The project aimed to establish cross-border cooperation between entities in Germany and Portugal, focusing on knowledge transfer and skills exchange. The primary goal was to create a robust foundation for a 2000m2 Global Field in Odemira, Portugal, serving as a rural hub for rethinking food systems at local, regional, and global levels. The project sought to foster partnerships among public, private, and nonprofit entities, providing an open space for dialogue, co-creation, and regenerative development in the region. At its core, the project aimed to redefine food systems through a bottom-up, community-based approach. The strategy involved a strong bilateral European partnership, direct involvement of local communities, and the creation of collaborative spaces for multiple stakeholders. Additionally, a significant research component was included to facilitate contextualised discussions on the development of inclusive food systems. The objectives were tailored to the specific needs of each target country, addressing the necessity to bring stakeholders together and establish the 2000m2 Global Field in Portugal, while in Germany, support was directed towards activating local communities and increasing engagement at their locations.
The project application originated from an analysis identifying correlated challenges and needs in both target countries, and for both partner organisations. Specifically, both target regions are facing the consequences of climate change: soil impoverishment, water scarcity, desertification, depopulation, weakening social and economic fabric and outsourcing of production. Additionally, both target regions are also facing their own specific challenges. South Alentejo region is undergoing a dramatic impoverishment of the soil, extreme water scarcity and mismanagement leading to difficulties in producing food locally and a resistance to change with regards to new models of food production such as permaculture, syntropic agriculture, agroforestry, and more. Germany is facing challenges when it comes to bridging different communities, a part of the overall regional political context with fast-rising political extremism and marginalisation of social groups. In view of not only the similarity of an entire set of challenges faced by both target locations, but also of the complementarity of their respective strengths, we designed a comprehensive inter-cultural exchange based on knowledge exchange, mutual learning and collaboration.