All around food
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
When people leave (or otherwise flee) their own homeland in search for security and prosperity abroad, they’d be happy to find a place that welcomed not only their labour, but also their heritage and dreams. “All around food” promises to be that place, welcoming refugees, vulnerable migrants and/or asylum seekers who want to live in hope, work in a socially conscious environment, and thrive alongside diverse ecosystems. It all happens around food, but maybe there is more to it than we think!
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
This is a concept for a social enterprise built around food, that promotes sustainable agricultural practices in a beautiful, safe and fair working environment, while bringing people together and ensuring a better future for those who have experienced great vulnerability.
It relies on food production technologies that are environmentally sustainable, such as aquaponics and permaculture, to deliver high quality biological food products that can be marketed as such. The built environment and infrastructure should be designed to be both functional and beautiful. They should enact thriving ecosystems, where life is respected and celebrated.
Given the right circumstances, these productive activities, and the space where they occur, can be open to the public for their enjoyment; vocational training and informal education activities can be drafted and carried out; food products can find their way to a neighbour’s house, or a friend’s restaurant; cultural events can be put in motion.
If it's deemed worthy of pursuit, it may be possible to develop a social housing project within the premises, or open a restaurant/café that can serve delicious, homemade food, with ingredients sourced on the spot. The latter option would be an obvious choice to generate a steady income down the road, but also to boost personal and collective growth.
Refugees, vulnerable migrants and/or asylum seekers are the ones who will bring it to life, by co-designing the productive ecosystems, co-managing the endeavour, and providing most of its labour inputs. They are at the center of this enterprise and should find in it not only the venue for positive cultural exchanges and social inclusion, but also the tools for self-expression and true agency.
The institutional framework should promote these goals via a set of appropriate rules and procedures spanning both operations and governance principles. Adequate templates can be found within the Social Economy sector.
Key objectives for sustainability
A key objective would be to ensure the efficient and biological production of high-quality food items. By taking up food production technologies such as aquaponics or permaculture, the introduction of toxic chemicals often present in herbicides, pesticides and inorganic fertilisers would be forbidden, as it would induce critical failures in all integrated systems.
A second main objective would be to implement organizational processes, and activities focused on circularity, reusage and regeneration. A good example of this is the recirculation of water and nutrients within aquaponic systems. Nevertheless, a top priority should be assigned to appropriate waste management procedures, either by way of preventing and recycling waste, or by way of recovering and applying organic waste into different stages of production, ranging from soil maintenance to a black soldier fly’s life cycle.
A third main objective would be to build infrastructure in accordance with best practices from an ecological standpoint, ranging from energy sourcing and consumption to water management, soil regeneration and use of recycled materials.
A fourth key objective would be to enact, in practice and in the built-in environment, a critique of our current modes of (food) production, its social and community relations, as well as our relationship with nature. Aside from the high standards for plant and animal welfare, it should be apparent to any observer that this is, indeed, an alternative and future-oriented initiative that strives for important social, technical, and ecological changes.
As an exemplary enterprise that seeks to address some of our most pressing collective challenges, be part of local networks of food production and value chains, and thus contribute to reduce to a low-carbon (local) economy, while enacting sustainable agricultural practices, the concept actively engages with several UN 2030 Development Goals (e.g.: #12 “Responsible consumption and production”).
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
A key objective in terms of aesthetics would be to set-up a food production system that is diverse, holistic and unique, designed to mimic and generate the naturally occurring processes, dynamics, and interactions of a healthy ecosystem. This is, of course, a main tenet of permaculture, the principles of which will be extensively used, for example, in the creation of beautiful forest gardens, instead of monocultural "deserts".
In the same vein, a vigorous critique of food production systems would also be directed at aquaculture’s (and aquaponics’) current standards of practice. So, instead of breeding, feeding, and keeping fish in small containers for an efficient way of delivering fast turnovers, fish would be allowed to be part of a dynamic system that boasts elegant water streams, cool shades and natural pools.
