About the Gwell case in France

Gwell is a traditional product from the Brittany region of France, made from the milk of a particular breed of local cow: Bretonne Pie Noir. Gwell is a fermented product, with a distinctive flavour, traditionally eaten with typical Breton buckwheat pancakes known as galettes. Numbers of Bretonne Pie Noir declined rapidly in the 1960s and 70s. This prompted breeders to take action to preserve their ancestral culinary heritage based on common values, promoting small-scale and organic agriculture and local markets.

Making Gwell sustainable !

The strategy includes several specific objectives:

To protect the local breed, Bretonne Pie Noir;
To develop organic, sustainable, small-scale farming systems in the Brittany area;
To ensure the sustainability of the ferment used in the production process;
To promote Gwell through suitable marketing channels.

The project team collectively decided to invest in a number of research activities around Gwell (see the implementation plan).
They set up a collaborative platform to produce the Gwell ferment reference batch, with breeders maintaining control over the direction of the research.

Leaflets in English and French. Watch the video of the project!

Stay inform on the progress made: Contact Clémence Morinière (c.moriniere@gie-elevages-bretagne.fr).