This summer Lithuanian Youth Union (Lietuvos Jaunimo Sajunga) along with Social Investment Center (Socialinių investicijų centras) are organizing international project called Roots of food.

Purpose:
getting young people closer to source of food, introducing to nowadays farming and food making tendencies, getting them interested in Lithuanian food making customs.

Activities involve:
negative consequences of globalization to growing food products, development and improvement tendencies of countryside, aid to impoverished countries, smart consuming, ecological and natural food usage possibility for everyone of us.

2. August 17-19 - weekend in village house “Pas Onutę” (Širvintos region). The event contains of lectures about CAP, environmental problems and nowdays agricalture policy and how does it affect every citizen of EU. Also, during the weekend, there will be visit in garbage sorting plant and industrial farm. In addition to that, leisure time activities will be provided such as horse riding and cultural evening.
Agenda of the event.

3. September 14-18 - International 5 days camp with guest from Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Belarus. The main focus of the event is: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION AND ECOLOGY.

Detail Program (On process)

Feel the need to escape from the city, get away from fast tempo and noise?
The best way is staying in real village. Lithuanian Youth Union with help of social investment center in July 20-22 started project Roots of food.
The fist event was held in farmstead Skruzdėlynė, Kelmė region.
Purpose of event: getting to know each other among project organizers, to prepare for international summer camp which will be held in August, where all the attention will be focused to the real origins of food, how its grown and made.

During the meeting themes of farming politics, ecological food production, and ethical business were discussed and activities based on communal work were practically tested.

Participants had various activities from discussions about EU farming politics in general to haymaking - carrying, cow milking and horse riding. These practical actions gave a clear view for organizers what and how to do for upcoming summer camp in August. A movie about American fast food industry "Fast food nation" was shown, where all food making chain from growing an animal to fast food restaurant owned by a few corporations is presented.

Contemporary farming business was actively discussed among members of the camp. About the consequences of farming industry and its exploitation of animals, people, nature for profit and that majority of products are made in factories owned by few corporations. Also about ethical business, green economy and “fair-trade” organizations.

Youth was visited by local folk ensemble on Saturday evening where they arranged a special get-together with dances, songs and old rites on the hill. The old Lithuanian culture is strongly connected to nature, earth and its agriculture. Also on that weekend people tried out everyday farmstead labors for growing own food. And theoretical lectures and seminars were made for people to understand those labors place in broad political and ecological context.

So on August 17-22 a summer camp will be held where people from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belarus and Lithuania will have lots of practical tasks, movie sessions and lectures.

We hope that during this project and sharing traditions with partners from other countries will let understand even more about how important this theme is for people nowadays.

Coordination:

Coordination: Socinvest

Executor: Lietuvos Jaunimo Sąjunga

Funding: NCM_grants

Partners:
Senterpartiets Studieforbund
Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan
LOF
Belarus Association for Life-Long Learning and Enlightenment