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Where:

Bitte verfasst euer eigenes Rollenbild, wo ihr euch seht in der Kursorga und während des Kurses und ladet es hoch, ggf updaten.

Where:
Where:

Contact Improvisation

und gesellschaftlicher Wandel

ein getanzter Vortrag angelehnt an die Gedanken von Charles Eisenstein

mit Eva Daubert und Heike Pourian


Unsere Welt ist in der Krise.
Contact Improvisation (CI) könnte eine von vielen Hilfen sein, den Weg aus dieser Krise hinaus zu finden.
Immer schon ahnte ich, dass CI ein großes politisches Potenzial hat. Richtig erfassen konnte ich die Dimension erst, als ich die Bücher des Philosophen und Gesellschaftskritikers Charles Eisenstein in die Hände bekam.
Eisenstein sieht das Festhalten an der „alten Geschichte“ von Kontrolle und Getrenntsein als Ursache für die Krise und lädt uns zu einem Umdenken in Richtung Vertrauen und Verbundenheit ein.
Der Wechsel von einem System, das auf Konkurrenz und Getrenntsein basiert, hin zu einem gemeinschaftlichen Miteinander ist kaum allein dadurch beschreitbar, dass wir versuchen, ihn allein mit dem Verstand zu erfassen.

CI öffnet die Möglichkeit eines Spiel- und Forschungsraums, in dem wir körperlich experimentierend etwas erleben, das unser Geist gar nicht planen, denken könnte.

Wir können mit Fertigkeiten experimentieren und Zustände erleben, die uns helfen, daran zu glauben, dass es anders geht als die Dogmen des Kapitalimus (z.B.„mehr für dich“ bedeutet zwangsläufig „weniger für mich“) uns weiszumachen versuchen. Wer gibt denn und wer nimmt, wenn wir uns aneinanderlehnend gegenseitig unterstützen?

Eva und Heike haben einen getanzten Vortrag entwickelt. Wir begeben uns in die Welt von wacher Verbundenheit miteinander und mit der Erde und horchen, was passieren mag, improvisieren. Was im Moment entsteht, beschreiben und benennen wir und nehmen es als Anknüpfungspunkt zu Eisensteins Ideen, die wir in unseren eigenen Worten wiedergeben. Jedes Mal anders, denn jedes Mal entsteht ja ein anderer Tanz zwischen uns und mit denen, die zugucken. Die sitzen im Kreis um unser Duett herum, es kreist ein Redestein, und lädt dazu ein, eigene Assoziationen und Gedanken zu teilen und sich sich an diesem Prozess bewusst und aktiv zu beteiligen.

Zum Schluss gibt es einen Austausch in kleinen Gruppen. Ein abschließender Workshop, um es selbst zu erfahren, ist möglich.



heike pourian
hochstr. 11
d-90429 nürnberg
*49-911 - 366 802 14
*49-1573-13 60 250
www.contact-bewegt.de

Where:

The subject of the module is an alternative food production and distribution in the context of degrowth theory.

The aim of the module is to introduce the following issues from the degrowth perspective: the critique of industrial agriculture, overview of possible alternatives, such as local and organic production, cooperatives, Community Supported Agriculture, and a critical analysis of functioning and results of these alternatives.

 

 

1. Critique of the industrial agriculture.

 

Modern agriculture – costs for its success, weaknesses of the industrial agriculture, potentials for land use policies

I assume that participants have either basic or no knowledge of the concept and meaning of the de-growth (steady state) economy. Besides, they have various expertise and background.

The participants will learn:

  • How the concept of the de-growth economy can be translated into the agricultural sector

  • What are the main principles of the European agricultural policies, what do they focus on, what mechanisms are applied, etc.
    What are the meanings of sustainable agriculture, what principles contribute to the sustainable farming

  • What is the role of institutions in formulating sustainable agricultural policies, basics of (sustainable) policy designing and implementation

The module will consist of the following parts:

Introduction to the de-growth agricultural economy (principles, conflicts, implications for the society).

EU land policies on the edge of 21st century (objectives, mechanism, tools, their governance).

Agricultural policies and instruments that address the sustainable objectives. Policy design and policy cycle.

