General

Many questions stimulated creativity at the 4th Italian GRASS CEILING Living Lab Meeting

General, Italy /

The 4th Italian Living Lab, held on 11 May at the Officine Culturali in Bitonto (BA), reached a crucial point: the ideation phase.

In the previous stages of this dynamic Design Thinking journey, promoted as part of the three-year multi-actor project GRASS CEILING, eight rural women innovators explored the real needs of users to be involved in their future individual business projects.

It is finally time to step out of the comfort zone and think out of the box! The generation of ideas, in fact, is the beating heart of the method and requires creative efforts. The innovators tried to identify some possible alternatives to better define solutions to the problems detected in the initial context analysis.

During the morning they experienced how there are no good or bad ideas: at this stage the most important thing to do is to create, using specific facilitation methodologies such as the World Café technique.  

After meeting up with stakeholders in discussions around tables, they open the door to their imagination. The output of the activity was a colourful mosaic of ideas and questions to continue the journey in coming months. 

In the afternoon, the working group reasoned about the future through the practice of Foresight. It is certainly not easy to predict the future, but it is still possible to be prepared for what may happen. Through a group exercise, the innovators were able to build a medium/long-term vision, expanding the boundaries of perception.

In the next meeting, the eight participants will focus more on the realisation of their ideas and no longer rely simply on their imagination.

The work was led, as usual, by the two co-leads Legacoop Puglia and CIHEAM Bari, with some local stakeholders who collaborated in the morning activities. They included Mariano Frachiolla, agronomist for the Bio Distretto delle lame, Gianvito Turi, visual designer for corporate communication, Francesca Volpe, local food policy expert for CIHEAM Bari, and Vincenzo Fucilli, professor at the University of Bari.

The GRASS CEILING project is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and runs until December 2025, with several Living Labs held in the 9 countries involved in the European partnership.

The Living Lab is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship and discussion within the working group.

No need to wait long for upcoming activities: the next Living Lab will be held in June. Stay tuned!

Many questions stimulated creativity at the 4th Italian GRASS CEILING Living Lab Meeting Read More »

GRASS CEILING Lithuanian Living Lab gains insight into marketing and the circular economy in the agro-food sector

General, Lithuania /

In 2024, the second meeting of the GRASS CEILING Living Lab took place in Zapyškis, Lithuania, featuring eight women innovators (Karališka Uoga, Šeimos ūkis “Geltoni botai”, Bačkonių ekologinis ūkis, Rasa Prusakova, 50 Arų. Darbo ir džiaugsmo, Saldūs žiedai, Justė Jankauskienė, Šamūkis, Gurkė, Justina Gikniūtė Kočetova, Rūta Aliukonienė, Lina Vysniauskaite, Aliejus- sveikatai ir grožiui) and two experts in marketing and the circular economy.

Greta Stasiulevičienė, a marketing consultant, delivered a presentation on social networks and advertising opportunities for small businesses. She introduced us to concepts such as warm/cool audiences and how to shape the format of advertising, budgeting, and management. We also learned about the potential of free advertising.

Virginija Kargytė, a lecturer at the Vytautas Magnus University VDU Bioekonomikos plėtros fakultetas and representative of Lithuania BIO, presented the key insights from the ongoing study “Circular Economy Development in the Agro-food Sector: the Potential of Industrial Symbiosis”, which creates future opportunities for cooperation among farms based on the management of material flows, involving local authorities, communities, and other businesses. Industrial symbiosis is presented as a process whereby one producer’s material residue becomes another producer’s resource.

We received a warm and hospitable welcome in Zapyškis, near St. Peter’s Church Senoji Zapyškio bažnyčia, by the “Stuba, House of Activity and Creativity”. Its founder and director, Daiva Vaišnorienė, presented the activities of the women-founded organisation and shared her experience.

GRASS CEILING Lithuanian Living Lab gains insight into marketing and the circular economy in the agro-food sector Read More »

Vesna Jakić: A sheep wool ambassador on the Croatian island of Cres

Croatia, General /

Vesna Jakić is a Croatian entrepreneur who participates in the GRASS CEILING project’s Living Lab in Croatia. She works with local wool as a raw material in her company RUTA Wool & Design. In addition to creating original wool designs, Vesna recovers sheep wool that is often abandoned in the fields of the island of Cres (Croatia), thus providing a solution to a serious environmental problem and allowing her to produce island souvenirs by processing the original wool.

Vesna’s work is making a difference on the island of Cres and her products are certified as Croatian island products.

However, Vesna, a textile designer, never knows what her next wool inspiration will be. Before her current business, she led the Ruta association for 20 years, focusing on improving the quality of life on Cres. Already then, her projects were based on the use of wool as a raw material, she taught felting courses and organised numerous craft and art events.

It can be said that Vesna is an ambassador of sheep wool, a material that is no longer used on the island of Cres.

Her greatest passion is working with young people and children. That is why she teaches felting in schools and students come to her to practise. She has led many local and European projects where children have acquired felting and sewing skills. As part of these projects, children also explore the island of Cres and learn about local plants, nature, and the sea… All with the aim of helping them become more aware of the importance of nature, their local environment and sustainable development.

This innovative woman began drawing clothing models at the age of nine and received her first sewing machine at the age of fourteen. She later graduated in Textile Design and Fashion from the Faculty of Textile Technology in Zagreb. After completing her studies, she returned to the island of Cres, where she now lives and has made, in her words, a dream come true.

For Vesna, GRASS CEILING is “a great opportunity to network with innovative Croatian women” and she assures that the biggest benefit of the GRASS CEILING project is “the exchange of knowledge, especially of solutions to the many obstacles they face on a daily basis.”

Vesna Jakić: A sheep wool ambassador on the Croatian island of Cres Read More »

The joy of working with animals: Miriam’s story in the GRASS CEILING project

General, Italy /

Miriam del Re is the youngest farmer (26 years old) of the Italian Living Lab and one of the eight women innovators who participate in the GRASS CEILING project. She has a degree in economics, but while she was preparing for her final exams, she realised her passion lay elsewhere – with animals. This childhood love has led her to devote herself full-time to their care.

In 2021, Miriam decided to repurpose the disused land on her partner’s farm for raising laying hens. The business began modestly with 50 hens and has grown to include 250 free-range hens, along with goats and turkeys.

Looking ahead, Miriam aspires to open an educational farm to showcase the fulfilment that comes with working with animals. During the Easter break, her “Colle di Seta” and “Uova di Seta” Agricultural Society hosted a fun “Egg Hunt” event for curious children.

The event tagline playfully stated, “Come help us find our hens’ eggs! The rabbit ‘Pasqualino’ was very naughty and hid them!” This light-hearted invitation brought many families to spend weekends with the mischievous bunny. The festivities involved egg decoration, group games, and colourful make-up activities for children and their families.

Miriam was delighted with the outcome. “There was a very joyful feeling,” she remarked, “and seeing the excitement of even the adults in painting the eggs was wonderful. We received very positive feedback from many families who requested more events like this one.”

Well done, Miriam!

The joy of working with animals: Miriam’s story in the GRASS CEILING project Read More »

Laura, a Spanish poultry farmer, happily surrounded by hundreds of happy hens

General, Spain /

Laura has found happiness among hundreds of hens, who are also happy thanks to her. This is not the beginning of a children’s story. It is the real story of Laura Polo, a Spanish woman who decided to swap the hustle and bustle of the big city, Bilbao, for the noisy clucking of lots and lots of hens.

She is one of the participants in the GRASS CEILING Spanish Living Lab, an initially self-taught entrepreneur who later trained in agriculture and livestock farming to be able to set up her happy hen farm. However, she claims that there is still not enough training in poultry farming for those who, like her, want to earn a living by raising hens.

Her company is called Avicultura Granja Pepín and it is located in a small village in the province of Palencia, called Alba de Cerrato. “Hens are my passion,” she told the Spanish public television programme “La Aventura del Saber” (La 2 TVE), “and they must be given the care they deserve.”

