Training

Cultivate! offers a range of participatory trainings and workshops on agroecology, building on the expertise of our members. These are designed to strengthen the capacity of the people in your organisations or networks to transform food systems through agroecology, and can be customised to suit your specific requirements. We offer these trainings both online and in person. Below are a few examples, but do feel free to reach out to discuss your needs with us.

Introduction to principles, practices & evidence of agroecology

What is agroecology, where does it come from, how does it work and who does it involve? This training helps you to get to grips with the basics of agroecology as a practice (such as soil and water management), a science (as a way of doing action-research with farmers) and a movement (calling for the transformation of food systems). This will allow you to feel comfortable engaging with the term and referring to the latest scientific and grassroots knowledge within your work.

Documenting agroecology & surfacing lessons learned

A lot of knowledge is embedded in our practice. We are often not even aware of everything we have learned in any initiative, project or activity. In fact, one of the key barriers to food systems transformation is the lack of documentation of the knowledge built through agroecological initiatives. In this training we work with you to surface and document the insights from practice, using a set of critical questions and group conversations. The training can also be combined with a writeshop. 

Agroecology in the market garden

So agroecology sounds great on paper, but how does it work for you as a food producer? In this workshop we introduce what an agroecological farm management system can look like in practice, from stimulating ecological relationships on-farm to marketing and network-building. 

No-dig gardening

Healthy soil ecosystems lie at the base of healthy food systems, yet soil degradation is proving to be one of the most pressing challenges of our times. One potential method for regenerating soils is the no-dig approach, which can be applied from a home-garden right up to larger field production. This workshop introduces the theory behind this approach and explores how it can be implemented in practice depending on your context. You’ll gain a basic understanding of how the soil works and how we as stewards of the land can support healthy soils whilst producing food at the same time.

Domains of the transformation of food systems through agroecology

To transform the food system through agroecology requires action and change in different areas, or ‘domains’ such as knowledge, markets, equity and discourse. In this workshop we present these domains and we also explain how power, governance and agency play a central role in each domain. This workshop is based on the transformation framework developed in the book ‘Agroecology Now’.