Program

The program- and infobooklet is already available online (Download here). As we will have a limited amount of booklets at the campsite, you are welcome to print it out or bring it digitally with you. Deviations from the booklet due to last minute updates will be communicated on the camp.

—- Thursday, 19th September —-

Thursday 3:00 pm Tent A

Destruction of nature, capitalisms, growth and degrowth. Causes of crises and ways out in times of social upheaval.

When talking about the destruction of nature, climate change or environmental protection, in public discourses as well as in the scientific mainstream, people mostly discuss technical controllability of nature whereby the raise in energy- and ressource efficiency is picked out as a central theme. Nature conservation shall be the consequence of legal requirements or normative and moral standards A question mostly ignored or reduced is the one of the political and economical causes of the present destruction of nature, in other words: Which connection exists between the practice of the capitalistic system and the current overexploitation of nature and the destruction of our natural livelihood, and which social perspective emerge from this question?

Dr. Athanasios Karathanassis, a political and social scientist, has a teaching position at the Leibniz University Hannover and others. The focuses of work are the political economy of globalisation, societal relationships to nature, the development of social crisis and social movements.

Thursday 3:00 pm Tent B

The chemistry of fertilizer production

Everyone talks about synthetic fertilizers, but what exactly are they? what is the difference between nitrogen fertilizers, synthetic fertilizers, and mineral fertilizers? how does the haber boch process actually work, and how are these fertilizers actually produced? come for a nerdy talk on all of the above amazing questions with everyone’s favorite chemist.

(Activist from Free the Soil)

Thursday 3:00 pm Tent C

Practical soil test: We will dig in the soil to see the layers, texture, water and so on

Thursday 3:00 pm Tent D

You can’t CRISPR us! – Genetic engineering as a response to climate change, hunger and agricultural challenges?

There they are again, the well-known promises of genetic engineering and the biotech industry! The new genetic engineering methods such as CRISPR-Cas will answer the big questions of world nutrition and agriculture in the laboratories. And what are our views on this? In order to be able to position ourselves, we want to give you an input on the current debates about CRISPR and Co. What is behind the new techniques? What is in store for us? Do we need genetic engineering? We want to ask ourselves these questions and discuss them together.

(Judith Düesberg, Gene-ethical Network / GeN)

Thursday 7:30 pm Circus tent

Discussion: Steps towards a climate-friendly agricultural transition

What would have to happen in the next 5 years for a climate-just and solidary agriculture? We want to approach this question together. First of all, Lena Michelsen, Policy Advisor Food and Agriculture at the INKOTA-netzwerk e.V., will give an overview of the challenges and potentials. Afterwards, we will exchange opinions and spin common ideas in a fishbowl discussion.

 

—- Friday, 20th September —-

Friday 10:00 am Tent A

Animal Production & Climate Change, Action against animal production in 2020

Agriculture is among the greatest contributors of global warming- locally as well as globally.

Its climate relevance has partially reached the general public.

Less recognised- and less popular – is the fact that animal production is the primary source of climate-damaging emissions within the agriculutural sector.

Convenient stories about ecological harmlessness of organic meat and milk or romantically referring to indigenous cultures block out significant cause-effect relationships.

The growth of animal production as a „finishing industry“ is a perfect example of profit based capitalist production, not a production based on needs.

The extreme exploitation of workers within the livestock industry is accompanied by limiting farm animals to means of production.

Various groups have been fighting against the increasingly powerful industrial farm animal production for years- unfortunately so far mostly isolated and without a common strategy.

But this is about to change. In 2020 we want to act together with various actors who are interested in stopping animal production in a mass action against this industry.

(Activists from Animal Climate Action)

Friday 10:00 am Tent B

YARA, greenwashing and peasant resistance in Africa South of Sahara

This decade’s largest fossil gas reserves have been discovered of shore northern Mozambique. Now YARA has publicly announced plans of establishing a nitrogen fertilizer plant in relation to the gas. Local peasants movement UPC (Via Campesina) resist the project and the international campaign against the combined fossil & agroindustry is taking form.

(Activist from Free the Soil)

Friday 10:00 am Tent C

Land reform or collectivisation?

The traditional left has always struggled with utopian designs of a different agriculture and the relationship to the peasantry. Marx’s call for the abolition of the opposition between cities and the countryside – including the closure of material cycles – has remained abstract. As a result of the Russian Revolution, there was first a land reform with the abolition of the monetary economy and state grain acquisition, then the “new economic policy” with a resigned introduction of the monetary economy, finally cooperative, collective and state forms (sovkhoz, kolkhoz) following the violent proletarianization of the peasantry, with ecological disadvantages, but also ultimately social progress with regard to fixed working hours and the breaking up of the division of labour between the genders, whereby these advances did not consistently cause storms of enthusiasm.

Again today the peasant farmers appear as the politically strongest force for left agricultural politiks. However, it remains to be seen where a post-capitalist trip to the countryside could lead.

Open exchange of views, initiated by Animal Climate Action.