Her hens eat noble cereals such as wheat, barley, corn, and sunflower seeds, when there is no soya. They do not consume animal or vegetable fats, nor do they consume colourants or palm oil. And as a supplement, they eat vegetable waste from the family garden that Laura tends with her husband. “The eggs that our hens produce have the quality seal that comes from the way we care for them: good food, respect and a large natural space where they can move around. The hens know us and that shows in the flavour of the eggs,” says Laura.

Laura has learned to live without a clock, although she works from dawn to dusk. “We use sunlight as a natural clock.”

In 2017 she opened her first shed with 500 hens. Four months later she set up the second shed with 740 hens. In 2018 the third shed arrived to house another 450 hens. In 2019 she reached maximum capacity: a fourth shed where she halted expansion. “We don’t want to lose the essence of the care and craftsmanship of our final product. With this number of hens we can earn a good living, manage the farm and care for our animals.

She says that GRASS CEILING is providing a great opportunity for the voices of rural women to be heard in European institutions. She has met other women in the sector with similar problems, and sharing their experiences helps them to find joint solutions. “We must continue to enhance the visibility of rural women. We are gradually making progress, but there is still much to be done”. However, the main drawbacks they have are the low population density in rural areas and the limited services available. “It is essential that small towns have access to basic services that allow us the quality of life we deserve. This would attract new residents and entrepreneurs”, Laura says.

“I hope, at least, that we can continue to make a living and our brand can become well-known… I am happy here … no one can change that”.

Laura, a Spanish poultry farmer, happily surrounded by hundreds of happy hens Read More »

GRASS CEILING Croatian Living Lab’s 4th meeting hosted by two of its women innovators

Croatia, General /

The GRASS CEILING Croatian Living Lab (EWE) held its fourth meeting on the islands of Cres and Krk. These islands are home to two of our Living Lab participants, Vesna Jakić and Jasminka Gršković, who are innovators working with wool, olive oil, and wine production. The main programme took place at Moise Palace. Vesna hosted the Living Lab on Cres, and Jasminka hosted it on Krk.

Following the official meeting, which included an innovation process session and a stakeholder session, Vesna offered a wet felting workshop for the Living Lab participants and project team. She also introduced the team to her handicraft business and the Ruta Cres association.

On the second day, the Croatian Living Lab members visited Krk and Jasminka’s family farm. After a meeting with the city authorities, Jasminka hosted a dry felting workshop for their colleagues in her olive grove, where they learned how to make woollen Easter eggs.

GRASS CEILING Croatian Living Lab’s 4th meeting hosted by two of its women innovators Read More »

Letizia Cuonzo, a member of the Italian GRASS CEILING Living Lab, welcomed the students of CIHEAM Bari’s Master programme

General, Italy /

Azienda Agricola Cuonzo welcomed CIHEAM Bari students from the Master programme in Open Innovation and Youth Entrepreneurship in the Agrifood Sector interested in learning more about the living lab implemented as part of the GRASS CEILING project. 

By applying organic farming methods, enhancing native olive varieties and using an innovative mill to produce organic oil from Ogliarola and Coratina cultivars, Cuonzo is a true beacon of sustainable agriculture. The company strives to connect theory and practice, bringing together ideas and action through the GRASS CEILING project.

The visit to Azienda Agricola Cuonzo was led by Letizia Cuonzo, a member of the Italian Living Lab for the GRASS CEILING project. Letizia has a background in Modern Literature and Art History studies.  In 2010, she became the owner of the farm previously run by her father with the help of PSR Puglia, a source of regional funding for young people starting agricultural businesses. She participates in the Italian Living Lab as a women innovator thanks to her experience in managing the family organic olive oil farm and processing olives. She is also an olive oil taster.  

During the harvesting and processing season, the farm welcomes schoolchildren and tourists, increasing awareness of production practices and offering basic information for tasting extra virgin olive oil. A few days ago, Letizia hosted the visit from the master’s students to tell them about her professional journey as a woman innovator in the GRASS CEILING project. 

This project involves eight inspiring women from the biodistrict of Lame and is expected to reshape Puglia’s agricultural landscape.

Letizia Cuonzo, a member of the Italian GRASS CEILING Living Lab, welcomed the students of CIHEAM Bari’s Master programme Read More »

A multitasking rural businesswoman turned Norwegian TV star

General, Norway /

Marthe Kilen is a rural woman. She lives on the rural Fosen peninsula, and works in Rissa, a Norwegian town of just over 6000 inhabitants. She participates in the Living Lab of the GRASS CEILING project, as one of the innovative rural women in the agricultural sector and in food production.

As she defines herself, “I am a cook, baker and pastry chef by training, and I don’t know how to do anything else… but I do this very well”, although she is now also a pastry judge on a well-known Norwegian television program from the NRK Channel.

Last year she had to disappear, literally from her village, for six weeks to focus on filming the first season of a television program that has made her very well known in Norway. This spring, she will be filming season two of the baking show. But let’s not forget that she is a rural entrepreneur, owning and operating a small business, working with a small staff and living in a small town.

This time her going away for filming and appearing on TV will not come as much of a surprise. In fact, she is already training the workers of her business, Fru Nelik (Missis Nelik) to be able to operate the business during the two months that the new shooting will last.

It’s not easy for a rural entrepreneur to get ahead by managing a business, controlling purchases, maintaining equipment, designing new products, selling and distributing those products, and now… being a judge on a TV show. Teamwork is key for her, and she relies heavily on both her board of directors and the skills of her employees.

Each one of them is now receiving instructions to be able to undertake specific responsibilities, so that it will not be necessary that everything has to go through her.  Starting in April, she will be filming in the TV studio. The brand new ice cream she is launching for summer has to be tested and ready before she leaves, and the warehouse has to be stocked with products. Her small business produces for other suppliers who buy cakes and products from her and sell them in their stores. She also stocks a self-service Fru Nelik pastry store in downtown Rissa.

It is clear to Marthe that innovation is about exploring new opportunities and appreciating the effects that new challenges bring. That is why this year, she will continue to attend the biggest event for locally produced Norwegian food, the Trondelag Food Festival.She is committed to training and knowledge as a way, not only to learn, but also to obtain tools that will allow her to continue to open up avenues of expansion and growth that will benefit her business and, with it, her employees and her people.

Source: https://frunelik.no/om-oss/

A multitasking rural businesswoman turned Norwegian TV star Read More »

New meeting for GRASS CEILING Living Lab Spain to discuss various support actions for women in agriculture

General, Spain /

A group of women participating in the Spanish Living Lab of the Grass Ceiling project met on March 8th with representatives from various national, regional, and local public institutions, and members of agricultural organisations. The meeting aimed to make a critical examination of the key action measures being implemented to assist women farmers and to support and promote equality policies. Eight women participated in the meeting, along with a group of external stakeholders and regular collaborators of the project’s working groups.

The meeting fostered debate on the measures being taken by the responsible entities to enhance the situation of rural women. It also emphasized the importance of maintaining active networks for sharing different perspectives, opinions, knowledge, and experiences, given the need for comprehensive analyses. The meeting has enabled participants to generate synergies and promote joint actions that will benefit rural women, especially those working in the primary sector.

The event was attended by representatives of public institutions such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Government of Spain), Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (Government of Aragon), Department of Rural Environment and Agrarian Policy (Government of the Principality of Asturias), Territorial Service of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development in the Province of Palencia (Government of Castile and León) and private entities such as Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture Association and Agrifood Cooperatives of Spain.

New meeting for GRASS CEILING Living Lab Spain to discuss various support actions for women in agriculture Read More »

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Sweden fourth meeting with women rural innovators

General, Sweden /

The Swedish Living Lab held its fourth meeting February 6th at our participant Elin Skörde’s home and forest farm. The Lab’s co-leads Siv Lindén, Hela Sverige ska leva, and Dr Katarina Pettersson, SLU, introduced the meeting, and thanked Elin for having us. Then Dr Flora Hajdu, SLU, who is also part of the SLU GRASS Ceiling-team presented research on Sweden’s changing agriculture, that she has been part of doing Please find more information here (in Swedish). The research found that farmers use various strategies and resources, and make use of welfare systems. During the presentation the participating women were asked to reflect and discuss the findings – to see if they, for example, use a ‘maximization strategy’, an ‘optimization strategy’, or perhaps a ‘diversification strategy’.