Practical part (perhaps in teams): formulation and preparation of the measures that will address the objectives which would fulfill the principles of de-growth economy

Where possible the presentation will be mostly accompanied with the practical examples or case studies.

Bibliography

Dietz R., O´Neill D. (2013) Enough Is Enough. Routledge. London.

Schumacher, E.F. 1973. Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered. Harper and Row Publishers, Inc., New York, New York.

Lievens L. (2010) Agriculture in a degrowth society: helpful indicator for the transition. Transitory indicator for paradigm shift. Conference proceedings. 2nd Conference on Economic Degrowth For Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity

A list of reading materials is also at the web page of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy: http://steadystate.org/discover/reading-list/

Websites:

http://www.steadystate.org

http://www.landinstitute.org

http://neweconomy.net

2. How international growth policies influence agricultural practices:

  •  Example 1: EU legislations and farmers practices related to them. Description of life stories of conventional farmers (if it is possible visits to the conventional farmers): What do they produce? How do they do it? What are the conditions of production? What changed until Poland is in EU? What they can and what they can not do regarding the legislations (antibiotics, medicines, conditions of production)? How they sell their products? What problems do they face? Would they change into alternative farming? Why? What do they need to change?
  • Example 2: International trade legislation vs. food production and distribution.

 

Bibliography:

 

Adams, Ryan Thomas
2008 Large-Scale Mechanized Soybean Farmers in Amazonia: New Ways of Experiencing Land, Culture & Agriculture Vol. 30, Numbers 1 & 2 pp. 32–37

Kimbrell, Andrew
2002 The Fatal Harvest. Reader. A Tragedy of Industrial agriculture, Island Press, Washington/Covelo/London.

Bonanno, Alessandro; Lawrence Busch; William H. Friedland….

1994 From Columbus to ConAgra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food, University Press of Kansas.

Hellin, Jon; Sophie Higman
2004 Feeding the Market: South American Farmers, Trade and Globalization, Kumarian Press, Bloomfield.

Magdoff F, Foster JM, Buttel F, ed. 
2000 Hungry  for  Profit: The Agribusiness. Threat to Farmers, Food, and  the  Environment.  New  York: Monthly Rev.  Press

 

 

3. Overview of possible alternatives

−        Alternatives systems of food production and distribution as a potential of change of socioeconomic relations. The role of cooperatives and CSAs in degrowing the economy.

−        Description of the role of peasant movements in the socio-economic global change.

−        The story of one CSA or a cooperative.

 

Bibliography:

 

Bebbington, Anthony
1993 Modernization from below: An Alternative Indigenous Development? Economic Geography, Vol. 69, No. 3, Environment and Development, pp. 274-292.

Desmarais, Annette Aurelie
2007 La Vía Campesina. Globalization and the Power of Peasants, Pluto Press, London.

Janssen, Brandi
2010 Local Food, Local Engagement: Community- Supported Agriculture in Eastern Iowa, Culture & Agriculture Vol. 32, Issue 1 pp. 4–16.

Marc Edelman
1999 Peasants Against Globalization: Rural Social Movements in Costa Rica, Stanford University Press, Stanford.

Netting, Robert McC.
1993 Smallholders, Householders: Farm Families and the Ecology of Intensive, Sustainable Agriculture, Stanford University Press, Stanford.

 

4. A critical analysis of functioning and results of these alternatives

 

−        A socioeconomic analysis of the food production and distribution alternatives.

−        An exercise based on a critical (ethnographic, economic, sociologic) text.

−        Conclusion we can derive from this critique: what are the risks of the alternatives, what are the limits, what should we avoid?

 

Bibliography:

 

Luetchford, Pete; Jeff Pratt
2013 Food for Change: The Politics and Values of Social Movements, Pluto Press, London.

Premat, Adriana
2012 Sowing Change: The Making of Havana’s Urban Agriculture, Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville.

 [A1]We should record the visits so that we can make a short stories for future trainings.