Friday 3:00 pm Tent A

Social Ecology and Democratic Confederalism

In Rojava, the Kurdish influenced Northern part of Syria, which is in the middle of a war over the reshaping of the Middle East,a new society is being build up. It focuses not only on the liberation of women and the start of grass-roots democratic community councils, but also wants to tackle the ecological problems in the region, despite the embargo and the attacks by the Turkish army.

The ecological awakening is supported by Internationalists*, who started the campaign Make Rojava Green Again to contribute to the reforestation of the region.

We want to discuss with you how imperialism, war and the destruction of nature belong together and how we can bring together various social and ecological fights for another world.

(Activists from Make Rojava Green Again)

Friday 3:00 pm Tent B

Anastasia – New right wing rural settlers

All the way back to the end of the 19th century people started settling in rural areas to protect their homeland and traditions as well as to preserve a concept of nationality and race. They did this through an ecological lifestyle and the preservation of nature.

A few years ago a new right wing rural settlers movement appeared. It‘s called Anastasia and is based on reactionary and racial ideas of „nativeness and pureness“ and an anti-Semitic salvific history. Followers spread conspiracy theories and present themselves as racist and sexist in public.

The movement is growing and is searching for links to other ecological and alternative projects. Where does Anastasia find these links? And what can we do to combat?

Friday 3:00 pm Tent C

An Indigenous Perspective on the Climate Crisis and the European Climate Justice Movement

More and more climate change comes into focus of political decisions. The measurements to fight climate change have several impacts on the realization of the human rights and establish the social-ecological standards for the global society in which we will live in the future.

Climate change is a threat to all of us. But discriminated populations lke poor people, indigenous people, women and children are hit the most by its impacts.
The human rights to food, water, housing and education of those people are called into question by the consequences of climate change. Since 2008 the Human Rights Council of the United Nations adopted several resolutions regarding this issue – climate politicians hesitate to acknowledge their human rights responsibility. Respect for human rights still don´t have an appropriate status in economy and politics: A life in dignity on a global scale is possible only if the human rights of everyone are respected on the micro-level. Only then measurements, laws and investments can be evaluated successfully.
Based on case studies the participants of the workshop elaborate the topics complex „climate change needs human rights“. Thereby they deepen their understanding of global challenges, the consequences of nation-state-based and privat actions as well as of increasing social injustice as a consequence of climate change.

(Amanda Luna, born in Peru – Amazonas, is a climate activist, indigenous leader, keynote-speaker for several social issues, and project organizer in Peru. Based on her studies she works in the medical, communal and social sector.)

Friday 7:30 pm Circus Tent

Discussion: What is climate-just agriculture politics?

 

—- Saturday, 21th September —-

Saturday 10:00 am Tent A

Boglands – unknown climate protectors: How farming on bogs can become more climate-friendly

Are you wondering what the intensively used, short mown grasslands with black molehills and deep ditches around the FtS camp have to do with the climate crisis? Most of them are drained peatlands emitting huge amounts of GHG gases – just nobody sees it! On global scale, peatlands store 2x the carbon of all forests. However, in Germany and across the EU, we destroyed most of them and now they are responsible for 1/3 of all GHG emissions from land use, more than 90% of all soil-borne emissions! If we want to stop this, we have to keep and make them wet. I’ll show you in practice what peat is, how peatlands are functioning and why they are valuable–not only as carbon store. Finally, I show you how we can rewet them for climate action and still use them – we call it paludiculture. As we say in German: “Moor muss nass!”

(Jan Peters, landscape ecologist)

Saturday 10:00 am Tent B

Agriculture and animal liberation – Ethics and the human-animal relationship

Current agriculture has to change. Not only is it unjust and damaging to climate and biodiversity, it also inflicts massive suffering and harm to the animals used as ‘livestock’. The movement for animal rights and animal liberation isn’t about treating the animals we use better – it demands that we stop using and killing animals for the production of meat, milk and eggs altogether.
So far, this is controversial within the wider movement for agriculture change and climate justice. In this workshop, we will discuss the ethical reasons for animal liberation as well as the practical implications for a just agriculture.

(Rike (Tierfabriken Widerstand) and Franziska (Tierbefreiung Hamburg), activists in the animal liberation movement)

Saturday 10:00 am Tent C

About the need for anti-racist practice in the climate justice movement

Even though large parts of the climate justice movement see themselves as emancipatory, the actors nevertheless are predominantly white people who are in no danger of racial discrimination.
This lack of empirical knowledge often leads to the continuation and reproduction of colonial-racist practices and selection of topics to be addressed. The perspective of black people and PoC misses.
The workshop addresses the question of why anti-racist practice is needed in the climate justice movement, if it wishes to continue to name itself as such. The aim is also to create a space for intersectionally conceived utopias and to discuss previously marginalised forms of resistance.

Saturday 3:00 pm Tent A

Non-commercial agriculture on „Karla*hof“

Our current system of agriculture is based on the exploitation of people, animals and nature. Even in ecological agriculture economic interests take priority over ecological and social concerns.