The participants also discussed issues of social sustainability and social welfare systems, including parental leave and pensions, and how they have or may potentially use them in the future. In the afternoon Science Park Jönköping’s Emilia Sundberg joined us and introduced us to this stakeholder’s activities and offers to entrepreneurs and innovators. She also led the participants in an exercise to think creatively around new ideas when looking at two photos – one of a drone and one of a cheese. Different interesting and somewhat ‘crazy’ ideas came up – the point being nothing is too crazy and you should not filter away any ideas when being creative. We concluded the meeting with a discussion among the participants on what they want to do in the future Living lab workshops. The fifth Living lab workshop is planned to take place April 29th, 2024.

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Sweden fourth meeting with women rural innovators Read More »

The path to gender equality in the context of food security

General, Related News /

On 14th February took place the seminar on gender equality in the context of food security  organised by FAO, the Government Offices of Sweden, Sida and SIANI. This event aimed to provide current facts and figures, as well as highlight the challenges and present the solutions for transforming policy to action.

Blanca Casares, policy expert at AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development), partner of GRASS CEILING Horizon Europe project followed the event given the relevance for the project’s European Policy Forum for women-led innovation, coordinated by AEIDL and COPA-COGECA and the established Rural Pact Community group on women in rural areas they coordiate.

The seminar kicked off with a warm welcome from Dan Ericsson, State Secretary to the Minister for Rural Affairs, Sweden. The session was moderated by Johanna Bergman Lodin, Division of Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

With a full agenda of knowledgeable speakers, Lauren Phillips, Deputy Director, Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality (FAO), set the stage by presenting FAO landmark report, The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems, providing the latest data, lessons learned and recommendations about how to do more, and better. Among the data she highlighted was the evolution over the last decade of the employability of women in agrifood systems and what this represents in terms of their income. Regarding the remaining gaps, Lauren pointed out that the gender gap in land productivity between female and male managed farms of same size is 24%.

Among other relevant presentations, Rebecka Ramsted, Programme and Policy Officer, Permanent Representation of Sweden (FAO) presented process and timeline for the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girl’s Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

She pointed out that for the first time bringing a full policy product on gender equality under the umbrella of foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition for all. Endorsement took place at the CFS 51 session.

The seminar continued with presentations by Geovanny Enriquez, JP GTA National Program Coordinator (FAO) on Promoting gender transformative approaches for food security and nutrition in Ecuador. Followed by Elisabeth Simelton (Sida) who replaced Sofia Orrebrink, Lead Policy Specialist for Gender Equalityy (Sida) and who gave an overview of Sida’s work in gender equality by talking about various realities in sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry,etc.

The seminar came to a close with a round table discussion about transforming policy into action for food security and gender equality. The different speakers of the session deepened their reflections on the usefulness of the guidelines, the capacity of use by the different countries, the inclusiveness of the implementation processes, the relevance of investment especially in reducing gender gaps and the adoption of the proposed solutions.

The event ended with some closing remarks from ambassador Ms.Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, Chair of the Committee of World Food Security (CFS).

The path to gender equality in the context of food security Read More »

Fourth meeting of the Dutch Living Lab

General, Netherlands /

Last week Dutch Living Lab hold its fourth meeting, as part of the EU GRASS CEILING Project. Dutch Living Lab were warmly welcomed to Op den Hoek, the farm of the Liza Simons who shared her powerful story with LL participants. She also grounded in the current moment and encouraged all to see ourselves as part of the ‘bigger picture’ which was enlightening and thought provoking for many.

The women entrepreneurs have come so far in their projects and it is always a treat to hear about their progress. It is clear how much they support one another as a group, and how there is a desire for it to go one further, outside of the meetings. These are 8 fantastic, motivated and talented women. To bring them together in one room, and for the facilitators to be able to share tools and methods to assist them in their projects, is a real joy to see. But the real excitement came when all brainstormed over solutions, per participant. Then you see just how much experience and talent these women have already, and how much they have to offer still. It is wonderful to be part of this progress and to feel the buzz of potential and possibilities.

Fourth meeting of the Dutch Living Lab Read More »

Italian Living Lab holds its third meeting

General, Italy /

The third Living Lab under the Grass Ceiling project, which took place on 31 January at CIHEAM Bari, was lunched embracing the idea that ‘building a better world means destroying the old one’.

Seven women innovators, active in the field of open innovation, challenged themselves with exploration and design activities, focusing on the profiles and needs of their target users.

By using teamwork tools such as the Empathy Map and Persona Map, the participants were able to delve into the profiles of potential users of the innovation product and service they intend to develop.

The needs, the interests and even the dreams of the potential users of the innovative product or service pave the way for a broader design thinking process that will take place throughout the three-year course of the project.

After collecting the stories of the personas to address, the innovators, in small working groups, shared their views and concerns in order to better define the “Point Of View (POV) statement” that will help solve their business problems by adopting a creative and empathetic approach.

The users’ attitudes and their motivation, thus, represent the cornerstone of innovation to be promoted within the Living Lab network.

The teams of the two co-leads, Legacoop Puglia and CIHEAM Bari, conducted the sessions in the impressive setting of CIHEAM Bari’s campus.

The Grass Ceiling project is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and will run until next December 2025, with several labs to be held in the 9 countries that are part of the European partnership.

For almost a year now, the LIVING LAB has been a valuable opportunity for the participants to share their experiences of innovation through a direct and active exchange.

Italian Living Lab holds its third meeting Read More »

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Croatia third meeting with women rural innovators

Croatia, General /

In Living lab meeting 3 we dealt with the Reframe phase of the innovation process. The participants did a great job filling out the persona map and the empathy map for their current or prospective customers/users. They were also very articulate when it came to articulating their problems for which they will look for solutions (ideas) in the next step. The innovators seem to be prepared for making a POV statement at the next meeting.  Most of the innovators articulated problems for which they will look for solutions (ideas) in the next step (ideate).

As a part of the LL3 meeting, innovators attended the introductory training on digital marketing. Also, the short demonstration on operational groups (CAP) was presented to the innovators. The innovators expressed an interest for applying for operational groups (the call is expected in April 2024).

We have decided not to invite stakeholders to LL 3 meeting. It was an online meeting, and we had a lot to deliver (innovation process methodology – reframe phase).

LL3 meeting participants were: Jasminka Gršković, Ines Dundović, Birgit Boljun Čujo, Vesna Jakić, Marijana Svetić, Ana Kovačić, Tatjana Klepo.

The fourth Living lab workshop is scheduled for 21st – 22nd March 2024.

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Croatia third meeting with women rural innovators Read More »

GRASS CEILING features on Spanish TV programme “La Aventura del Saber”

General, Spain /

In an in-depth interview, the coordinators explain the objectives and methodology of this European project that supports rural women in their innovative proposals.

The TV show included the report “Demolishing the Glass Ceiling in the Rural World” that follows eight Spanish women farmers throughout their participation in the project.

The Spanish TV programme “La Aventura del Saber”, wanted to showcase the often-invisible work of women in the rural world, and devoted a large part of yesterday’s episode to the European project GRASS CEILING.

The European Union launched the GRASS CEILING project in March 2023 to address the need to empower rural women and support the sustainable innovation initiatives they are leading in agriculture and livestock farming. Including Spain, nine EU countries are taking part in the project, which involves the creation of Living Labs engaging innovative rural women. Sixty women are participating in these Labs, eight of whom are from Spain.

“La Aventura del Saber” (the Adventure of Knowledge), is one of the longest-running programmes of Spain’s state-owned television station. The producers were keen to feature the GRASS CEILING project and interviewed two of the coordinators in the studio: Margarita Rico González, lecturer at the Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineers of the University of Valladolid (Palencia Campus) and Carmen Martínez Ramiro, head of the Equality Department of Agrifood Cooperatives in Spain. During the interview both spoke about gender barriers and the main challenges that women face every day on their farms. They highlighted the importance of education, training and knowledge-sharing in order to progress towards sustainable, balanced and competitive rural development.

After the interview, the programme transmitted the report “Demolishing the Glass Ceiling in the Rural World” thatlooks intothe project’s objectives and progress in Spain and follows the work of eight women farmers in the autonomous communities of Asturias, Aragon, and Castile and León.

