In the face of all the escalating crises worldwide, be it the shift to the political right in society or the ongoing destruction of our livelihoods, instead of despairing alone, we want to create a space to encourage each other, recharge our batteries and form plans for the future. That is why we are organizing a large networking and education camp from, with and for people who live on the countryside, work in agriculture or are interested in it. To make this happen, we need you! We are a group of different people who are active in agriculture, work in vegetable gardening or fruit growing, live in rural areas and are committed to a good life in a variety of ways. We have different ideas and approaches, but we share similar political goals.
Why is the camp needed?
There are numerous challenges facing agriculture and rural areas today. Difficult access to land, seeds and water, a lack of new generations, the concentration of power in international corporations, ever-increasing economic pressure and poor working conditions are just some of the difficulties that people in agriculture are currently facing. The resulting disappearance of farms and lack of investment in diverse structures in the countryside are creating a lack of prospects that is driving particularly young people to move to the next largest city as quickly as possible. Especially for marginalized groups such as queer* people and BIPoCS*, there is often a lack of open, diverse and non-discriminatory spaces in the countryside. Where structures are lost and a lack of prospects arise, right-wing actors seize the opportunity to organize themselves and seemingly take the side of people in rural areas.
Many of these problems can also be found in northern Saxony and eastern Germany, where the camp will take place on an agricultural site. But it is exactly here that resistance is stirring and alternatives are emerging. From citizens’ initiatives against sealing to solidarity-based agriculture and democratic initiatives in the countryside that create a space for diversity. Not only in northern Saxony, but all over the world, (small) farmers are resisting and social struggles for a good life in the countryside are taking place, and we feel connected to them.
It is just these people that we want to bring together to make their daily work visible and to share all our experiences with each other. We want a meeting for peasant AND rural struggles, as the issues are both closely linked. Through a diverse program, we want to learn from each other, network and inspire each other. We want to use the gathering to educate ourselves and develop common strategies. For this purpose, we are inviting initiatives to report on their local projects. Both from Germany and beyond, in order to facilitate an international exchange.
Let’s spend a week camping together, networking, celebrating and revitalizing social spaces that we so often lack on the countryside!
To make all this possible, we would like you to join us! You can get in touch here if you would like to join us, or you can send us an e-mail to info[at]baelaekae.org. We look forward to you!