SHARING KNOWLEDGE FOR STRONGER AGROECOLOGY MOVEMENT IN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

AGROECOLOGY SCHOOLS’ TOOLKIT: THURSDAY DIALOGUES IN 2023. This knowledge-sharing series is a part of the project Sharing knowledge for a stronger agroecology movement in Europe and Central Asia (ECA), supported by Agroecology Fund. It is hosted for and by the ECA Community of Practice on Agroecology BILIM and presents tools and experiences for organising and facilitating agroecology schools. Built on 11 Pillars of the Nyéléni Declaration on Agroecology (2015), the network promotes strengthening of existing agroecology initiatives, facilitates the emergence of new Agroecology Schools and coordinates advocacy work for small-scale producers’ rights based on UNDROP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas).

AGROECOLOGY SCHOOLS have become strategic spaces of social movements for scaling up agroecology, strengthening the work for food sovereignty and engaging people, especially youth, in agroecology. An Agroecology School is a self-organised safe space where farmers share knowledge and wisdom on a peer-to-peer principle. The School’s methodology is rooted in years of experience of the work done by La via Campesina in the methodology campesino-a-campesino. Being autonomous of governments or formal adult education institutions, Agroecology Schools bridge the gap between practical and theoretical knowledge, as well as technical and political skills and provide a platform to unite learning and knowledge-sharing with action research and civic engagement. They are holistic and empowering,  including two-way learning processes between policy makers, researchers and farmers to build strategic networks and prioritising peasant knowledge at the heart of food system transformation. 

JOIN US! This series is for anyone with the interest to advance Agroecology in their organisation, community and region: facilitators, coordinators, educators, policy makers, academics and activists. We hope you enjoy the stories shared and wish you a fruitful dialogue.