AGROECOLOGY STORIES: series of interviews where we present inspiring stories, people and unique organisations from Europe and Central Asia who work for agroecology development in their regions. You can read the first two interviews below. You will find them as well on the Bilim platform translated in 20 native languages of members of BILIM community.
BILIM NETWORK – WHO WE ARE: BILIM” is the interregional and multilingual online platform of exchanges for the Community of Practice on Agroecology in Europe and Central Asia (ECA). Built on 11 Pillars of the Nyéléni Declaration on Agroecology, BILIM is also the name of the Community of Practice, which promotes horizontal knowledge sharing and political capacity building at the national and regional level. The network supports coordinated advocacy work for agroecology, the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) and supports the emergence of young agroecology schools.
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INTERVIEWS: Paulina Jeziorek, Barbara Kurek
COORDINATION: Joanna Bojczewska, joanna@agropermalab.org
#1 Moldova’s Seeds of Change
Interview with Ana Benoliel Coutinho (Gradina Moldovei) by Barbara Kurek (Agro-Perma-Lab)
“It is not training in the classical
sense. Our idea is that everybody
has the knowledge and lots of
agriculture and permaculture
knowledge is very intuitive. So,
our purpose is to create
favourable conditions or an
environment, where everybody
can hone and develop their
skills. The idea is to make
education horizontal.”
#2 Restoring peasants’ dignity
Interview with Elene Shatberashvili (Elkana) by Paulina Jeziorek (Agro-Perma-Lab)
“Our strength is in diversity, taste,
flavour, quality, tradition and
hospitality. That is why agroecology is
so important for Georgia. If we develop
an agroecological way, we maintain
what is our strength. We will develop a
way that will be ecologically sound and
will keep us important in the market in
terms of quality.”
#3 Shortening the supply chain in Kyrgyzstan
“This is our idea in practice – giving full information to urban consumers and at the same time supporting small-scale farmers” – says Madina Sadirdinova from Agency for Development Initiatives from Kyrgyzstan.
#4 The Ukrainian Way of Understanding Agroecology
“A good thing is that Ukrainian farmers became more visible, they are recognized and became heroes together with our soldiers. (…) No matter what, pandemia, war, nuclear attack or the end of the world – farmers need to work in the fields.” – says Anna Danyliak, a sustainable agriculture expert from Ecoaction in Ukraine
#5 Traditional Saami Ways of Easting
“We have four traditional activities in our region that provide us food: hunting, reindeer breeding, fishing, wild fruits collecting like berries, but also mushrooms and herbs. Traditionally agriculture was not our thing. But with the influence of Russian population we started to plant potatoes, carrots, also we plant blackberries, raspberries and even strawberries.” – says Valentina Sovkina, the representative of the Coalition on Indigenous Peoples Food Systems and the head of the Russian department of The Saami Women Forum
The newsletters are a part of the inter-regional project “Sharing knowledge fro stronger Agroecology Movement in ECA” co-funded by Agroecology Fund: Collaboratives and RITA: Co-Financing.