PermaSummer
by Generation Restoration
On July 13th, GenR celebrated PermaSummer at Schloss Blumenthal. A colorful summer festival of sustainability and regeneration.
Thanks to all our guests, helpers and supporters of the permaculture summer festival making the event such a wonderful success
Wow! Our Permaculture Summer Festival (PermaSummer) was simply amazing! And you made it possible.
A huge thank you to the 85 participants who made their way to us, as well as especially to the many helping hands, contributors to the program, and of course the community of Schloss Blumenthal Castle, who provided us with their enchanting location! We also owe thanks to the weather fairies for locking the raindrops up in the sky.
In the restful green of the Paradise Meadow, we learned a lot, enjoyed delicious food and drinks, listened to and made music, played, enjoyed the campfire, and participated in workshops.
We learned a lot about the practical application of the principles of regenerative economic practices in farm management through practiced through the Solidarity Agriculture of Schloss Blumenthal from Katrin.
In the practical workshop on mushroom cultivation with permaculture and mushroom expert Peruth Mutesi, we discovered how to grow our own “mushrooms” using mycelium, substrate, and a container. In Uganda, she teaches women and youth from refugee and host communities in Train-the-Trainer programs how to enhance food security and generate an income.
In her keynote speak about the importance of restoring nature and the corresponding UN Decade Ecosystem Restoration, Tina Teucher emphasized why it is worthwhile to become an active part of “Generation Restoration.” The chair of Generation Restoration e.V. illustrated how people who seemingly have nothing can simultaneously contribute to achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN (#SDGs) through various refugee-led projects in Uganda.
Participants in our volunteer team named ASA (Engagement Global – BMZ) with Generation Restoration e.V. (Germany) and Rwamwanja Rural Foundation (Uganda) presented their work: What positive impacts can regenerative methods have? How can intercultural exchange succeed?
Bio-farmer and networker Bernward Geier shared the incredible story of “Arms to Farms” from the Philippines. The movie about this success story is about the transformation of former rebels into farmers. Instead of waging war against nature, they create peace with nature. Many participants were in tears while watching the film.
Entertainment for children and adults was provided by Nadja Maki’s team (with Laura and Bea) as well as Charly (Detlef) Braun from Spielpunkt Kriftel (near Frankfurt am Main): featuring magic, crafting, face painting, making bread on a stick, environmental education, and games.
Lukas Jednicki, a permaculture designer, showed us in theory and practice how to build an efficient pyrolysis stove that converts exhaust gases back into fuel. He also organized the cultural program:
Wonderful singer-songwriter Tamara Banez touched our hearts with her activist songs (from the school of Konstantin Wecker). Her singing and piano playing provided the perfect soundtrack for our regenerative evening.
Thank you to all the enablers, especially:
- Thanks to the core team with Lukas Jednicki, Max Plenert, Fabiola Singhof, Lena Zimmermann, Peruth Mutesi, and Tina Teucher for the organization.
- Thanks for the support in announcing our program to Karlotta Garinet, Franca Remor, and Miriam Farsi, as well as for the media partnership with forum Nachhaltig Wirtschaften (Fritz Lietsch).
- Thanks for the hospitality of Schloss Blumenthal (Julia Baus), for the toy donation from Nica’s Cosmos Munich, to Vispiron Group (Amir Roughani) for the technical equipment rental, and to the Grandhotel Augsburg, where our very small but effective ASA volunteer team from Generation Restoration was able to prepare the delicious meals.
- Thanks to our partners like RRF and YICE Uganda for their incredibly important work on regenerative methods in refugee settlements.
Thanks to everyone who donated on that day and to all who are donating today.