The daily programme “La Aventura del Saber” has been running for over thirty years, exploring the world of education, environment, science and technology. Focusing on training and outreach, the programme aims to be entertaining and educational through in-depth interviews and investigative reports.

GRASS CEILING features on Spanish TV programme “La Aventura del Saber” Read More »

EU CAP Network workshop ‘Women-led innovations in agriculture and rural areas’

Croatia, General, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden /

The EU CAP Network workshop ‘Women-led innovations in agriculture and rural areas’ will take place in Krakow, Poland from Wednesday 17 April to Thursday 18 April 2024.

Women play a vital role in civil society and economic growth in rural areas. They are at the helm of viable farm businesses, and vibrant rural areas and communities. Women are key actors in the rural economy as farmers and other entrepreneurs engaged in off-farm work in multiple sectors. Additionally, women often assume responsibility for the care and welfare of their family members. Yet, despite their crucial contribution, many women suffer from a rather ‘invisible role’, facing numerous challenges such as discrimination and difficulties in accessing the labour market. This situation is exacerbated by the prevalence of rural women participating in informal and vulnerable employment. Often, such employment is inadequately compensated and lacks connections to social protection or pension schemes, which could potentially leave women vulnerable to increased levels of poverty (OECD, 2019).

Women make up 51% of the EU population and, in 2021, 67.3% of all working age women (20-64 years) were employed in rural areas, yet the gender pay gap still stands at 12.7% (Eurostat, 2022). What’s more, in almost all Member States, the gender gap in employment rates is higher in rural areas than urban ones.

In particular, farming is viewed as a male-dominated profession, with women making up 31.6% of EU farmers (Eurostat, 2022). Additionally, women in farming face issues around access to land, training and education, and equal treatment from financial and farming organisations. To counteract this, gender mainstreaming has become an important principle in the CAP. The CAP Strategic Plans (2023-2027) promote the increased participation of women in farming and require a gender equality approach in addition to the assessment of the position of women in agriculture, forestry and rural areas, and the challenges they face.

Various projects, supported by different EU programmes show how barriers to the empowerment of women in rural areas can be mitigated or overcome, with socio-economic benefits through social and other types of innovations. Moreover, women represent a significant driving force for prosperity and social inclusion in rural areas, notably through innovative actions and entrepreneurship. This has been recognised by the European Commission in A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, which is committed to empowering women by supporting gender equality and entrepreneurship in Europe, including rural areas.

Taking into account the above, the EU CAP Network support unit for Innovation and Knowledge exchange | EIP-AGRI is organising a workshop on women-led innovations to demonstrate that farming and rural areas can be attractive places for women, especially for developing their business ideas and applying their innovative approaches.

Objectives

The overall aim of the workshop is to empower women in farming and rural areas by exchanging knowledge, identifying successful initiatives and projects led by female innovators, and networking.

Specific objectives:

  • Explore opportunities offered under different EU programmes to support women in agriculture and rural areas.
  • Showcase innovative initiatives, businesses and start-ups led by women entrepreneurs in rural areas with a particular focus on innovative farming practices and farm diversification strategies.
  • Identify the needs of and barriers to women entrepreneurs to develop their businesses in rural areas.
  • Promote women-friendly entrepreneurship ecosystems within local rural communities.
  • Activate networking among workshop participants in order to support women-driven innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas.

The main target groups:

This workshop will focus on good practices of women-led initiatives from EU rural areas, at different stages of development. This includes, but is not limited to, farming, forestry, and environmental productions and services. Other participants that we are looking for include advisors, researchers, representatives from farmers associations, chambers of agriculture, industry, managing bodies, local authorities, press, etc. from across Europe.

More information and submission of applications

EU CAP Network workshop ‘Women-led innovations in agriculture and rural areas’ Read More »

Anita Galåen, member of the Norwegian Living Lab is at Grüne Woche Berlin

General, Norway /

Anita Galåen, member of the Norwegian Living Lab in the GRASS CEILING project is at Grüne Woche in Berlin this week, representing her business and promoting local food production.

The International Green Week in Berlin is considered the world’s biggest consumer fair for the food, agricultural, and horticultural industries. It is one of the most traditional Berlin trade fairs and one of the best-known events in Germany.

Anita Galåen is the manager of a large family-run farm in the region of Røros in Trøndelag, Norway. They produce and sell eggs and desserts (like merengue, utilising the egg whites!), dairy products such as cheese, ready-made waffles and pancake batters, ice cream, mayonnaise, cakes and chocolate ice-cream cakes.

We are so proud and happy that we get to be part of the Norwegian delegation to the International Green Week here in Berlin, Anita Galåen

Wearing the traditional Røros-region costume Anita became very popular at the fair in Berlin with her farm’s ‘waffle on a stick’ and Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food Geir Pollestad joined in to have a bite of the fun.

The International Green Week in Berlin is held on Jan 19-28.

We have had a journalist from one of Berlin’s largest newspapers come and write about our waffles on a stick, and we have been featured in the paper back in Norway. We are building networks and making connections with people, which is so important for us to be able to produce locally made food in the future, Anita Galåen

Anita Galåen, member of the Norwegian Living Lab is at Grüne Woche Berlin Read More »

Eglė Valuckaitė-Stašauskienė wins the ‘Created in Kėdainiai district’ Award

General, Lithuania /

Congratulations to Eglė Valuckaitė-Stašauskienė, a participant of the Lithuanian Living Labaratory, who won the competition “Created in Kėdainiai district”, organised by the Kėdainiai branch of the Kaunas Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts in cooperation with the Kėdainiai district municipality. According to Eglė, she submitted 4 of her products for evaluation. The tomato crisps „Paduok pomidorų„ (in English „Pass the tomatoes“) and „Paduok aštrumo“ (in English „Pass the spiciness“) created on her farm were the winners.

This is the farm’s newest product, one of 74 available. It was created out of a desire to create a healthy, tasty snack with no added sugar, suitable for both children and adults – colourful and full of flavours. The crisps come in three different flavours and are made exclusively from the different varieties of tomatoes and herbs grown on the farm: with green tomatoes and basil; with red tomatoes, garlic and chilli peppers (for adults); with yellow tomatoes and garlic.

This type of appreciation encourages the development of other exceptional products. It encourages you to improve, to move forward and to keep going. It gives us confidence, but it also gives our customers confidence, because it means that the products are worth trying and tasting.

Eglė Valuckaitė-Stašauskienė wins the ‘Created in Kėdainiai district’ Award Read More »

Rasa Prusakova wins the Future Rural Creators Award

General, Lithuania /

This year we would like to congratulate Rasa Prusakova, a participant of the Lithuanian Living Lab, and her family farm for winning the Future Rural Creators Awards presented by the Lithuanian Rural Network, which unites state and local self-government institutions, bodies and public legal entities involved in rural development processes related to agriculture, food, forestry and rural development. Here, the farm was recognised as the second best “Progressive Farm” for introducing innovations in agriculture.

This is not the only award for Rasa’s farm this year. Her family farm was also the winner of the “Good Farmer” championship. The championship is an initiative that brings together and showcases examples of farmers who farm in harmony with nature. Farmers are nominated by the public, then a panel of organisers selects the farms they visit and chooses them as ambassadors of the “Good Farmer” Championship. Rasa Prusakova’s farm, a participant in the Living Laboratory in Lithuania, has been nominated as one of the three Good Farmer Ambassadors for 2023 for its nature-friendly farming principles. The farm also won the event’s special nomination “Audience’s Sympathy”, i.e. Rasa’s farm received the most support from the voting public. The 40 hectare certified organic farm combines crop and livestock farming with a wide range of vegetables, chickens, turkeys and Highland cows. The farm’s aim is to create a food basket of healthy food for sale, primarily dominated by what they would love to eat themselves. Rasa says that taking part in competitions is like getting free advertisement, her family’s farm has become recognisable and new customers want to get to know and taste the products they grow.

The prize is presented to Rasa’s farm by the patron of the championship, Beata Nicholson, a culinary and environmental enthusiast.

