Deepening our roots in the place where we live

In the South Veluwe bioregion, we are connecting cultures and economies to our place. We take the principles of agroecology as our starting point. In this way, are we taking deeper root in the area where we live.

Residents from different cultures, ages and backgrounds are coming together. They are grandparents, parents, children, teachers and students. They are farmers, researchers, entrepreneurs, cooks, artisans, activists, artists, policymakers, students – and they have many other roles.

In a world of extraction and disintegration, we rediscover from our deep past various ancient ways of collective care. We apply them in today’s world. In doing so, we cultivate resilience for the well-being of future generations, recognising the interdependence of all of life.

The South Veluwe bioregion

The South Veluwe bioregion incorporates the municipalities of Ede, Wageningen, Rhenen and Renkum. The landscape and cultures have been shaped by the glacial hills and the river Rhine, and the resulting differences in altitude and water flows. Some of the most resilient agricultural practices began here thousands of years ago thanks to glacial formations and soil diversity. This is one of the oldest bio-cultural areas in the Netherlands.

History

From the Ice Age to the Romans, the bioregion was a thriving area with a mix of hunting-gathering and forestry. Ancient burial mounds and remnants of Celtic fields where grains such as emmer wheat, buckwheat and spelt were grown, are still visible and bear witness to this. About 7000 years ago, these grains were brought by migrants from the fertile crescent, now known as Turkey and surrounding areas, a testimony of our long-lasting connection. This was a time when people still knew how to live in symbiosis with nature and understood their roles as custodians of their places. Their actions were based on interdependence and community spirit.

Colonialism

About 2,000 years ago, the Romans came to conquer the area. Even though they eventually retreated south of the Rhine, this was a pivotal moment in colonialism. At this point, we began to lose our plant knowledge, our territorial economies, our collective role as guardian of our places, and the spirituality associated with it. This devolved into a growing culture of individualisation, extractivism, competition and scarcity that persists to this day.

Back to the future

Currently, life in our bioregion is threatened by climate change, drought, pollution, loss of living soils and biodiversity and growing social conflict. Our place and the world around us are facing devastation, disintegration and despair.

However, in our territory, a considerable reservoir remains of ancient knowledge, practices and places that resonate with all life. Not without reason many pioneering agroecological farms are located in the bioregion. Many inhabitants and organisations are engaged in ecology, agriculture, healthcare, sports, education and culture. By connecting these within a collective story, we are once again creating a culture that serves all of life.

Confluence

For us, building affective relationships is the basis of care for our place and each other. We connect cultures and economies through the principles of agroecology. In doing so, together we offer answers to water, biodiversity and climate issues, as well as to our economic and cultural challenges. In this way, we take deeper root in the area where we live.

Some 150 people from the bioregion are actively involved in this process. These are people from diverse backgrounds, young and old and with roots in all corners of the world. In 2023 and 2024, these people met several times at farms throughout the bioregion. We shared stories from our region to get a picture of its qualities and potentials. We went far back in history to be able to look far ahead, hear from pioneers and set intentions for the future. We drew up an action agenda with six areas of action. 

Our action agenda

We are collectively carrying out the following actions:

Strengthening agroecological production of food and raw materials in the bioregion to become more resilient and autonomous as a bioregion, so that current and future generations can better withstand shocks and stresses.

Establishing a bioregional processing cooperative to strengthen collaboration and create value in and for the bioregion.

Creating a bioregional fund to retain the value produced in the bioregion for the region. For example by buying up land and bringing it under the commons to secure it for agroecological (food) production that contributes to biodiversity above and below the soil, water storage and climate adaptation.

Fostering a culture of care to embed new practices, to bring together the strengths of different cultures and to expand our imagination about how we can take back our role as guardians of our place. We do this for example through artistic expression, storytelling, sharing food, crafts, ceremonies and festivals.

Stimulating nature education to know again our place (where we are) and our role as humans (who we are) and to more firmly ground existing initiatives, for example in ecoliteracy, in this wisdom.

Regular meetings and exchanges to keep residents connected, to learn together, to share the many activities in our watershed, to grow our movement and to continue to develop our story together.

As residents, we thus take back our role as collective guardians of our place. This is how we are taking deeper roots in the South Veluwe bioregion.