About the Institution

The LSPA MedNet is a regional network coordinated by URGENCI (The International Network of Local Solidarity-based Partnerships for Agroecology. The network envisions the Mediterranean as a region with food-sovereign communities with agroecological socioeconomic systems. It engages in regenerative actions that bring together and heal soils, plants, animals, people, communities, cities and rural areas, by implementing and supporting local solidarity based-partnerships which foster agroecology at every level of the food system. To that end, it (i) networks among farmers, eaters, activists, and researchers in cities and in rural areas, (ii) designs and implements training and mentorship programmes adapted to our region’s specific needs, (iii) disseminates good practices, shares experiences and performs exchange visits, (iv) develops and implements joint projects, and (v) raises awareness, advocates, lobbies and forms strategic alliances at every level.

Project Description

The LSPA MedNet maps and brings together CSA (community supported agriculture) and other LPSA (Local and Solidarity-based Partnerships for Agroecology) initiatives in the Mediterranean Basin. Its first international meeting was held in Marseilles, France, in March 2016, with participation from 12 different countries in the Mediterranean Basin. It consequently organized “Learning Journeys” aimed at a deeper understanding of the realities and challenges of the networks in various countries and share ideas and practices. The Learning Journeys were supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the modality of South-South cooperation among Non-State Actors. These journeys, with participants from various Meditteranean countries in the network, included (1) Ankara, Turkey, 5-8 October 2017, (2) Beiruth and surroundings, Lebanon, November 22-25, 2017, (3) Rabat, Morocco, June 25-30,2018, and (4) Algiers, Algeria, October 30-November 2, 2018. “Common training frame editing workshops” have been organized during the latter two events. Subsequently the following training materials were produced and shared in English, French and Arabic: (1) Training Supporting Booklet for LSPA Around the Mediterranean and (2) Mediterranean LSPA Trainer’s Guide (both can be accessed under https://urgenci.net/resources/). The network members then met in Thessaloniki, Greece, in November 2018, during URGENCI’s 7th International Symposium and the 4th European Meeting. The participants worked on a new action plan, which was only partially realized due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The network was then involed in the Med Caravan project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and  implemented from 2020 to 2023, with partners from Turkey, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Croatia, France. Te project aimed to promote agroecological education in the Mediterranean region, and yielded remarkable outcomes, including the development of educational materials in seven languages and the establishment of an innovative online platform for knowledge sharing.

The exhibition will present the outputs of the abovementioned activities of the LSPA MedNet, as well some of the innovative solutions implemented by its member organizatons, including projects by DEAFAL (Italy) (https://deafal.org/) and the farmer-lead intiative TADYA assisted by the Four Seasons Ecological Living Association (Turkey) (https://tahtaciorencik.org/info-page-on-tadya).

Link to website: https://urgenci.net/the-mediterranean-csa-project

Main contact information for further communication with interested parties: Ceyhan Temürcü, ctemurcu@nullgmail.com, +90 533 2119108