Rasa Prusakova wins the Future Rural Creators Award Read More »

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Spain celebrates a new meeting in Palencia

General, Spain /

The Grass Ceiling Project, academically coordinated by the Palencia Campus of the University of Valladolid (UVa), continues its journey, celebrating an interesting meeting where the main challenges faced by women working in agriculture were discussed. The University Campus of Palencia has once again hosted the third meeting of the Grass Ceiling Project. The objective of the working session was to identify the main challenges, barriers, and limitations that women face daily in their agricultural and livestock operations, from personal, sectoral, regulatory, and rural environment perspectives.

To achieve this, the eight women participating permanently in the project and a diverse group of external agents from the associative and cooperative sector, the public sector, local action groups, and several male farmers, have participated in various work dynamics. The research team from the Palencia Campus, led by Professor Margarita Rico, along with several members of the Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain, organized and moderated the event.

The main problems detected are mainly related to the excessive and convoluted bureaucracy that professionals in the field must comply with, often redundant and unnecessary, which takes away time that could be devoted to their own farmers. Other limitations are related to the poor living conditions in smaller municipalities, especially regarding the scarcity of health, education, care, cultural, and leisure services. The scarcity of public transportation and inefficient internet and mobile phone connectivity were also cited as significant barriers. Finally, sector-specific issues inherent to agriculture also pose important obstacles, such as high production costs, limited influence over prices, sector undervaluation, and low representation of women in leadership positions in various representative organizations.

Ultimately, the last discussion focused on proposing an exploratory plan for possible generic action strategies to overcome the identified barriers in the preceding work dynamics. The project concludes its first year of work, with very positive results in terms of conclusions drawn and the participation and commitment of the eight women involved in the experiential laboratory, as well as other collaborating agents. The creation of the working and support network generated around the project itself, constitutes an innovation in supporting women actively working in agrarian activities.

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Spain celebrates a new meeting in Palencia Read More »

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Sweden second and third meetings with women rural innovators

General, Sweden /

The Swedish Living Lab held its second meeting September 4th at our participant Sandra Levinsson’s farm café – Flättinge Gårdscafé – which she pursues on her family farm with her two sisters. The Lab’s co-leads Siv Lindén, Hela Sverige ska leva, and Dr Katarina Pettersson, SLU, led the participants to discuss how the women pursue their various rural and farm businesses. The participants prepared short presentations of their businesses, motivations, support – and then shared their experiences of their business development, including reflections on conditions and difficulties for development. For lunch we were served a lovely vegan burger produced of lupin beans grown at the farm.

The co-leads also led a focus group discussion with the women on innovation. We discussed if they do view themselves as innovators and what comes to mind when thinking about the concept ‘innovator’. For some of the women the general opinion is that an innovator is someone who invents something brand new, and that the women in the focus group rather are ‘entrepreneurs’. The concept of ‘innovation’ is associated with technology. For others being an innovator is the same as being an entrepreneur: which is about having an open mind to absorb new ideas on how to improve how they work and to have goals for what they do, and to become more effective – that this is what it means to be an entrepreneur. The women discussed that they have established rural companies that focus on other things that traditional farming, which could be seen as innovations only that they are unable to see it that way. The understanding in the group was that women and couples, to larger extent than men alone, establish new kinds of companies in rural areas, in particular in tourism and hospitality, and in the horse industry.

The third Living lab meeting was performed November 14th at Emma Hartelius’ farm – Grimstorps Gård – where she is producing ecologically certified beef from natural pasture fed cattle. The focus at this meeting was for the participants to get more knowledge on support opportunities in relation to the Regional Food Strategy as well as the Regional Tourism and Hospitality Strategy. We had stakeholders Bella Rådberg from the County Administrative Board in Jönköping; Christina Odén and Katrin Löwe from the Region Jönköping County (A Region is a self-governing local authority in Sweden. There are 21 regional councils each corresponding to a county in Sweden) with us and they presented theory work and available support for entrepreneurship and innovation. The participants engaged in feed-back and discussions on how their businesses can be better supported. At the workshop a couple of the participants also presented their businesses, as they had not had the opportunity to do so previously. Elin Skörde also presented her experiences from representing the Swedish team in Brussels for the show case event in September.

The fourth Living lab workshop is planned to take place February 6th, 2024, with a focus on business advice and support, and where a couple of stakeholders will be invited.

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Sweden second and third meetings with women rural innovators Read More »

GRASS CEILING LL Biodistretto delle Lame at “CIHEAM Bari Mediterranean Innovation Week”

General, Italy /

The eight women innovators of the Living Lab ‘Biodistretto delle Lame’, one of the 9 LLs of GRASS CEILING project, were invited to participate to the activities of the Mediterranean Innovation Week, held at CIHEAM Bari on 22-24 November, with the participation of many actors of the local innovation ecosystem and various international experts and organisations.

The eight women innovators of the Living Lab ‘Biodistretto delle Lame’, one of the 9 LLs of GRASS CEILING project, were invited to participate to the activities of the Mediterranean Innovation Week, held at CIHEAM Bari on 22-24 November, with the participation of many actors of the local innovation ecosystem and various international experts and organisations. You can take a look at the video of the Mediterranean Innovation Week here.

Two women shared their innovation journey in a public panel contributing to a debate on ‘Creative Entrepreneurship 4 Mediterranean Rural Resilience’ (panel 1) during which GRASS Ceiling project was also presented.

One LL participant also took part to B2B matching event seizing the opportunity to get expert advice on digital marketing and innovation design.

A small exhibition of products and services of the LL Biodistretto delle Lame was set up.

The exchanges held during the week have also inspired the two LL co-leads, CIHEAM Bari and Legacoop Puglia, to replicate in the near future some activities to specifically address LL participants’ needs relying on the services and network of the ewly inaugurated Mediterranean Innovation Agrifood Hub.

Letizia and Miriam at Panel 1
Letizia and Miriam at Panel 1
Letizia and Miriam at Panel 1
Small exhibition of LL women innovators’ products & services
Small exhibition of LL women innovators’ products & services
Miriam at the B2B matching event

GRASS CEILING LL Biodistretto delle Lame at “CIHEAM Bari Mediterranean Innovation Week” Read More »

Second Croatian LL EWE (LLHR) held on October 13 2023

Croatia, General /

The Living Lab Croatia (LLHR) called Eco-Women Entrepreneurs (EWE) held its second meeting. It was organized by the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture and the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK) and took place on 13 October 2023 in Zagreb at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.

The Living Lab meeting was divided into two parts. The first part was attended by women innovators (LL participants) and the second part by our innovators and stakeholders.

In the first part, after the introduction to the agenda, the previous and future activities of the project were briefly presented. One of the innovators presented her experiences from the Brussels Showcase event (September 2023).

The first part of the Living Lab meeting focused on the introduction to the innovation process with an emphasis on designer thinking and the double diamond methodology. Three main fears were also discussed: the fear that the idea is not innovative, the fear of criticism and the fear of uncertainty. It was agreed that in the time between Living Lab 2 and 3, each innovator should define a goal for the next year so that each woman’s needs and goals for the next year could be identified and explored.

The innovators identified their needs and/or ideas for future activities of the LL: (1) training on promotion in social networks, (2) the annual event where each woman can present herself and her products, (3) the establishment of an association to support women where Living Lab innovators can advise other women, (4) the development of a logo for the Croatian Living Lab. The need for networking was emphasized in the discussion.

The first part of the Living Lab meeting ended with an inventory of the participants’ activities between two Living Labs and the question of what goals and needs the participants currently have. All women have expanded their businesses or experienced changes in different areas of their lives (from brand registration of products to marriage). Their goals for the near future relate to the further expansion of their businesses. Their needs are mainly related to education and training: communication skills, stress management tools, digital marketing, agricultural knowledge, legislation, accounting basics.

In the second part of the Living Lab meeting, institutions that could provide educational content were discussed and identified together with the stakeholders. The innovators and stakeholders were divided into 4 groups. Discussion within the groups focused on identifying opportunities to meet educational needs. The discussion identified problems with information about different provision at a local level. The information about workshops in remote areas of Croatia is insufficient. The timing of workshops and the terminology used need to be adapted to the needs of rural areas (after 6pm, video material). One group expressed the intention and desire to share their knowledge and experience, pointing out problems with administration at the local level, land leasing, wool thrown into the environment and the idea of including felting in the education system.

