In the Mediterranean basin, the importance of transitioning towards more sustainable practices and communities is increasingly salient. The industrialisation of the production model has caused the loss of living soils, biodiversity, and local seeds, leading to land abandonment, and exacerbating socio-economic inequalities (SOER 2015 by EEA). In fact, while the added value of the EU agricultural industry has grown steadily over the last ten years, the living standards of the rural communities have been declining: in Mediterranean countries suffering from the global financial crisis, a large part of the rural population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion: 38% in Greece and 25% in Italy (Eurostat 2017). As international organisations, including the FAO, the project named “The Mediterranean Caravan: Learning and Sharing Agroecology”, abbreviated hereafter MedCaravan, rely on scientific evidence to show that agroecological practices help to tackle biodiversity loss, climate change, and rural poverty. Similarly, the results of a survey done within the Mediterranean Network of Local Solidarity Based Partnerships for Agroecology (MedNet), in 2018, revealed that the “Principles of Agroecology and their importance for peasant agriculture” was one of the top 3 needs in terms of training for the network. MedCaravan is an educational project that aims to collect, valorise and share local and innovative knowledge about agroecological practices by creating high-quality educational materials and turning community members into disseminators. The Mediterranean Sea basin still hosts rich diets and diversified traditional agriculture. MedCaravan objectives are the following : 1)Support rural communities’ social inclusion through adult learning and the valorisation and empowerment of local knowledge; 2) Mainstream agroecological practices in small-scale agriculture as a mean to support rural livelihoods while at the same time fostering climate resilience and environmental sustainability; 3) Build innovation capacities by enhancing technical as well as organizational skills of partners and target groups. The activities are designed to allow the main target groups to hold, at the end of the learning experience, a comprehensive portfolio of skills that will allow them to collect and revalue local agroecological knowledge. The main target groups of the project are: 1) adult learners from food communities, farmers and consumers, 2) project partners' staff, members and volunteers 3) associated partners, 4) civil society organisations, 5) policy-makers, 6) the general public. The project is designed to be “a caravan”, a two-way process for collecting and sharing information. All 3 outputs and their complementary local and transnational activities are interdependent, resulting in a more resilient project. IO1: A “Best Practice Guide for collecting agroecological knowledge” for non-formal and non-academic stakeholders in food communities to collect agroecological knowledge and practices. IO2: An “Online Caravan Platform” that provides an open space for interaction and exchange and will also facilitate the process of "learning-trainer" knowledge sharing. IO3: An educational program “Learning on MedAgroecology” defined in a curriculum and a supporting booklet that will provide a blueprint for learning and training in agroecology. During the project, the following events will be organised: 1) a transnational training for 26 staff and members to learn the innovative methodology to collect knowledge, 2) a transnational training for 32 active LSPA members, 3) 18 national events to share the results and disseminate the project, with the participation of 282 adult learners, 4) 15 webinars and 20 podcasts will be organised, to train and share the project online for at least 140 participants. The partners will use all their dissemination capacity to share the outputs and multiply the results both at local and European levels: social media, newsletters, mailing lists, press releases, meetings and contacts with local and national media. The results will be shared in 32 European countries and with thousands of people. The Mediterranean basin is a naturally and culturally interconnected region that extends beyond political boundaries. MedCaravan will operate in Serbia, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Greece and will have an impact in the whole Mediterranean basin thanks to the Mednet and Urgenci. The project will lay the ground for deeper international cooperation for rural development and agroecology. MedCaravan will increase social interactions and repair the broken links between rural and urban actors and between generations, reinforcing social cohesion. The project will at the same time foster climate resilience and environmental sustainability. LSPA staff, members and other stakeholders will be able to advocate for agroecology and transfer their skills and knowledge to more actors of solidarity-based food systems.
MedCaravan objectives were the following : -Support rural communities’ social inclusion through adult learning and the valorisation and empowerment of local knowledge -Mainstream agroecological practices in small-scale agriculture as a mean to support rural livelihoods while at the same time fostering climate resilience and environmental sustainability -Build innovation capacities by enhancing technical as well as organizational skills of partners and target groups The main focus of MedCaravan was to collect, valorise and share local and innovative knowledge about agroecological practices by creating high-quality educational materials, turning community members into its disseminators and offering know-how and expertise to a wide population.The final goal was therefore to strengthen the Mediterranean network of LSPA.
In the Mediterranean basin, transitioning towards more sustainable practices and communities is vital. Industrialization has harmed soils, biodiversity, and local seeds, causing land abandonment and widening socio-economic disparities. Agroecology provides versatile tools to address several environmental, social and economic challenges. The Mediterranean Network of Local Solidarity_Based Partnerships for Agroecology (MedNet), revealed that the Principles of Agroecology and their importance for peasant agriculture was one of the top training needs for the network. The needs were: -Lack of educational programs on agroecology that respond to the needs of solidarity-based food communities and are specific to the Mediterranean ecosystem. - Preservation the traditional knowledge still alive in the Mediterranean countries, with practitioners who are using traditional agricultural knowledge and skills. The Mediterranean basin is a naturally and culturally interconnected region that extends beyond political boundaries. MedCaravan has operated in Serbia, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, France and has had an impact in the whole Mediterranean basin thanks to the Mednet and Urgenci.