Fostering an agroecological movement in the South Veluwe watershed
In the South Veluwe watershed in the Netherlands, where a range of ecological, cultural, political and social crises collapse, we are fostering a movement of care for each other, for the territory and for future generations.
Since 2023, we have been bringing together elders, youth, farmers, artists, migrants and others from across the watershed. Collectively, we learned about the deep history of our watershed and co-created a vision to strengthen the territory’s sovereignty and resilience.
To enable relationships of affect to grow into the foundation of our diverse movement, we used methods such as storytelling, ceremony and shared meals. The Nyeleni principles of agroecology and the Art of Hosting have been an inspiration for this work.
The process culminated in a 5 point Action Plan that centers life. With a growing team of local weavers, we continue to celebrate old and new cultures in our watershed by hosting art and festivals, and creating brave spaces that include those with lived experience of injustice.
Other concrete strategies include promoting agroecological production in the watershed, developing regenerative recreation and tourism, advocating for a pesticide-free community and setting up a regional community fund and land trust. We focus on scaling deep: our main aim is to create a cultural transformation for the wellbeing of current and future generations.
We believe that our movement has the potential to provide answers to the rising fascism, othering and destruction we are experiencing in our territory, our country and around the world.