The second part ended with the conclusion that the educational workshops (smaller groups) should not last longer than one hour, that the standard Croatian language should be used, that various study tours should be organized, that all educational materials/workshops should be recorded and available, and that the speakers should be experienced practitioners.

Second Croatian LL EWE (LLHR) held on October 13 2023 Read More »

Rural Women: community led-innovation and the consideration in the LTVRA

General, Related News /

On Wednesday 22 November, the European Economic and Social Committee organised a thematic debate on gender equality and youth in rural areas organised by the Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Section (NAT).

Blanca Casares, policy expert at AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development), was invited to present AEIDL’s work in this matter, which includes the GRASS CEILING Horizon Europe project, where Blanca leads the work package on co-creation of recommendations and tools for policy and knowledge and innovation systems that boost women’s role in the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas.

Women in rural areas of the EU make up below 50% of the total rural population, they represent 45% of the economically active population, and about 40% of them work on family farms. The rate of self-employed women in rural areas is about 38%. Their importance in rural economy is even greater, since their participation through informal rural economy is not statistically recognised.

In her presentation, Blanca reviewed the consideration of rural women in the main policies such as the EU Gender Equality Strategy to 2025, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Green Deal and its Farm to Fork Strategy and EU long term vision for rural areas (LTVRA) by 2040.

In particular, the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers of the EU, held in Brussels on 20 November, gave the green light to the conclusions document on LTVRA, which advocates the implementation of initiatives that favour the development of these areas and the improvement of the living conditions of their inhabitants.

The Council welcomes the rolling out of the EU Rural Action Plan to achieve the goals of the LTVRA by 2040. It invites all national and regional administrations, local authorities and all stakeholders and communities to engage in the Rural Pact Community Platform.

The Council recognises that women represent a significant driving force for prosperity and social inclusion in rural areas, however they are facing additional challenges and in need of supporting measures to better integrate into the labour market, utilise existing and creating new opportunities for employment and innovation, and participate in decision making; and welcomes, in this respect, the inclusion of gender equality as one element of one specific objective of the new CAP, promoting the equal participation of women in farming and the socio-economic development of rural areas.

In response to the need for improving data collection and the quality of rural statistics, the conclusions underline the importance of expanding the EU Rural observatory, to municipal-level and, to include sex-disaggregated data and other types of functional areas, to inform the design and development of evidence-based and relevant rural policies.

Recent policy briefs published by AEIDL “Women in Rural Development: Integrating a gender dimension into policies for rural areas in Europe” as well as “The role of women in rural development and innovation“ or “Women for a sustainable future of European rural areas” detail the main challenges for rural women in relation to the labour market, participation in public decision making, access to services or land. Furthermore, these policy briefs include the need of build statistics segregated by gender as well as region as well as develop more comparative studies on rural women across Europe.

Blanca also spoke about community-led innovation to encourage positive change and generate local socio-economic and environmental welfare. Available a briefing of what we mean by community-led local innovation prepared by AEIDL’s colleagues, among them Serafin Pazos-Vidal, Senior Expert. In 2022, AEIDL launched the European Local Innovation Forum (ELIF) to help drive a pan-European conversation about local innovation, enhance action on the ground, and put them on the EU agenda. 

As part of GRASS CEILING, AEIDL and COPA-COGECA run the European Policy Forum for women-led innovation in agriculture and rural areas and are the coordinators of the EU Rural Pact Community Group on Women in Rural Areas. Anyone interested can join and help bring ideas and good practices to improve the gender dimension of EU rural policies by subscribing here.

Author: Blanca Casares (AEIDL)

Rural Women: community led-innovation and the consideration in the LTVRA Read More »

Third meeting of the Dutch Living Lab

General, Netherlands /

The GRASS CEILING Project is a three year EU funded project that explores the barriers facing entrepreneurial women in rural settings across nine European countries. A significant part of this project is the Living Labs, in which a group of innovative rural women (eight in the Netherlands) meet three times a year to follow a trajectory guiding them through their own innovate ideas and training them in relevant skills. The learning process is not limited to the women, but also to the facilitators who are studying Living Libs as a concept and its role in facilitating learning.

We (NL) hosted our third Living Lab recently, at the LTO Noord offices in Zwolle. All eight women participants were able to attend and shared progress on their empathy maps. Group discussion and feedback is so valuable in this session and this group have created a strong and supportive bond, sharing suggestions and inspiration. The structure of the Living Labs is as such that stakeholders are invited to share their knowledge with the innovative women. For this session the wonderful Anne Marie van Oldeniel-Boerhof stimulated challenging and emotive topics, focusing especially on the position of family in business partnerships, and giving guidance on how to respect boundaries without losing focus on the topic. The professional input from stakeholders further enrich the Living Lab experience and we are excited to follow the women’s journey when we next get together as a group in February.

Third meeting of the Dutch Living Lab Read More »

Second meeting of the Spanish Living Lab about women and innovation in agriculture and livestock

General, Spain /

The main topic of the meeting was the analysis of innovative initiatives by participating female farmers and livestock keepers, their objectives, the support they have received, and the various barriers they face.

Continuing with the task agenda of the European Project Grass Ceiling, the second meeting of the Spanish Living Lab was held, with the participation of eight female farmers and livestock keepers from Castilla y León, Aragón, and Asturias. This time, the meeting took place virtually, and over the course of five hours, discussions revolved around the innovative initiatives of each participant. The research team from the Campus of Palencia at the University of Valladolid and Agri-food Cooperatives were responsible for conducting the meeting.

The innovations these women are implementing are related to improvements in the production processes of their respective farms, as well as other social activities aimed at supporting the visibility of women in the sector, creating networks, and acquiring training and information. The main barriers they face are primarily related to numerous and complex bureaucratic procedures and regulations they must comply with, which reduce the time they can dedicate to productive work. Other limitations are related to gender stereotypes, lack of guidance, connectivity issues, and rural decline, which they also consider significant.

Therefore, the proposed action measures to improve the current situation of women in the agricultural sector are related to continuing education, especially in digitalization, showcasing their work and the experiences of influential women, creating networks of mutual support, improving the living conditions in rural areas, strengthening the support role of associations and cooperatives, and promoting their representation in political and decision-making bodies.

Second meeting of the Spanish Living Lab about women and innovation in agriculture and livestock Read More »

Supporting Women in Agriculture

General /
  • GRASS CEILING Project Coordinator Sally Shortall will participate in a panel discussion titled “Incentivise, Inspire and Include: Transatlantic views on supporting women in agriculture”
  • The event is organised by the Mission of Canada to the European Union, in collaboration with the European Commission DG Agriculture & Rural Development

The event will take place on 27 October from 14:00 to 17:00 CET and will feature a number of EU and Canadian delegates speaking on barriers and opportunities for women farmers and food business entrepreneurs and the welcome address will be delivered by H.E. Ailish Campbell, Ambassador of Canada to the European Union, and Mihail Dumitru, Deputy Director-General in charge of Directorates B, C, D, European Commission, DG Agriculture and Rural Development.

GRASS CEILING Project Coordinator Sally Shortall will moderate the first panel session on the challenges women face in the farming and food sectors. The panel includes Doris Letina (apple farmer from Slovenia, former Vice-president of CEJA), Nuria Alvarez (rural entrepreneur and farmer from Spain, owner of AGROBERRY), Shivani Dhamija (founder of Shivani’s Kitchen) and Alanna Coneybeare (cash-crop and dairy farmer, co-chair of the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council).

The second panel discussion will tackle funds and policies to support rural women and female farmers and will be moderated by Natasha Foote (Euractive), with the participation of Margaret Bateson-Missen (Head of unit, Social Sustainability and Equality Coordinator, DG Agriculture and Rural Development), Moa Vestman (European Investment Bank), Steven Jurgutis (Director General of Policy, Planning, and Integration Directorate, Agriculture & Agrifood Canada) and Heather Watson (Farm Management Canada).

Mary Robinson (Past President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Vice President of the World Farmers Organisation, and General Manager of Island Lime Inc. and Francesca Gironi (Chair of Women’s Committee, COPA-COGECA) will close the event.

