OUR INITIATIVES


Our initiatives on biodiversity conservation
Biodiversity Report, Phase I, 2025: Bori Lang, ecologist and ALPA Team member has written an important research report on why Tara Calatei/Kalotaszeg is a biodiversity hotspot, with high importance also on European and global levels. In this report you can find important species of birds, trees, plants that are important to protect when it comes to biodiversity and nature conservation strategies.
Birds of Kalotaszeg, 2025: Tara Calatei/Kalotaszeg region is full of a wide variety of birds that are special to Transylvania, Romania. We would like to encapsulate this and share it with others in the region through creating 3 informational bird panels in 2025. Lars Veraart is on a personal mission to manifest this plan in this coming year. Updates are coming soon!

Our initiatives on supporting future farmers
Upcoming:
Farmer’s Survey: Our dream for the next years is to establish a minimum of 5 active agroecological farmers in the next 5 years who work the land in a regenerative way and contribute to our bioregion. But who are these farmers? Well, that’s what we want to find out through the Farmer’s Survey. In early spring we will launch a survey that will aim to all people who are interested in farming, regenerative agriculture and would be willing to move to create a more livable planet.

Our initiatives on bioregional regeneration
Upcoming:
26th MARCH 2025 – ALPA documentary screening in the Netherlands
ALPA movie screenings in our bioregion: Cluj-Napoca, Sancraiu, Jebucu – Times to be confirmed
26th MAY 2025 (TBC) – Bioregional Festival in Alunisu
Story of our Actions:
On 20-21 April 2024 we celebrated Earth day in the village of Alunisu, in Tara Calatei/Kalotaszeg region. With more than 70 participants we enjoyed workshops, exchanged ideas, and mapped all our initiatives in a giant map. We even danced and sang around the campfire. Learn more about the event: https://alpa.land/2024-bioregional-global-earth-day-mini-festival-in-alunisu-village/

Networking
Being part of different networks and events help us to grow in our work, get support and get inspiration from other parts of the world. Some of the network we are a member of, such as Access to Land Europe, Agroecology Europe or Local Futures.
Upcoming
29th-30th January 2025: Bori Lang, team member of ALPA is attending a European workshop on the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) in Brussels to understand more on earning models that can be provided for future agroecological farmers, and to brainstorm together with other Network members on how the future CAP can be more fair towards small and medium farmers and nature.
Story of our Actions:
6th-8th November 2024: Members of ALPA, Zsofi Gaudi and Attila Miklos Szocs Boruss, participated in the Annual General Assembly of the Access to Land Network in Igualada, Spain. They have attended field trips to a nearby arboretum that is mid-restoration period, participated in workshops about economic models and biodiversity conservation in farming projects, and discussed steps towards EU Land Observatory proposal.
4th-6th November 2024: Members of ALPA, Borbala Lang and Lars Veraart participated in a European seminar on Agriculture & Biodiversity in St.Martin de Londres, France. The seminar was part of the Biodiv’ Paysanne LIFE Project (2022-2027). During the seminar Lars gave a presentation on how ALPA is integrating agroecology and biodiversity protection in the concept of bioregional regeneration. More here: https://alpa.land/european-seminar-on-agriculture-and-biodiversity/
9th-12th September 2024: Access to Land Europe Network visited ALPA at our headquarters in Alunisu. These few days were filled with presentation of ALPA, field trips to the farm of Jonas Mertens in Petrinzel, to the 700 year old Huedin market and visited landscapes that to the eye look beautiful but with agroecological and environmental justice lens we saw the disparities between large agribusinesses and small-scale farming. More here: https://alpa.land/2024-a2l-network-visit-alpa/