while no longer usable in production, are still capable of yielding crops and being reused in circular systems.
The visit provided a deeper insight into the principles of the bio-company circular solutions and the limitless applications of fungi as a raw material across various sectors.

• The next part of the study tour took the group to Valmiera, Latvia, where we received a good overview of the Valmiera Development Agency activities by Līga Vecā, Member of the board. Also, other main areas, incl digitalization, eRural resilience project etc., were presented. Laila Gercane, Head of Development Department of Vidzeme Planning Region introduced focus areas and initiatives of the Vidzeme region, incl. Bioregion strategic areas.

Discussions also led to potential ideas for cross-border collaboration, particularly in education, bioeconomy, and network development. As regional development structures in Latvia differ somewhat from Estonia, there was a strong interest in how national and regional development initiatives are coordinated in Latvia.

• The day concluded with a visit to Valmiermuiža Brewery, a circular bioeconomy company in the Valmiera region. The brewery exemplifies how circular economy principles can be successfully integrated into business operations. Their approach ensures that every byproduct is reused—whether through internal production processes, cooperation with local farmers, or efficient logistics and packaging reuse systems.

This study visit is part of the ongoing development activities of the e-Rural resilience Stakeholder Network and Tartu County Bioeconomy Network and took place within the framework of the Interreg BSR project “e-Rural Resilience.”

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