Last updated: November 2021
The Community Supported Agriculture initiative in Bonn (SoLaWi Bonn) is an economically motivated arrangement between consumers, farm businesses and certified gardeners to improve the urban provision of local, organic food. Together they develop a concept for collaboration where the consumer group commits to pay an annual fee to cover all of the farmer's expenses for production (according to individual financial capabilities) and to work placements at the farm per year. In exchange, the customer members of the initiative receive a variety of fresh, seasonal, locally produced vegetables. The farmers profit from financial security and economic stability and the ability to apply environmental friendly agriculture practices without the pressure of the market economy (1,4).
The Field at the Community Supported Agricultural Area (2016)
Photographer: Gesa Maschkowski, retrieved 08/15/2018
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Allotments
- Horticulture
- Other
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Environmental quality
- Soil quality improvement
- Waste management
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Inclusive governance
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social cohesion
- Environmental education
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Employment/job creation
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Focus
Creation of new green areas
Project objectives
1. Create a socially just, autonomous and economically feasible system for the production and delivery of local, ecologically produced, high-quality food that benefits both consumers as well as farmers (1,2).
2. Harmonise customer demand with the needs of the natural environment (2).
3. Provide people living in the city affordable access to a great variety of fresh, diverse, seasonal and regional food (2).
4. Provide locals with the opportunity to acquire knowledge about the cultivation and production of food and about the care of the earth (1, 2, 3).
5. Provide transparency about the origin and cultivation process of food products (2).
6. Provide producers with planning security and the possibility of community support (2).
7. Provide producers with a secure income and thus the opportunity to devote themselves to a healthy form of agriculture (2).
8. Create a system with fair salaries for farm businesses and its employees and make them relatively independent of global market forces since they only produced for the 100 members (micro-economy) (3).
9. Secure agricultural spaces, businesses; maintain and enhance diversity in agricultural crops and livestock (1).
10. Reducing the CO2 footprint of the production and consumption cycle of production (1,3).
Implementation activities
The consumer group consisting of around 100 people made an arrangement with 3 parties (1 business farm, 1 vegetable cultivation business and 1 Demeter certified gardener serving as an advisor for the other two) to bear the production and facility costs of their businesses collectively, help them with physical labour (planting, harvesting and other activities if required). In exchange, they receive their share of the agricultural products, milk and bread for private consumption once per week. The fees are determined a year in advance and are paid monthly, taking into account the personal financial situation of each member (solidarity) but also the overall costs for the farmers and the expected harvest. The members are also responsible for determining points of delivery and organizing product delivery to the depots where they are picked up by its members (2, 4).
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
Main beneficiaries
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
- Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
- Taskforce groups
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The SoLaWi Bonn forms part of a wider network and umbrella organization called "Solidarische Landwirtschaft e.V." whose goal is to generate a paradigm shift concerning sustainble consumption and production (2). Everybody taking part in the community supported agriculture program automatically becomes a member of this association and is supposed to pay membership fees (1). The association finds suitable collaboration partners in farming, negotiates with them, administrates participation and availability of seats, sets up the membership fees for the project in consultation with its participants and is responsible for administrative processes (2). Since participatory, non-hierarchical structures are one of the goals, the initiative is equally led by its members and the farmers involved who determine the work force required, the possible quantity of produce and provide agricultural expertise (3,5).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
No
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Crowdfunding
Type of funding
- Membership or entrance fees
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Reduced emissions
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Improved soil quality
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Generation of income from NBS
- Increased market share for green economies
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
No
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
References
1. Bonn im Wandel. (2017). SoLaWi – Solidarische Landwirtschaft Bonn. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link
2. Netzwerk solidarische Landwirtschaft (2017) Solidarische Landwirtschaft. Sich die Ernte teilen. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link
3. Bonn im Wandel (2016) Solidarische Landwirtschaft in Bonn. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link
4. Orphal, C. (2014) ‘Gemeinsam ackern auf dem Feld’, Kölnische Rundschau. Website not available
5. Schmitz, B. (2016) Solidarische Landwirtschaft. Website not available
6. Nürnberger, M. (2014) ‘Eine SoLaWi für Bonn. Wenn Menschen beginnen, sich für die Herkunft ihrer Lebensmittel zu interessieren’, Bauernstimme, June. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link.
7. Bonn im Wandel (2016) Über uns. Bonn im Wandel. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link
2. Netzwerk solidarische Landwirtschaft (2017) Solidarische Landwirtschaft. Sich die Ernte teilen. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link
3. Bonn im Wandel (2016) Solidarische Landwirtschaft in Bonn. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link
4. Orphal, C. (2014) ‘Gemeinsam ackern auf dem Feld’, Kölnische Rundschau. Website not available
5. Schmitz, B. (2016) Solidarische Landwirtschaft. Website not available
6. Nürnberger, M. (2014) ‘Eine SoLaWi für Bonn. Wenn Menschen beginnen, sich für die Herkunft ihrer Lebensmittel zu interessieren’, Bauernstimme, June. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link.
7. Bonn im Wandel (2016) Über uns. Bonn im Wandel. Accessed on September 16, 2020 Source link
The Chicken House at the Community Supported Agricultural Area (2016)
Photographer: Gesa Maschkowski, retrieved 08/15/2018