Where:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR COURSE PARTICIPANTS:

Degrowth & Agriculture

– A GROWL Course in Walewice/Bogoria, PL

PRACTICAL INFO KIT

Dear Participants, Learners and Trainers alike,

We are delighted to welcome you to the GROWL course “Degrowth & Agriculture – Resilient food production and distribution” which will take place in Walewice and Bogoria Górna in rural Poland.

We have chosen the more challenging option of meeting in a rural environment to be closer to the farmers and the issues they are facing. Also the time of the course is more challenging as March is known in Poland for very unstable weather (hence the old Polish proverb: “In March as in a melting pot”) but this is the time when farmers still have some time to meet and they are planning and preparing for the season.

The focus of the course will be:

  • a degrowth critique of industrial agriculture and the regional and international policies connected to it

  • a critical analysis of the functioning and results of possible alternatives such as local and organic production, cooperatives, CSAs

  • Community Supported Agriculture – pros and cons, establishing a new project

  • reflection upon the methodology of sharing knowledge and engaging people

We are looking very much forward to meeting you here in person and having a wonderful and inspiring time,

Wojtek, Agata and the rest of our team

In this document you will find the following information:

  • Practical Contacts

  • What to bring with you

  • Contact Meeting in Warsaw – Wed / 18.03. / 15:00

  • How to get to WALEWICE by yourself?

  • The programme schedule

  • Programme in detail

  • The People behind

  • Accomodation & Food

  • The Place, background, rules

Practical Contacts

Wojtek Mejorwojtekmejor@gmail.com / +48 606 673 047

[coordinator]

Agata Hummelagata@hummel.it.pl / +48 694 560 062

[coordinator and trainer]

Maggiepark.bogoria@gmail.com / +48 605 991 364

[trainer and local coordinator in Bogoria]

Pyzia Szeniawskamagdalena.szeniawska@gmail.com / +48 501 792 448

[volunteer]

What to bring with you

Please bring along warm and water resistant clothes/shoes especially for the Friday study visit in farms and evening fireplace. We will spend most of that day outside and weather in March in Poland can be quite unpredictable.

If it is not a problem for you please consider bringing a sleeping bag and mattress because we might not have enough beds for all the participants.

For further and updated info please check the GROWL platform before the beginning of the course: https://co-munity.net/growl/courses/degrowth-agriculture

For bibliography, theoretical texts and materials to read and prepare before the course please check the GROWL platform: https://co-munity.net/degrowth-agriculture-resilient-food-production-and-distribution-poland/materials



Please email the organisers if you have any special food-related  or other requirements!

Contact Meeting in Warsaw – Wed / 18.03. / 15:00

Come to this meeting and you will get to know the Syrena Squat and Food Coop DOBRZE that supplies part of our food and we will guide you directly to Walewice, the location of the course.

  • Time: 15:00 CET

  • Place: Syrena Squat

  • Address: Wilcza 30, Warszawa

  • Around 17:15 we will leave towards the Central Railway Station to catch the 18:00 train to Łowicz – you can also meet us at the Central Station before that time

  • Location on map: http://goo.gl/maps/hFhDH

  • How to get to the Contact Meeting from the CENTRUM METRO Station (not the railway station):

screen 1.jpg



How to get to WALEWICE by yourself?

If you miss the Contact Meeting in Warsaw you can also meet us at the Central Railway Station before 18:00 on 18.03. or follow the instructions below.

IMPORTANT – there’s no public transport all the way to Walewice, so to pick you up from Łowicz we need to know beforehand when exactly you are arriving, make sure to keep us informed!

Recommended option is to come to the Contact Meeting.

  • The address:

    • Walewice 13, 99-423 Poland

  • Location on the map:

  • From Frederic Chopin Airport (WAW):

    • Take a bus/train/taxi to the Warsaw Central Railway Station
      (WARSZAWA CENTRALNA)

    • Take a train to ŁOWICZ GŁÓWNY – there are direct trains every hour or so, the trip should take a bit less than an hour

    • We will pick you up from the ŁOWICZ GŁÓWNY station – wait inside by the ticket counters

    • IMPORTANT – to pick you up we need to know beforehand when exactly you are arriving, make sure to keep us informed!!

