After nearly 3 months in Germany to work on migrant agricultural seasonal and the state of the peasant farming, I saw through the windows of my car monocultures of any kind, intensive breeding supply mega-installations, and funny big white bubble of biogas infrastructure. The agriculture of our famous green neighbourg is not so environmentally friendly… But hidden between asparagus fields coverred by plastics and monocultures of strawberries, I had the chance to experience a nice alternative to the industrial agriculture: the cooperative Gartenkoop beside Freiburg
Summary:
The cooperative, which has 290 members, employs four full-time gardeners, supplemented by volunteers several times a week. The idea is both to access a healthier diet but also to participate in a peasant farming project in all its dimensions. But the initiative is an exception in the surrounding agricultural landscape, the nearby farm, one of the largest producer of asparagus and strawberries in the region, appears to employ between 300 and 500 workers in prefabricated housing …