Carob Heritage: How the Carob Tree Tells Sicily's Story at Chiuse di Guadagna

There's a tree that has defined the landscape of southeastern Sicily for centuries. It grows between dry stone walls, marking property boundaries, and bears dark, sweet fruit that has fed entire families for generations. It's the carob tree, and its history is intricately intertwined with that of the rural communities of the Iblei region.

Yet, this extraordinary plant risks being forgotten. This is precisely where Carob Heritage was born, the project by Le Chiuse di Guadagna that is giving the Sicilian carob tree a new voice.

The carob tree: from a pillar of the rural economy to a heritage to be rediscovered.

In the countryside between Modica and Scicli, the carob tree was more than just a tree: it was an economic resource, a landmark in the landscape, and a key player in social life. Harvesting carob marked the rhythm of the seasons, involving entire families and creating moments of community sharing. Carob flour, molasses, and byproducts fueled a widespread and sustainable local economy.

With industrialization and the progressive abandonment of the countryside, many of these practices were lost. The carob groves, once carefully tended, have been partially abandoned. But the cultural heritage they represent—made up of gestures, knowledge, and relationships—has not disappeared entirely. It survives in the stories of the elderly, in the memories of families, in the deep roots of trees that continue to grow.

How Carob Heritage was born: research, community and experimentation

Carob Heritage wasn't conceived on a whim. It's the fruit of a journey that begins with listening: to the land, to the people, to the community. Developed in collaboration with MuRu – Museo Rurale , the project combines field research, oral histories, video interviews, and experimentation in the farmhouse's artisan workshop. The approach is twofold: on the one hand, the rediscovery of Sicilian agricultural traditions—the harvesting gestures, processing techniques, and handed-down recipes; on the other, the exploration of new, sustainable uses for the carob tree, capable of creating value for the local area without distorting its identity.

The concept of heritage, in this context, isn't static memory: it's active responsibility. It means preserving the past by making it accessible, understandable, and capable of generating new knowledge for the future.

CARMA: when carob becomes spreadable cream

Carob Heritage's first tangible product is called CARMA —carob and almond cream, artisanally produced at Le Chiuse di Guadagna. It's more than just a gourmet product: it's a story in a jar.

CARMA is made from a selection of carob beans harvested in the surrounding countryside and Sicilian almonds, carefully processed in the farmhouse's laboratory. Each jar captures the Hyblaean landscape, the agricultural labor, and the human relationships that accompany the cultivation and processing of carob.

This is what the project calls a "cultural product": a food that, through its taste, connects those who taste it with the history, identity, and territory of southeastern Sicily.

Experience Carob Heritage: What to do at the Le Chiuse di Guadagna farmhouse

Carob Heritage isn't just a research project: it's an experience that guests of the agriturismo can experience firsthand. Le Chiuse di Guadagna offers guided tastings of CARMA cream and other carob-based products, tours of the artisanal workshop where the processing takes place, and themed meetings with in-depth insights into the history and culture of carob in the Hyblaean region.

For those seeking authentic experiential tourism in Sicily, Carob Heritage offers a unique way to experience the region: not as a simple visitor, but as an active participant in a story that unites past and present, flavors and knowledge, people and landscape.

Want to discover Carob Heritage? Book your stay at Le Chiuse di Guadagna and enjoy an authentic experience amidst carob trees, Sicilian traditions, and the flavors of the Hyblaean countryside.

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