  • From Warsaw Central Railway Station (WARSZAWA CENTRALNA)

    • Take a train to ŁOWICZ GŁÓWNY – there are direct trains every hour or so, the trip should take a bit less than an hour

    • We will pick you up from the ŁOWICZ GŁÓWNY station – wait inside by the ticket counters

    • IMPORTANT – to pick you up we need to know beforehand when exactly you are arriving, make sure to keep us informed!!

  • Other Means

    • If you come by other means to Warsaw please contact us or get to the Central Railway Station (WARSZAWA CENTRALNA) and follow the instructions above






The programme schedule



Wed 18:03.

Thu 19.03.

Fri 20.03.

Sat 21.03.

Sun 22.03.

8:00

breakfast

breakfast

breakfast

breakfast

9:00

1. Intro
2. River of Changes

10:00 – 14:00
Visiting local farms

Critical approach to food alternatives –  workshop

Closing Round

13:00

LUNCH

14:00 – 15:30 LUNCH

LUNCH

Departure

14:30

15:00 Contact Meeting

1. Intro to Degrowth

2. Food Policies

1. About CS Bogoria

2. Reflecting on morning farm visits

TTT: reflections, exercise, future trainers presentations

19:00

18:00 Departure from Central Station

DINNER

DINNER
& Fireplace

DINNER

20:00

DINNER

About GROWL

Equinox Celebration

21:00

Welcome

Film screening

Transport back








Programme in detail



Wed 18:03.

15:00 – Contact Meeting @ Syrena Squat (look above for details on how to get there)

We will get to know about the squat Syrena and the Food Coop Dobrze which will supply the organic products for our Friday lunch and evening fireplace

18:00 – Departure from Central Railway Station

20:00 – Dinner at Walewice

21:00 – Welcome gathering, getting to know eachother and the place and integration activities, conducted by Czapka

Thu 19.03.

8:00 – Breakfast

9:00 – Introduction to the course, participants’ expectations and needs, formulating ground rules of the meeting, introducing the Train-The-Trainer module, conducted by Czapka

11:00 – The River of Changes: an exercise to see the intertwining of our own stories with degrowth and the GROWL project, conducted by Czapka

13:00 – Lunch

14:30 – Introduction to Degrowth, a presentation and workshop by François Schneider

17:00 – Food Policies, a presentation and workshop by Ladislav Jelinek

1.    Modern agricultural economy through the lens of de-growth principles.

2.    Land (food) policies on the edge of 21st century – what they aims at, what are the achievements, how much does it cost, actors.

3.    Practical part (in teams): formulation and preparation of the policy measures for sustainable agriculture in de-growth economy.

19:00 – Dinner

20:00 – What is GROWL? – presentation by Gualter Baptista

21:00 – Film screening “Native America before European Colonisation”

Fri 20.03.

8:00 – Breakfast

10:00 – Study visits in 4 local farms by Maggie & Łukasz Nowacki of Fundacja Transformacja

14:00 – Lunch – will be prepared as a group effort under the guidance of Marek Golonko, member of Margines Social Cooperative with products from Dobrze Food Coop

15:30 – CSA Bogoria – introduction to the new project and to similar alternatives by Maggie & Łukasz Nowacki

17:30 – Summing up of the morning visits, reflections, discussion, by Maggie & Łukasz Nowacki

19:00 – Dinner at the fireplace under the guidance of Marek Golonko with products from Dobrze Food Coop

Sat 21.03.

8:00 – Breakfast

9:00 – Critical Approach to Food Alternatives – etnographic exercise and workshop by Agata Hummel and Czapka

13:00 – Lunch

14:30 – Train The Trainer – reflections, exercise, future trainers presentations, information about tools to maintain the network and create/exchange training materials (GROWL platform) conducted by Czapka

19:00 – Dinner

20:00 – Goodbye party / spring equinox celebration – if the weather allows we will try to introduce some elements of traditional (pagan) slavic spring celebrations.

Sun 22.03.

8:00 – Breakfast

9:00 – Closing Round / Goodbye, conducted by Czapka

13:00 – Transport to Warsaw

The People behind

Agata Hummel

Is responsible for coordinating GROWL in Poland and will also lead a workshop on Saturday morning. She has been involved in GROWL since the early days. She’s teaching anthropology at the Poznań University in Poland.