As such, another key objective is to integrate design thinking, (bio)architecture and systems thinking into an ever-more vibrant ecosystem. Indeed, a productive dimension must be a core feature of this concept, but there is also a desire to bring joy and playfulness to wherever it is placed.
So, many constructions could also be works of art; some structures could serve no other purpose than contemplation or play; walls and rooftops could be filled with different colours and textures; stunning art could provide shelter for small insects. In a world that often lacks beauty, the embedded aesthetics of every activity and building, should be an example of what creativity can achieve.
Provided that the space is beautiful in more ways than one, that should lead into a third main objective in this topic: to provide a sense of connection with the place where it happens. As such, it should provoke pleasant experiences to people, whether they are tending to animals and plants, learning new skills in vocational training programmes, soaking in the sun on a quiet Sunday afternoon, or enjoying a three-course fusion meal made from fresh ingredients locally sourced.
Key objectives for inclusion
A key objective in this topic is to make its employment dimension fully reliant on especially vulnerable individuals and groups, namely: refugees, vulnerable migrants and/or asylum seekers.
We are aware that many of the challenges that they face upon arriving to a recipient country, region, or small town, lie in the way their social inclusion pathways are planned and carried out, particularly when there is a skill gap.
Despite different needs, personal experiences and cultural heritages, we believe that food (production, transformation, and consumption) is deeply embedded in every human being, as it carries with it whether negative or positive emotions. We want to tap in the latter, by prioritizing individual and collective well-being, added social value and positive community impacts, all within a sound institutional framework. And a participatory governance model, from seed choice to sales and beyond.
Standing on principles of co-construction and cooperation, decent working conditions and fair pay, as well as inclusive decision-making processes from end-to-end, we offer a route to social inclusion and agency through food. As such, the appropriate juridical status, and organisational format, could be found within the European Social Economy, via its newest (social enterprise) or oldest (cooperative) propositions, making it yet another example of the sector’s potential.
It should be noted that a diverse set of people and backgrounds adds important meanings to the concept and should benefit both the quality of its outputs, and the overall market acceptance of them. On that regard, it is also a key objective in this topic to establish a vital and enduring relationship with the surrounding community.
This means that its members would also be involved, as fundamental stakeholders, in the making of the enterprise, standing to profit from it through increased leisurely and/or economic activity, but also through constructive (inter)cultural exchanges.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
The three dimensions are interconnected in several ways, some of which we’ll proceed to illustrate.
The environmental sustainability aspects of this endeavour must provide a vision of a holistic system. One that can represent a handful of real opportunities for a new low-carbon economy that works for people’s needs and desires, at a local level. This is a moral imperative, as there is no planet B, but we believe that such visions can only be fully attained by inspirational sights and sounds.
Aesthetics is to be blended with the technical feasibility aspects of the modern food production technologies that we hinted above. And certainly, rational economics, sound principles and rules, as well as state-of-the-art technologies, must play a key role in this project. But users will only be truly inspired to change their ways, and maybe take this journey together, if they see art worth contemplating, nature worth admiring, and surroundings worth dwelling in.
We truly feel that a deep connection to nature and to people is forged by that which is beautiful. And that is why the aesthetic dimension is deeply tied not only to the overall quality of experience, but also to the self-expression of people who have suffered grievance and, sometimes, untold pain, but hopefully are on their way to becoming who they want to be.
In this case, everything – labour, art, and everything else – needs to be done in a trustful, dignified, and sustained way. This is supported not only by a professional environment, but also by organizational features and practices that, together with overall (eco)systems resilience, enable self-expression and personal growth, provide secure and fair working conditions, and promote shared profits and wise (re)investments.
We believe that openness can be rewarded with lasting relationships and resources, beauty with collaboration and joy, and sustainable growth with meaning and fulfilment. For that, the outlined pillars must work in tandem.
