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Who Is Actually Profiting Here? – Uniting for Common Good at #WHES25 

On Saturday January 18th, demonstrators in Berlin will take to the streets to say: “We are fed up with agri-industry!”. Ahead of the 15th annual Wir haben es satt! demo, Claudia Schievelbein of the Bauernstimme and AbL, reflects on the Weaving Common Ground gathering held in Poland last November, transition fatigue in agriculture and the need for better understanding between rural and urban areas.  […]

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Rural Gathering | From Common Ground to Common Action

During the short end of November days, the annual European Rural Gathering in Grzybów, Poland, co-organised by ARC2020 and a rich ecosystem of partners, marked another stop of our rural caravan from France to Germany to Poland. It was a meeting of heads, hearts and hands that opened doors of connection and possibility for future collaboration on rural resilience. […]

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The Power of Three – A Weimar triangle for rural Europe

Geopolitics, geography and geometry can sometimes come together as a force for good. A gathering of people from European rural and urban civil society in the Polish village of Grzybów was one such moment. The event, which was spearheaded by ARC2020 and took place at the end of November, weaved together rural, urban, farming and EU perspectives to find a common thread towards a fairer, more sustainable farming and food system. […]

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Weaving Common Ground – European Triangle for Rural Action

On 28 November – 1 December, in the rural village of Grzybów, Poland, ARC2020 is co-organising a European gathering of sustainable rural initiatives to take stock of a new political situation of Europe and to look into possibilities of cooperation: “Weaving Common Ground” between rural and urban people. In collaboration with our local hosts, the Ecological Folk High School and Ziarno association, the gathering will conclude a three-year cooperation of people in rural France, Germany and Poland.  […]

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Letter From The Farm | Looking Beyond The Farm Gate

We’re back on Ciasnocha Family Farm in Poland, where bad weather and the pressures of war in neighbouring Ukraine have made for a difficult season of haymaking. Right now many decisions are on hold as they wait for the new year and a new CAP. Meanwhile, Mateusz has had the privilege of fruitful harvests beyond the farm gate. Meeting other regenerative farmers and young entrepreneurs during a trip to the US has energised his advocacy work. […]

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Letter From The Farm | A Year In Review

We’re back on Ciasnocha Family Farm, where Mateusz is counting his blessings after a fruitful season of experimenting and investing on the farm. Luckily he found time to travel beyond the farm gate too, to seek and share knowledge, taking part in the UN Food Systems Summit, and COP26, where he championed regenerative agriculture and climate smart farming. Mateusz takes us through a memorable year on and off the farm.  […]

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Ukraine | Connecting Rural Borderlands in the Carpathians

The Carpathian Civil Society Platform is gathering energy for change in the borderlands that connect Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. These remote mountainous areas have similar characteristics and face similar challenges, such as increasing poverty and social exclusion. With war moving closer to Western Ukraine, the platform’s work to connect civil society actors in the Carpathian mountains has taken on a renewed significance. Report by Sándor Köles, Chair of Carpathian Foundation-Hungary. […]

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Letter From The Farm | Welcome to Ciasnocha Family Farm

Welcome to Ciasnocha Family Farm – a 730 ha regenerative grassland farm in the Vistula delta of northern Poland. In his first Letter From The Farm, Mateusz Ciasnocha walks us through what’s involved throughout the year on his farm. But first, Mateusz gives us a whistlestop tour of the farm’s history over three generations, from Communism to CAP, and the transition to regenerative agriculture. […]

Latest from Brussels

Super Trilogue Weakens Results-Oriented CAP

The shift from compliance towards a result-oriented delivery model was highly debated in the super trilateral meeting on the 26 March 2021. Have the EU co-legislators ensured that the CAP Strategic Plans are result-oriented, while still holding the delivery model accountable for taxpayers? Here is our analysis on the main outcomes of the meeting. […]

algal bloom in the central Baltic Sea
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Poland | Drowning in Algae: Dead Zones in the Baltic Sea

Marine life in the Baltic Sea is drowning in algae. Largely to blame is nutrient run-off from intensive pig producers, thanks to a model of factory farming largely unchecked by EU regulations. Experts are calling for closed nutrient cycles to combat eutrophication – and engaging with the polluters to find solutions. Hans Wetzels reports from Poland. […]