Through ALPA, Tara Calatei bioregion became an Agroecological Living Lab

Since 1st of May 2025, ALPA is part of ALLFacts (Agroecology Living Labs for accelerating transition), a European Horizon project.

ALL-Facts is funded under the European Agroecology Partnership and brings together 16 partner organisations from seven EU countries. ALL-Facts marks a significant step forward in fostering sustainable agri-food systems by supporting the agroecological transition through 11 Living Labs embedded in diverse territorial and environmental contexts across Europe.

On 15–16 May 2025, ALPA was represented by Lars Veraart and Zsofi Gaudi at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG) in Pollenzo, Italy, at the kick-off meeting of the 3 year project. The meeting gathered researchers, policymakers, funding bodies, and civil society actors to define a shared roadmap for the project. A set of different tools will guide the project’s trans-disciplinary efforts to design, assess, and scale agroecological practices from the farm level to territorial policies.

This inaugural meeting in Pollenzo set the foundation for a collaborative, cross-sectoral effort to bridge scientific research, farming practices, and policy development. It also highlighted the vital role of territorial innovation and stakeholder engagement in building resilient agri-food systems. As the project advances, ALL-Facts aims to demonstrate that agroecology is not only a scientific approach but a practical and policy-relevant pathway for addressing the intertwined challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, and rural development.

What is an Agroecological Living Lab?

An Agroecological Living Lab is a trans-disciplinary approache which involve farmers, researchers and other actors of the agri-food sector into co-learning, co-design, monitoring, and evaluation of agroecological practices in order to develop innovative solutions aimed at fostering agroecological principles in the community and its transition towards sustainability (Rastorgueva et al. 2024).

What does this mean for our bioregion?

With this project, ALPA is setting up and facilitating an Agroecological Living Lab in the Tara Calatei/Kalotaszeg bioregion around the scaling up and innovation of regenerative peasant-farming practices, alternative food networks and territorial markets as cultural safe-havens for agroecological knowledge.

How you can be involved:

In order to build the Living Lab, ALPA will work with local farmers, citizens, authorities, and diverse actors in the local food systems and markets. We will organize meetings and activities and report on the progress regularly through our newsletters, blog posts and social media. If you want to be actively involved or want to learn more, please contact us!