We are proud to present today a publication that has been lovingly curated by ARC and a trio of Polish partners: Polska z Natury Foundation, Cultural and Ecological Association ZIARNO and the Ecological Folk High School. Everyday Heroines – Stories Rooted in Rural Resilience is a tribute to the extraordinary strength of women who, every day, fundamentally shape the future of their communities.
The seed of this collaboration was sown on a chilly midwinter’s day in the Polish countryside in 2024. There, ARC had come together with local partners to co-organise Weaving Common Ground: A European gathering of sustainable rural initiatives.
After three days of exchanges and field visits with a diverse group of rural changemakers, basking in the warmth of human connection in the soul-soothing surrounds of the Ecological Folk High School, there was a strong appetite to move from common ground to common action. The mood was ripe for an idea: to honour our “women heroes” and their under-heard stories of rural resilience. And so a collaboration took root.
Now it bears fruit, just in time for a midsummer harvest.
The release of this brochure marks the halfway point in the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer. Many of the everyday heroines spotlighted are farmers and farmworkers, but not all, and not only. They are also chefs, bakers and winemakers, educators, activists and scientists, seed savers and guardians of the land, local politicians and business leaders, nuns and mentors, mothers, carers and community organisers, from Europe and beyond.
All these stories from different corners of the globe share a common denominator: the courage to question established patterns, and to try to fix what is broken in our world. These extraordinary heroines prove every day that sustainable development is not an empty slogan, but daily, hard work, based on cooperation and care. The resilience of our rural communities is born from a love for the land.
Everyday Heroines – Stories Rooted in Rural Resilience is a joint publication by ARC2020, Polska z Natury Foundation, ZIARNO and the Ecological Folk High School.
Click the image below to download the brochure in English or Polish
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www.arc2020.eu/greece-sisters-seeds-sharing-and-sufficiency/