Date: 27 October 2023
Time: 14:00 – 17:00 CET
Free registration available here
Programme available here

Supporting Women in Agriculture Read More »

Gender equality in rural areas to be discussed during the European Gender Equality Week

General, Related News /
  • The Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) of the European Parliament will exchange views on gender equality in rural areas and discuss the state of play and perspective in Europe and beyond.
  • This event is one of the activities organised within the framework of the EU Gender Equality Week taking place from 23 to 29 October 2023.

During the last week of October 2023, the European Parliament holds its fourth European Gender Equality Week. Following the success of the first three editions organised in October 2020, 2021 and 2022, the European Parliament continues this important initiative to highlight its continued efforts to place women at the centre of legislation.

Since the last edition of the European Gender Equality Week, important legislation was adopted: Women on boards, Equal pay, as well as the EU accession to the Istanbul Convention.

There is progress in this policy field, but much remains to be done. Therefore, the topic of focus this year is “Gender Equality: What’s next?”. The Parliament and its partners will be looking at what has been achieved so far and what still needs to be done.

All parliamentary committees and delegations, as well as many important partners of the Parliament will hold events addressing gender equality issues in their areas of competence.

On the 26 October, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) of the European Parliament will exchange views on gender equality in rural areas and discuss the state of play and perspective in Europe, and beyond, with Lauren Philips, Deputy Director of FAO’s Office on Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality and Marzia di Pastina, winner of the Innovation Award for Women farmers 2023 and member of Alleanza delle cooperative italiane agroalimentare. Here you have all the information to join this very interesting event:

Date: 26 October 2023
Time: 9:00 – 10:00
Webstreaming available here
Programme available here

Besides, on 23 October the European Parliament Committee on Fisheries (PECH) will exchange views with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) on the status of women in agri-food systems with a special focus on gender equality in fisheries and aquaculture. Here you have all the information to join the session:

Date: 23 October 2023
Time: 15:30 – 16:30
Webstreaming available here
Draft programme available here

Gender equality in rural areas to be discussed during the European Gender Equality Week Read More »

The Italian Living Lab of the GRASS CEILING project involves local stakeholders building an ecosystem of innovative solutions to support rural women

General, Italy /

On 9th October, in Ruvo di Puglia (BA), during the second Italian Living Lab meeting of the GRASS CEILING project, we asked some women engaged in entrepreneurial activities in the agricultural sector, what “innovation” is for them.

“It’s a different crop. It’s the answer to a specific need. It’s knowledge, study and know-how. It means creating an ecosystem.” But also, “innovation is dynamism, explosion and rupture. It’s knowing the tradition in order to be able to transform it.”

These are the answers provided by the network of women innovators, sharing their individual experiences, and personal ideas about the concept of “innovation”. After a brief focus on the meaning of innovation processes, the network opened up to dialogue with some qualified local stakeholders actively involved in innovation and technology.  Representatives of Tecnopolis, ARTI Puglia, Abap, EIT food, PID Chamber of Commerce, Italian RSA and Biodistretto delle Lame took part in the event.

After a brief introduction of stakeholders and participants, the “Empathy Map” marketing tool was presented, in order to think about and discuss customers’ and users’ needs. The Italian Living Lab is run by partners CIHEAM BARI and Legacoop Puglia, in collaboration with the Biodistretto delle Lame. It is an opportunity to create connections between actors and women engaged in agriculture, to generate an agribusiness system that supports the role of women innovators in this historically male-dominated sector.

The Italian Living Lab of the GRASS CEILING project involves local stakeholders building an ecosystem of innovative solutions to support rural women Read More »

Supporting rural communities by improving women’s access to financial services

Croatia, General, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Spain /
  • The UN theme for this year’s International Day of Rural Women is “Financing for rural women’s empowerment”.
  • 15 October recognises the work of rural women in the food systems of the world, and claims rural areas with equal opportunities for all.

The International Day of Rural Women is an opportunity to celebrate women and girls who play a key role in rural areas, developing innovations in response to socio-ecological challenges and strengthening the resilience of rural areas.

According to the Committee on World Food Security (CFS, 2023), the lack of financial capital and financial inclusion are significant constraints to women’s entrepreneurial activities and engagement all along the food system and value chains, from investment in land to agrifood businesses. Structural constraints to women’s access to financial services such as credit and insurance are often based on restricted access to assets, including land and property, that could be used as collateral for loans; family indebtedness; limited knowledge and training of financial services; restricted availability of appropriate loan products for women led micro, small, medium businesses and smallholders; statutory and customary laws that are discriminatory and/or do not respond adequately to women’s needs and priorities; and negative social norms that prevent women from developing and growing their enterprises and productivity. At the same time, fair and equitable access to financial services is a prerequisite for overall societal economic security and prosperity.

While women often lead on socio-ecological transitions and progressive farming methods, they often face significant discrimination when it comes to land ownership, equal pay, participation in decision-making entities, and access to resources, credit and markets. GRASS CEILING is working with women socio-ecological innovators across nine European countries and facilitating interactions with bank managers, agricultural advisers and entrepreneurial experts, and on the occasion of this International Day the project would like to showcase the women in the Living Labs who are breaking new ground, developing innovations and co-learning through mutual support. They are sowing the seeds for future generations of women to lead rural development and agriculture innovations by sharing their stories on how they have overcome challenges accessing financial services:

Birgit Boljun, owner of Val Madorso olive farm in Istria (Croatia) decided to continue the family tradition of olive oil production and was faced with several challenges when trying to raise the necessary funds. Since the bank could not support her, and she did not have sufficient resources for investment, Birgit looked for other funding opportunities and finally decided to apply for an EU project. Based on her experience, she recommends setting multi-year goals, planning well in advance, making adjustments to be eligible to obtain EU funding, as it usually takes a long time to fulfil the tender conditions, reviewing past year’s tenders to see what is generally needed, continuing the basic work to avoid being left without income until the obstacles are overcome, and not being disappointed when things take longer and don’t go according to plan. According to Birgit, it is important to have a vision and be realistic about physical and financial possibilities and set a series of smaller attainable goals.

Letizia Cuonzo took over the family business Azienda Agricola Cuonzo in Puglia (Italy) and used subsidised finance and bank credit tools to expand and transform the company. The major challenges she faced were related to the lengthy bureaucratic procedures, but she was lucky to count on the support of the bank; in her experience, many institutional entities, even at the regional level, now support women’s entrepreneurship and startups, but nonetheless she recommends trying to secure funds by networking with other businesses and building synergies with competent people and entities who can guide entrepreneurs towards the best solutions. The success criteria for addressing and overcoming the main barriers in accessing financial instruments are, in her opinion: developing financial skills and literacy and being able to engage competent people who can provide advice in fields where their specific skills are needed.

Annalisa Pellegrini decided in 2020 to recover an unused family plot and grow lavender to produce essential oils. Her company, Lavanda Ruvo di Puglia, is also based in Puglia (Italy) and focuses on environmental sustainability and circular economy. In her experience, having had access to technical information on production earlier and more easily would have helped her to optimise the timing of the project. As she didn’t meet the age requirements, Annalisa was not able to use most public funds, and thus suggests exploring these options, especially if own initial capital is not available. For her, having a good business plan helps, as well as support from professionals, who know how to navigate public funding programmes. In her opinion, the fundamental criterion for securing economic resources should be the ethicality of the project, its commitment to the environment, respect for biodiversity, and reliability.

Daiva Šinkevičienė has been running the organic blueberry farm Karališka uoga in Lithuania for the past 10 years. She cultivates 14 varieties of royal berries on a four-hectare plot. Over this time span, Daiva has received 15,000 euro support under a single measure of the CAP. Access to the support is still complicated as the farm is small and it is hard to meet the eligibility criteria for the support measures. The major source of the investments and, hence farm growth, is her own investment. Each year, Daiva allocates 40 % of her income for investments. She considers financial planning, budgeting, and saving as the core elements in achieving the goals of the activities. She provides an example of preventing birds from picking at the harvest, where acquiring a drone appeared to be a viable solution.