Non-commercial agriculture as practiced on „Karla*hof“ is an opposing concept that puts ecological and social aspects first. We try to work according to our needs and give away what we produce without taking anything in direct return.

(with Luna who lives at Karla*hof)

Saturday 3:00 pm Tent B

Resistance against industrial meat production: what to do?

It stinks in the meat belt of Lower Saxony south of Oldenburg – directly and figuratively.

As early as march 1984, the economic model in the area of Vechta-Cloppenburg-Emsland (all located in the meat belt) was scandalised in a documentary about the „everlasting stinking fields“, broadcasted at prime time on the German public TV chanel ARD. The European Commission determined the contamination of the local drinking water supplies. Peter Kossen, a representative of the Münister-based bishop in Vechta, gave a well argumented on-site preach. The labor union established a minimum wage. But on the whole nothing changed.

If we want to stop the meat industry with its manifold catastrophic consequences, we must understand the core of it, the system of exploitation and taking advantage of labour forces in the fattening system, in slaughterhouses and in meat cutting plants.

Input and discussion: Initiative of the Jobless Oldenburg (www.also-zentrum.de)

Saturday 3:00 pm Tent D

Corporate Concentration and Corporate Power: how corporations shape our food systems

Corporations are gaining more power over our food system every day. Meet Katie Sandwell from Transnational Institute, TNI, who, drawing on funny and creative illustrations from comic artists collective Mission MiniComix will share research about the power of transnational corporations in global food systems, and how they are merging and lobbying to increase their influence even further. Sneak a peak at the publication on mega mergers here: https://www.tni.org/en/GrowingPower.

YARA’s role in the global food sector will be discussed, as well as the role of fossil fuels in agriculture more generally, and after the presentation a discussion on the movements towards a food system for people and the planet will be facilitated. All backgrounds and levels of experience are welcome: come to share your ideas or actions and to get inspired.

(Katie Sandwell, Transnational Institute)

 

Saturday 3:00 pm (Tent X)

How to deal with the cops – legal rights and practice

In the workshop we will give an input about how to deal with different situations with the cops and what legal consequences may await you after the action. We will talk about positive and negative aspects of ID refusal, about possible custody in police stations and possible sentences afterwards. The second part of the workshop will be a role play for specific situations.
This workshop will take place twice at the same time – one in English and one in German.

(LegalTeam)

 

Saturday 4:30 pm Tent D

Fertilizers: Degrading soils in Central Africa

The consequences of seed and fertilizer giants, as YARA, are global. In this workshop we will have a close look at the marginalized tropical soils and the major constraints for the production with respect to fertilizers and seed quality. Having with us a soil specialist raised in Cameroon, now based in Belgium, bringing a series of cases and tendencies from both subsistence farmers, the constraints and opportunities with organic fertilizers, building resilience towards climate chaos, but also insights from the heavy monocropped and fertilizer-dependent and demanding growing industrial agriculture in Central Africa.

(Luc Gerard Onana Onana, Soil Scientist)

 

 

—- Sunday, 22th September —-

Sunday 10:00 am Circus Tent

Affinity group training & affinity group dating 

Are you in an affinity group or looking for one? Is it the first time you take part in an action? Or do you just want to prepare for this specific action? Then join this training! We divide in two depending on whether you need an affinity group or not. The training focuses on roles and how affinity groups are used, with practical exercises on communication and decision making in action.

 

Sunday 10:00 am Tent X

All fingers need nail polish!

Come to the nail polish workshop with your crew and get help planning nail polish actions! This concept, being called ‘nail polish’, is meant to empower smaller groups to take action or contribute to the action in more colorful ways.  As well, it is meant for people who maybe don’t feel comfortable taking part in the mass action, or who maybe want to express their desire for the destruction of industrial agriculture in a more creative manner. There will be some support for nail polish actions, as well as some creative ideas available from the organizing crew. While autonomous action is always welcome, it is sometimes difficult to organize them effectively during a short action camp. For the free the soil action, in addition to the mass action concept, free the soil would like to support new possibilities for taking creative action.

(Activists from Free the Soil)

Sunday 10:00 am Tent X

How to deal with the cops – legal rights and practice

In the workshop we will give an input about how to deal with different situations with the cops and what legal consequens may await you after the action. We will talk about positive and negative aspects of ID refusal, about possible custody in police stations and possible sentences afterwards. The second part of the workshop will be a role play for specific situations.
This workshop will take place twice – one in English and one in German.

(LegalTeam)

Sunday 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm Circus Tent

Action Plenary

Come learn about the free the soil action, and get prepared the action will be presented, as well as all necessary information.

Sunday 3:00 pm

Action trainings for fingers

Action Training in the fingers. Hear more about it at the action plenary! Everyone that plans to take part in the action should try to prioritize participating in this.

Sunday 3:00 pm Circus Tent

Infomeeting and action info (only for newcomers)

This meeting is only for people who have not been able to take part in the preparations during the day. If you have been here for the previous meeting we encourage you to prepare with your affinity group instead.

 

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