Summer school in Estonia
This summer, thirty young people took part in a four-day summer school in beautiful Matsalu National Park in the West of Estonia. The theme was sustainable food: it concentrated on permaculture and soil, but participants also learned about agricultural policies and wild plants. There was also time for participants own ideas: there was a workshop about food sovereignty and an open session where everybody could propose a discussion topic.
Workshops topics included agriculal polucy, the theory and practice of permaculture, working with different soil types, composting, and wild plants and their uses.
Participants also contributed a lot with their own knowledge. During a workshop about food sovereignty, they gathered the expertise in the room and used it to input to the joint European youth declaration on food sovereignty, which Young FoEE produced with young people across Europe.
During the open discussion spaces, participants touched on issues including permaculture, how to develop food systems without waste, and how to prepare for societal collapse.
In the evening they watched food documentaries (Food Coop and We Feed the World) and spent time networking in the sauna or walking in the beautiful surroundings. Free time was as valuable and inspirational as the formal programme. All participants had the knowledge in some field
which they could share with others. Four days together gave participants a chance to immerse themselves into the topic and get to know one another well.
***
