Between the lines – small-scale agroforestry for sustainable food production
and preparedness

About the project

”We are facing a number of environmental and societal challenges where agroforestry can contribute solutions. It is a system that can provide abundant harvests while sequestering carbon and thus not contributing to climate change. It is a system that builds rather than depletes biodiversity. It is a system that contributes to societal preparedness in that it provides harvests without high energy consumption or the addition of synthetic fertilizers.

Agroforestry is resilient in that there is an opportunity to act based on the prevailing needs between the rows of trees, whether we need grains or potatoes or whether we are facing a high-tech or low-tech future. It is a contribution to public health in that it provides abundant harvests but also that with the right organization it invites participation and community. Against this background, we see it as significant that systems like these are given the conditions to emerge where opportunities exist. It would be particularly suitable at Holma farm where the conditions for maintenance, knowledge development, and education are good.

At Holma Folk High School we have long seen agroforestry as a method with great potential as society transitions from
fossil dependence and extractive systems to regenerative systems. The foundation for sustainable food supply lies in that the
living systems are not degraded while they provide us with food but rather that they are built up. That the life-sustaining
soil that exists on the planet does not disappear but is regenerated. That the biodiversity that keeps the functions of ecosystems intact is not depleted but increased. To succeed in this, we need to strive for supply systems that are functioning ecosystems, that sequester carbon, and that are based on a diversity of plants, animals, insects, and functions.

When the project is completed, the following goals should be achieved

• Physical infrastructure – the rows of trees should be in the ground and have been given good conditions to grow
• Annual wheel with activities – there is an annual wheel that shows which activities need to be carried out when in
  the agroforestry system, a form of living maintenance plan
• Printed and/or digital material that explains what a small-scale agroforestry system is, how it can be developed and designed – a way for us to spread understanding and knowledge about agroforestry
• A conducted seminar – where we highlight the significance of small-scale agroforestry and how these systems can be designed and organized.”

– from the project application