Though many people shy away from the word and distance themselves from its negative connotations, there is a contemporary push to reclaim ‘peasant’ as something to be proud of, to be respected. In Transylvania, Eco Ruralis is part of this effort but the true driving force, though not necessarily in...

Food Commerce has turned into one of the most controversial economic battlefields in humankind history, whilst the society of today is characterized by a single existential criterion, manifested from top to bottom: efficiency. Due to the distinctive features and functions of agriculture, the economic theory has a subtle approach of the efficiency concept in agriculture, compared...

Hay is at the base of almost all traditional meat & dairy farm products – even to the farmyard chickens eating grasshoppers brought into the yard with the new hay crop.   Hay – especially cut with a scythe, has shaped Romania’s rural cultural landscape and resulted in enormous biodiversity of...

HNV farmlands in Romania are an estimated 30% of the total utilisable agricultural area: 5 million ha, associated with smaller holding sizes in hilly areas within the Carpathian arc. Traditional farming practices are responsible for maintaining many of Romania’s (and Europe's) HNV farmlands, which deliver a host of public benefits (goods...

At Sky Hill, the Miclăuș’ summer haven, volunteers can pick berries for jam, dry medicinal plants for tea, cut grass, or stuff mattresses with sweet-smelling hay. The Miclăușes also welcome architecture students to work on design and restoration projects. Cornelia serves everyone fresh fruit and vegetables from the farm, along with...

The dairy farm is located in Nucet, Dâmbovița County in the south of the Sub-Carpathians, between the plains and the southern hills. The region has a rich agricultural heritage for growing vegetables (64% of total production) and livestock (34%). In 2016 19,170 dairy cows were registered in the county, yet only...

Between the 20th and 24th of September 2016, 85 participants from 25 countries met in Sighisoara in Southern Transylvania for the 13th annual conference of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group. In contrast to the previous 12 “EDGM, European Dry Grassland Meetings”, this year it was decided to change the name...

Last transhumance describes in photography and film the extinction of a millennial way of life. Last Transhumance is an artistic, ethnographic and sociological project totalling 8 years, 6 countries, more than 50,000 km travelled, 100,000 photos, 70 hours of footage and 100 hours audio recordings.

The 2016 Eurasian Grassland Conference will take place from the 20th to the 24th September 2016 in the historic town of Sighişoara in central Romania. This is the 13th annual meeting of the EDGG (formerly known as European Dry Grassland Meetings, EDGM), which aims to promote exchange and collaboration between...

Enike and Istvan run a CSA farm that provides many of our Ecoruralis hosts with their weekly box on a year-round basis. The essential aspects of shared risk and benefits are in place, as is the year-long commitment to their farm, even if payment is made on a weekly basis....

Currently, the development of any sector involves respecting the principles of sustainability, which means economic, social and environmental development. Moreover, organic farming is a very important field for ensuring sustainable development. Romania has great potential for the development of organic agriculture, especially due to the large number of available farmland...

After five days of discussions, the groundwork has been laid to take back, relocalise our food systems and multiply food sovereignty platforms across the continent by the participants from more than 40 countries who gathered at the second Nyéléni Europe Forum on Food Sovereignty. A huge diversity of people involved...

The specific aid for the milk producers from the disadvantaged areas was granted between 2010 and 2014, according to the Government Decision no. 755/2010, Government Decision no. 296/2012, Government Decision no. 298/2014 and M.A.R.D. Order no. 573/2014, in accordance with the provisions of the article no. 68, paragraph (1), letter...

Trade and Industry of Brașov, at the specific activity of meat chicken raising. From the meat chicken to the raising of layer hens Starting from 2002, the company gave up raising meat chicken, focusing its resources on raising and holding egg hens. Three years later, the company started on the...

Eight years ago, at the age of 17, Alexandru Tăședan started on the difficult road of performance in the field of animal husbandry. Today, he manages one of the model farms of Arad County, where he owns approximately 150 heads of cattle from Holstein Friesian, Romanian Spotted and Brown breeds....

The history of the farm begins immediately after the Revolution, when Sándor Kálmán claimed the land belonging to his family, which was collectivized at that time. “I received back 7.5 hectares, and in 1991, I bought the first tractor. It was then when I started working in agriculture. I was...

Earth – the home of over seven billion people – is a giant ecosystem, which offers living conditions to the entire biosphere through its connections between resources, animals and plants. Everything that comes to life is made from the matter existing on Earth (especially in the soil), with a minimal,...

In the National Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, the agrienvironment measure (Measure 10) deals with both agri-environment and climate aspects. This article aims to show how the areas protected under this measure contribute to adaptation to climate change and reducing the effects on the environment and on agriculture. Mitigation means limiting...

The European Union is a social and political approach meant to create a space of common values, shared by several states (the member states), aiming to equalise policies of various fields. At the same time, though, there is a constant concern to keep traditions and the different elements between communities,...

“Eco Mioriţa” Association – sheep’s milk and ecologically certified lambs Florin Dragomir started working in agriculture in 1991, when he bought the first hundred sheep, and with the money obtained from raising them he bought land in Vurpăr, Sibiu County, his wife’s native locality. The commune of Vurpăr is located...