Honey Lab brings experiential learning and sustainable gastronomy to schools in Karlovac County
15/09/2026
On 9 and 10 September 2026, the Regional Development Agency of Karlovac County, implemented two practical culinary workshops as part of the small-scale pilot action “Honey Lab” in Karlovac County.
The workshops took place at Ivane Brlić-Mažuranić Primary School in Ogulin and Ivan Goran Kovačić Primary School in Duga Resa, involving around 100 pupils from the fourth and fifth grades.
The activities were designed as hands-on learning experiences centred around honey, food preparation and sustainable gastronomy. Using equipment purchased within the GUSTI pilot action, pupils actively prepared honey-based smoothie combinations, explored different ways of combining honey with other ingredients and developed their own smoothie recipe ideas.
Rather than being passive participants, the pupils were encouraged to experiment, combine ingredients and think creatively about food. The workshops therefore provided an opportunity to test an experiential approach in which gastronomy becomes a tool for learning, participation and engagement with local food culture.
Testing experiential approaches through the Honey Lab pilot
The workshops were implemented within Activity 3.5 - Small-scale pilot action “Honey Lab” in Karlovac County, which focuses on api-tourism and honey-based gastronomy through practical courses, green and digital skills development and knowledge transfer related to beekeeping.
An important purpose of the pilot action is to test equipment and practical approaches that can contribute to experiential tourism and to explore how activities centred around, gastronomy and sustainability can engage different target groups.
By involving primary school pupils, the two workshops also brought the GUSTI approach closer to younger generations. Schools and educational institutions are among the target groups identified by the project, with GUSTI encouraging the acquisition of new knowledge and practical skills through direct participation in project activities.
The Karlovac County Honey Lab pilot reflects the wider GUSTI objective of connecting gastronomy, local identity, sustainability, experiential tourism and learning. It contributes to testing how locally rooted food experiences and practical educational activities can support more sustainable and diversified tourism offers, particularly in rural and inland areas.
From local testing to sustainable gastro-cultural tourism
The workshops form part of GUSTI’s wider approach to testing experiential tourism activities in real-life settings. Through its small-scale pilot actions in Croatia and Italy, the project explores different ways of valorising local gastronomy and intangible cultural heritage while encouraging sustainable practices and active participation of local communities and other target groups.
In Karlovac County, the Honey Lab uses honey and honey-based gastronomy as a starting point for practical experiences linked to local identity and sustainability. By testing hands-on activities based on honey and locally rooted food culture, the pilot contributes to exploring approaches that can strengthen the role of gastronomy within sustainable and experiential tourism.
The experience and feedback generated through GUSTI pilot activities will contribute to the broader project process of testing, exchanging and improving approaches to sustainable gastro-cultural tourism across the Programme area.
