Many People Attended the Einkorn Harvest at the Bread Festival in Rabovo

Enthusiasts of all generations participated in the reconstruction of the einkorn wheat harvest on July 28. It was the highlight in the third edition of the Bread Festival in the Eastern Rhodopes, which took place in the village of Rabovo, Municipality Stambolovo, 27, 28 and 29 July.

The festival guests witnessed the track of the einkorn bread all the way: from start to finish, from harvesting to baking. All tasted a fresh from the oven einkorn bread, delicious organic and local food and drinks.

"Farmers have gone a long way in the selection up to the modern varieties of grain, but the old varieties that are resistant to climate change are in our tradition," the Governor of Kardzhali Ivanka Taushanova said at the opening of the festival. “The old forgotten cereal varieties are returning", Vladislav Popov, coordinator on organic farming In New Thracian Gold said. He pointed out the strong social moment of the event: the presence of farmers, food processors, traders, officials, tourists and visitors from all across the country.

The winners of the first ever Einkorn contest were announced. The master baker Svilen Klasanov was awarded with Golden einkorn for his einkorn bread with nigela. Silver einkorn went to Stanka Georgieva for an einkorn pita bread and to Georgi Angelov for einkorn beer. Katerina Rangelova (einkorn crackers), Rumen Georgiev (kvass drink from green einkorn ) and Rene Boesten (einkorn beer) were rewarded with a weekend in the guest house Tepavitsata (The Mill).

Characteristic songs performed by the the choir of the village of Avren accompanied the einkorn activities in the field and in the guest house Tepavitasata.

The Вread Festival is a newborn tradition which took place for the first time in July 2010. The interest in the authentic types of cereals grows fast thanks to the high demand on organic food and healthy products.

The einkorn producer Petko Angelov who has initiated the Bread Festival is a member of the New Thracian Gold network (NTG). He promotes the revival of einkorn since seven years. Petko has started with a handful of einkorn grains and today he grows 12 ha. Einkorn bread is one of the attractions that Petko Angelov and his wife Stefka offer to the tourists in their guest house Tepavitsata (The Mill) in the village of Rabovo. The Bulgarian-Dutch project New Thracian Gold supports Petko Angelov and organic cereal producers in the region the Eastern Rhodopes with cofinance for a sieving machine for better processing of the grains and through an investment for improving the guest houses in the region.

See here a photo story on the Einkorn event