The Solutions are in the Soil

A 4-day course on soil

Date: June 26 (12:00 PM) – June 29 (12:00 PM), 2025

Location: Alunişu (Magyarókerek) at the local ‘school’/community center

About

Although we need healthy soils for the health of plants, animals and even the planet, we lose soils at breakneck speed. Agriculture causes desertification, erosion, deforestation, pollution and the degradation of life in general. Planet Earth is losing its biodiversity at a rate of about two hundred species per day and her climate is increasingly erratic.

Problems abound, but many solutions can be found in the soil!

Although soil life is infinitely complex, taking care of it is not. We must learn to trust the complexities and team up with all life.

During this course you will meet several important inhabitants of a healthy soil: bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes, earthworms, and more. What’s their purpose? How do they relate to each other? And more importantly: how can we help them so they can do their important work?

Sign Up Here

Program

The program may change due to weather conditions. There is ample time to get to know each other during breaks and evenings.

Thursday, June 26 (12:00 – 17:00)

Friday, June 27 (10:00 – 17:00)

Saturday, June 28 (10:00 – 17:00)

Sunday, July 29 (9:00 – 12:00)

Possible content (to be finalised)

Fungal spores
Thinking in systems: it’s all about relations
Feedback: nature speaks!
About soils: texture, structure and how to test the soil quality
Photosynthesis: the basis of life on Earth
Fun with fungi: healthy systems rely on fungal networks
The Return of the Fungi: making good use of succession
The water cycle: what’s life got to do with it?
Complex not complicated: the illusion of control
Today we go for a refreshing walk through the hills! Bring your hiking shoes!
Observing your surroundings: reading the landscape
The Soil Food Web: the interconnectedness of all things
Picking up trash along the way
Composting
Workshop by Lars: how to set up and use a composting toilet
Nutrients in the soil: how to get them inside the plant
Nitrogen: essential but troublesome
Dynamic equilibrium: striving for balance
Nutrients in the soil: how to get them inside the plant
Nitrogen: essential but troublesome
Dynamic equilibrium: striving for balance
Farewell ceremony

Facilitator

Our facilitator is Marc Siepman, soil specialist from the Netherlands.

He gives courses, lectures and writes articles about soil. Since 2021, he is also writing a book.

Please read more about him on his website.

It is Mark’s second time coming to Romania facilitating this course. He was in Alunius in July 2019 for his first very successful soil workshop.

PRACTICALS

Arrival & Departure

As much as possible, please commit to the times agreed.

Arrival before 12:00 PM on 26th June
Departure after 12:00 PM, 29th June

Accomodation

We offer 2 options:

a bed in a shared room with 3 – 4 persons: all linens, pillows and duvets are provided.
a place at our campground: you will need to bring your own gear (tent, mat, sleeping bag…)

Please clearly indicate while registering which option you choose.

Please see more info on the accommodations here.

Food

Thursday: Our first meal together will be a REGIONAL BUFFET on Thursday evening.

We invite all participants to bring some food and drinks from your home, garden, region to share with others.

Friday – Sunday: Vegetarian meals will be served at Provision from (mostly) locally produced sources and seasonal. In case you have other dietary requirements than these, please bring and provide these items for yourself.

Participation fee

In order to offer this course for an affordable and minimum price, we have been preparing for you:

Marc himself has raised funds with a crowdfunding campaign in The Netherlands to cover part of his trip.
Provision collaborates with ALPA – Land for Life. This course will be part of the European Horizon project SPADES4SOIL, in which ALPA is a project partner. Part of the organizational and hosting costs will be covered by SPADES4SOIL.

–> Your remaining costs for the accommodation and food:

We ask for a 150 RON (30 EURO) registration fee, so we can make sure your place for the course is secured.

–> Your remaining costs for the training:

Marc generally works by donation, making his courses financially accessible for everyone this way. We will therefore kindly ask you to make a donation to Marc at the end of the 4 day course, with an amount of your choice and capacity.