Wojtek Mejor

Member of GROWL since the early days, resposible for coordinating in Poland. He’s involved in food activism, cooperativism and the promotion of degrowth and community supported agriculture.

Czapka

Trainer and activist. The main topics of her workshops are public participation, team building, communication skills and combating and preventing discrimination. Works on a daily basis in the Association of Antidiscriminatory Education where she follows educational policy of public institutions and schools in Poland. Czapka lives in a tiny straw-bale house in a small masovian vilage.

Maggie

Is coordinating the activities in Bogoria Górna and helping out with general logistics. Together with Łukasz Nowacki she will lead the activities on Friday and introduce us to their CSA project.

Łukasz Nowacki

Is an expert and practitioner in permaculture and organic agriculture. Together with Maggie he will lead the activities on Friday.

Marek Golonko

Activist and member of the Margines vegan catering cooperative. Will lead the group cooking on Friday.

Ladislav Jelinek

A researcher in the area of agricultural policies, renewable energy resources and sustainability. He was involved in several European research projects, currently he is working on the project in Siberian steppe (Kulunda) that aims at the mitigation of the land use degradation processes and developing the sustainable policy options. He was a member of the team that designed the rural and agricultural development program for 2014 – 2020 in the Czech Republic. He is a member of the International Society of the Ecological Economists and Czech Society of Agricultural Science.

François Schneider

A degrowth researcher and activist. Since 2001, he is active in the development of the degrowth concept and debate in France and Europe with publications, speeches, marches, organisation of events. Founding the research group Research and Degrowth in 2006, he initiated and organised the first and second scientific conference on degrowth for Sustainability and Equity in Paris in 2008 and Barcelona in 2010. He is involved in the project Can Decreix, a degrowth relay at the french-spanish border putting into practice ideas around degrowth where volunteers are welcome.

Gualter Baptista

An activist-researcher and project manager at Transition Town Witzenhausen, Förderverein Wachstumswende and Research & Degrowth. He is currently coordinating the EU education project “GROWL - Learning More, Growing Less” and organising the Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity. He holds a degree in Environmental Engineering and a doctoral degree in Environmental Sciences, specialised in Ecological Economics and Political Ecology. He has been engaged in civil society movements on environment, climate justice, food and economics since over 15 years. He teaches at the University of Kassel on the limits of growth and degrowth perspectives for agriculture and is a member of the Editorial board of the journal "Ecología Política".

Accomodation & Food

The hostel where we will stay used to be once a coach house. There are rooms of 2 and 3. Some are with twin beds. We will sort out on the spot what are the needs of individual participants. There will be almost 40 of us so we will have to squeeze a little bit in the available space. We hope this will be ok with you.

wozownia.jpg

The food will be prepared by a local catering service. They use predominantly local products without preservatives or enhancers and have experience cooking vegan and vegetarian dishes. On Friday 20.03. we will eat a meal prepared in a group effort by the course participants themselves under the guidance of Marek from the Margines vegan catering coop. Most of the food served during the course will be vegan (with some vegetarian exeptions).

Please email the organisers separately if you have any special food-related requirements!

The Place, background, rules

We are staying at a former coach house of a 18th century palace complex in Walewice (http://www.walewice.pl/). There’s is also a stud farm on the premises and an administrative/restaurant building where we will dine. We will work in the excessively pompous interiors of the palace.

walewice-palac1a.jpg

The choice of place is by necessity (there are not many places in Masovia ready to host 40 people, which are not hotels or fancy conference centres) but we can use it as an opportunity to reflect on its feudal past in the context of our agricultural theme.

For those interested in royal gossip: Napoleon notably had a love affair with Maria Walewska in this palace;) Here’s more information about her: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Walewska

On Friday 20.03. we will spend the day visiting agricultural sites and getting to know a new eco-project run by our collaborator Fundacja Transformacja in Bogoria Górna where they plan to set up a CSA based on permacultural agriculture.

You must be logged in and be a registered participant of the Degrowth conference to be able to register to this working group.