The AgroEcology Caravan (CA) is a participatory project from the HPI and EA research groups at CE3C-FCUL, aiming at strengthening the relations between farmers, consumers, and researchers committed to agroecological practices.
The project includes five initiatives:
- Farmers Opens Days: These events take place in different locations, which are emblematic of the production, distribution, transformation, research or promotion of awareness of sustainable products. They aim to strengthen the relations between sustainable farmers and consumers. Farmers show and sell their products, a Chef prepares food with these products and an open conversation on agroecological topics is held.
- Agroecological Vegetable Gardens: The CA team collaborates with schools and institutions with vegetable gardens helping them to use agroecological principles and practices; meetings among schools and/or the institutions and thematic workshops are organized.
- Agroecological Routes: Thematic routes to raise awareness of agroecological experiences occurring in Portugal. These routes are being mapped through participatory meetings. Itineraries will then be designed such that these experiences will be visited by other farmers, policy makers, the media, and consumers.
- CA Radio Program: A weekly online live program in which agroecology topics and experiences are presented and discussed with guest farmers, researchers, and policy makers.
- Policy analysis: policies are analyzed and comments are delivered.
CA is a partner of Erasmus+ The Mediterranean Caravan: Learning and Sharing Agroecology with Turkey, Serbia, Italy and Croatia. The project aims to co-construct a Best Practice Guide for collecting agroecological knowledge an Online Caravan Platform and the Learning on MedAgroecology educational program. The CA also coordinated a project from Fundo Ambiental, Rotas0, in which visits to sustainable farms were organized and documented in videos.
