This best practice deals with youth entrepreneurship issue as a driver for social and economic revitalization of rural areas. Here are presented two cases of young entrepreneurs, a woman and a man, who came back to their native lands to start their own activity in the agricultural sector: a dairy farm in Ossola Valley (mountain area in Northern Piedmont), which is also farmhouse and educational farm, and a farm on Asti hills (central Piedmont) that produces peppers and artichokes restoring ancient seeds.

This case study deals with the issue of village regeneration through a holistic approach.Ostana is a small village based, in Piedmont region (North-West Italy), in Western Alps at 1,300 metres above sea level, with a privileged view on Monviso mountain (3,841 metres). 

In the last century there has been a strong depopulation process, passing from 1,200 inhabitants in 1921 to 5 in 1985. Since then, an innovative repopulation process has been activated and today Ostana counts 80 inhabitants and in summer it hosts about 400-500 tourists.

Berguedà is a county located in the interior of Catalonia. Berguedà has always been sparsely populated land. The main economic activities in Berguedà have been industry and mining, which have suffered strong crises in recent years. It is a region with a great natural heritage and is close to Barcelona. 

The Escola de Pastors de Catalonia, since 12 years ago, offers a theoretical and practical training of 6 months for those people who do not come from a farm family and want to devote themselves to extensive livestock farming in a professional way. The training follows an agro-ecological approach and aims to train people to run family-size farms that are respectful of the natural and social environment, without compromising future resources, viable in the long term and with direct sales to the consumer.

In 2016 Irene decided to return to Sigüenza after a few years living in Catalonia where she learned much of her pastry and baking skills. In her previous job she was able to complete her training with stays in France and Belgium. Together with her sister Rebeca, she took over her parents' churrería and in just a few years they have turned it into a well-known bakery in the area with a considerable capacity for expansion.