News
Swiss biodynamic agriculture.
26.09.2018
At the end of September, we returned from a visit to Switzerland under the Erasmus + program, where we partner with organizations from different countries like Poland, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland. The focus this time was on biodynamic farming.
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Biodynamics is a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to farming which has much in common with other organic approaches. What is unique to the biodynamic approach is treatment of animals, crops, and soil as a single system. Biodynamic principles and practices are based on the ideas of Dr. Rudolf Steiner and have been developed and practiced for nearly a century.
We were based at the Plantahof School of Agriculture, Canton Graubünden, which has a long history, dating back to 19th century. Today the school cooperates with many farms in the region in which students receive their practical knowledge. During the 3-year course at Plantahof, the students spend more time on farms than at the school. The first two years are mainly based at farms, with only one day a week at the school. Only in the third year they spend more time in the school for theoretical studies.
Plantahof School of Agriculture
The teacher of Mechanics with his students.
We visited many farms and cheeseries. We tried a great variety of cheese, produced according to the principles of biodynamic farming. We talked to farmers about their incentive to hire school apprentices and to pass on their knowledge to the new generation (some with learning difficulties). The answer was that this practice is enriching their own lives and is giving a good example to their children. They have also told us about their efforts to restore old animal breeds that are now being rapidly replaced by hybrids with seemingly better qualities but at the expense of many compromises with people’s health and the environment.
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We also visited a social farm - not far from Zurich - hosting people of different ages and with different life issues. In the farm, young people live in a friendly rural environment and work with the team, which helps them gain control over their lives again.
Also very impressive was our visit to a biodynamic winery in Malans. We walked through the impeccable vineyards, surrounded by the Alps. We tasted the wines, produced by Margrit and Louis Liesch and were introduced to their long-standing work of spreading the principles of biodynamic agriculture in Europe.
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Each one of these places showed high quality and standards, with which the Swiss have every right to be proud of.
