Katharina Kraiss
The content on this page was translated automatically.
Establishment and coordination of the network for solidarity agriculture
Katharina Kraiß - BSc and MSc Organic Agriculture, graduated in 2012.
Currently: Coordinator in the network Solidarity Agriculture and Environmental Education.
My background ....
For as long as I can remember, I have loved being outside, taking care of plants and animals, and wanting to learn everything about the basics of life.
I had connection with agriculture through my grandparents. In my childhood, I often spent school vacations with them on a small farm with animals, farming, vineyards and a home garden in a village in Swabia. There was good food and freedom for us children to explore the world. Of course, we were also allowed to help diligently and be present when piglets were born, had to be fed, when the sows were covered by their own boar, when baking, preserving or harvesting seeds... somehow everything was available. I remember that even as a child - back home in a suburban environment - I vehemently defended that farmers are not stupid and also that you can't sell life after all! The last two years of school I lived entirely with my grandparents.
My way to study in Witzenhausen ...
From that time on I began to learn in nature and wilderness schools to really feel at home in nature. I learned what I could find and where to find it to meet my basic needs, and by reducing it to the most immediate basics, I also learned a deep appreciation for the enormous cultural achievement that goes into agriculture and today's culture. I learned about the "CareTaking" approach, which is about taking care of a piece of land: We take a lot from the land, therefore we give back. This includes being consciously guided by the question of what speaks to the heart. It was impressive to experience how much people can create together and it even brings joy, which would be a drudgery alone. So heart and hand found each other in the joint work and care of pieces of land.
After graduating from high school, I took a year to hike and learn about different types of communities. At first, I thought I would study physics. It was something I was very good at in school, fascinated me, and showed me a lot about how the world works. However, I soon realized that I couldn't sit in windowless lecture halls all day. If my girlfriend hadn't made me aware of the course in organic farming, I probably wouldn't have discovered it.
Solidarity agriculture will be a focus...
In 2004, a beautiful and moving time began for me here in Witzenhausen. Together with a friend, I established the elective "Introduction to Nature and Wilderness Education", which is still very popular today. Towards the end of my bachelor's degree, I learned about the concept of "Community Supported Agriculture" (CSA). It gave me answers to many questions that had accompanied me throughout my studies. Therefore, in my bachelor thesis (2007), I decided to research what was available in Germany. I found eight or nine companies, some of which did not yet know about each other. In interviews, I asked them what they thought about networking. A lot of heart and soul went into this work, which many interested people from the field wanted to read. Among other things, this led to two very committed people inviting me to a meeting with the question of why there have been so few CSAs in Germany so far, in contrast to other countries. It quickly became clear that it was time to found a network here as well (2011), in order to promote Solawi and to advance an agricultural turnaround. At that time, the term "Solidarity Agriculture" (Solawi) was coined for the first time. Since then, Solawi has been growing continuously in Germany. In the same time, the Solawi Freudenthal was founded locally, where I was also active as a founding member.
After my bachelor's degree, I did an internship during which I realized that conventional agriculture was not practical for me. I decided to study the Master Ecological Agriculture in Witzenhausen and combined all possible units with my self-chosen focus on Solawi. During this time I was also jointly responsible for the establishment of the elective subject "Natural Tanning Processes". I wrote my master's thesis on the topic "Success factors for the establishment of solidarity farming". The results flowed into seminars and literature: e.g. into the elective "Solidarity Farming", which has been offered here at the university ever since. Last but not least, Witzenhausen was later mentioned in a book by a Swiss publisher as a hotbed of Solawis.
The network is growing...
Until 2012, a lot of volunteer work went into building up the Solidarity Farming Network. When I finished my studies, I needed to earn a living. It was clear then that I wanted to put my work into the network. So I helped to build up my job myself. Today, my focus is on internal network organization, as well as research and education. In addition to the network work, I organize, for example, forest vacations, work on bringing the community-supported economy into other areas of life and am active as a lecturer of a "new traineeship" for teachers of the Academy Biberkor.
Ultimately, I could do my work in any place with a digital infrastructure ... but I like to stay in Witzenhausen. The wooded landscape is beautiful, I like the mix of closeness to nature and small town, and now I also have a fruit tree plot here.
My thanks ...
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the study time here in Witzenhausen, a place that radiates out into the world on many levels.