Sonja van Uden is the founder of the Landdrift Foundation in the Netherlands and has used her experience as an entrepreneur and manager in various industries and countries to develop a concept for multifunctional land use that promotes biodiversity. In her opinion, it is challenging to access any form of financial services when the innovation does not fit the standard model of economic value creation, which is the case for the multifunctional land use concept of Landdrift. She talks of the difficulty in obtaining funds and raising interest among potential investors in Landdrift, especially when it involves explaining that there is no economic return on investment within the Landdrift concept. She shows inspiring examples of combined land use in other parts of the world and how these projects have created much value for the natural environment and the people in these areas. Sonja suggests refraining from allowing dreams or visions for a better future to be diluted by the difficulties faced regarding access to financial services, and keep searching for the needles in the haystack! When encountering a challenge, she always tries to think out of the box to find a solution and adapt to the situation. A success criterion for Sonja is to stay flexible and open throughout the entrepreneurship journey.

Torunn Hernes Bjerkem owns Bjerkem Farm, an organic farm in Norway growing ancient heirloom grains, making healthy food, healthy soils, healthy plants, and healthy environments. The biggest challenge is that the farm is organised as a sole proprietorship. Because of the old Norwegian property law, where the oldest child in the family inherits the farm (called ‘odel’), any investment in a big project is dependent on the individual; the sole proprietor. For that reason she doesn’t have access to the big funds in agriculture and farming. According to the sole proprietorship system, people wishing to expand their business have to put their farm on the line for bigger loans and investments, which makes them very vulnerable, so Torunn opted for organising the farm into a Limited Liability Company. She considers that people who create jobs in rural areas shouldn’t have to take the risk all by themselves: They ought to be supported by a network where they can find solutions together. This is the case of Øyna Kulturlandskapshotell, a sustainable hotel wedged into nature overlooking the ocean, serving local food and beverages, a project in which owners have partnered with other collaborators so that they can take care of the natural resources, create jobs and livelihoods, and build a dream together.

Marta Llorente manages a family-owned intensive pig farm located in Zazuar (Burgos, Spain), in an integrated system with over 60 hectares of crop land and 20 hectares of vineyards. One of the issues she considers most relevant when embarking upon innovative projects within the livestock sector are the high costs that must be assumed. In her case, she did not have problems obtaining a loan from the bank, but points out the need for a prior analysis of profitability. There are public financial tools, such as subsidised interest loans, but on many occasions these require complying with numerous conditions and bureaucratic procedures, making it challenging to benefit from them. Her recommendation to women looking to make an investment to improve their farm is to conduct an analysis of the expenses and income that the improvement will entail in advance, to assess its profitability. Detailed administrative and financial management of the agricultural enterprise, as with any other business, is essential. The advice of consultants in this field is crucial to assist in making economic and financial decisions.

Further reading

CFS (2023). Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition, agreed by the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment.

FAO (2019). Women’s access to rural finance: challenges and opportunities. Rome. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

Supporting rural communities by improving women’s access to financial services Read More »

Dutch second Living Lab meeting and Men’s Focus Group

General, Netherlands /

The second meeting of the Dutch Living Lab was held on 22nd September, organised by Wageningen University and LTO Noord. The 8 women innovators have met again to share their progress since the first meeting. Some had made practical steps in realising their projects such as launching a social media platform, hosting open days on their farms and making valuable contacts. Others had spent time considering their position within existing businesses and finding a space for themselves to move forward. All of these actions – big or small – were great to hear about. These are such personal journeys that the women are undertaking that sharing their experiences with the group is clearly an important part of this process and one that was welcomed by everyone. The latter part of the meeting focused on constructing their ideal ‘customer’ with an empathy map and getting feedback or exchanging ideas. We were also lucky to have Yolanda de Prado from Escaperoom Hof te Langelo who told her inspiring story as an entrepreneurial women and gave us some hints on how to get through this journey. All in all, it was a positive day and all participants are excited about what the next Living Lab meeting will bring.

The men’s focus group was held on 28th October to discuss the role of entrepreneurs in rural enterprises. Specifically, they spoke of motivation, barriers and support for rural entrepreneurs and whether they perceived any differences between male and female innovators within this sector. The Dutch Living Lab is grateful to have been joined by 5 skilled men who shared their open, and at times reflective, experiences. The findings from the focus groups (men and women separately) will be used alongside interviews that Sophie Kolewijn-Hopkins has been conducting over the last few months. All this research is part of the analysis about gender equality in rural and agricultural innovation systems within the EU.

Dutch second Living Lab meeting and Men’s Focus Group Read More »

Fruitful discussions and very positive outcomes during our 1st Annual Meeting and showcase event

General /

GRASS CEILING project held from 12-14 September its first annual meeting and showcase event at the COPA-COGECA headquarters in Brussels. During the three-day meeting, full of presentations and advance results, project partners and relevant stakeholders discussed how to advance gender equality, empowerment of rural women and presented different initiatives that are being carried out in the 9 GRASS CEILING living labs.

During the first day, the project coordinator Sally Shortall welcomed participants and reviewed all the progress made during the first 9 months of the project. Then it was the turn of Tomas Baležentis from Lietuvos Socialiniu Mokslu Centras (LCSS) and Nataša Bokan from Sveuciliste U Zagrebu Agronomski Fakultet (UNI-ZAG FAZ) who presented the results of the reports “Policy brief on the available data on rural women and women farmers across Europe” and “Report on existing knowledge of rural women-led innovation” respectively.

The showcase event, held on 13 September, focused on our sister projects, success stories from the different Living Labs and the different European policies on gender equality and women’s empowerment in rural areas. The session started with the presentation of the European projects FLIARA and SWIFT, by their coordinators Maura Farrel (University of Galway) and Marta Rivera (CSIC-UPV). Afterwards, Julie de Galard from the Rural Pact Support Office (RPSO) presented the vision of the Rural Pact and its Community Groups that are dedicated online spaces within the Rural Pact Community Platform (RPCP) that bring together stakeholders to connect with peers, exchange, share information such as publications, news, events or implement any other joint action around a specific shared interest or topic relevant for the Rural Vision.

The Living Lab session, led by Leana Reinl and Melanie Thompson, opened with an overview of the aims of the living labs and the activities carried out and to come, followed by presentations by the living lab managers and women innovators. Jasminka Grškovic (Croatia), Catherine Kinsella (Ireland), Miriam Del Re (Italy), Lina Vyšniauskaite (Lithuania), Sonja van Uden (the Netherlands), Kari Øye (Norway), Lucía Velasco (Spain), Elin Skörde (Sweden) and Beth Rose (Scotland) presented their innovations in various sectors such as livestock farming, crofting, chicken farming, healthy products from marine resources, as well as their great work to empower rural women, the difficult journey they have had to follow to be able to carry out their innovations and their passion for the land and the rural areas. Great examples that can encourage other young women farmers to launch their own projects and demonstrate the role of women in agriculture, the rural economy and rural communities.

Finally, on the third day, the consortium meeting focused on the next activities to be carried out, the community group ‘Women in Rural Areas’ and a communication workshop by CIHEAM Zaragoza on how to communicate the results of the project.

Thank you everyone for contributing to the success of our annual #GRASSCEILING show case event and consortium meeting!!

Elin Skörde (Swedish famer)
Sally Shortall and Liz Gavin (project coordination team)
Lucía Velasco (Spanish farmer)
Beth Rose (Scottish farmer)
Kari Øye (Norwegian food innovator)
Lina Vyšniauskaite (Lithuanian farmer)
Miriam Del Re (Italian farmer)
Catherine Kinsella (Irish farmer)
Jasminka Grškovic (Croatian farmer)
Sonja van Uden (Dutch farmer)

Fruitful discussions and very positive outcomes during our 1st Annual Meeting and showcase event Read More »

Kick-starting journey of rural innovation in Scotland

General, Scotland /

Eight women with links to crofting started their journey of rural innovation at the first UK Living Lab of Grass Ceiling in Scotland.

Held in Ullapool on 29 June, the event brought together women from across the vast remote area of the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

‘Crofting’ is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production unique to this area of Scotland.

The women have a mix of backgrounds and experience – some rear livestock, keep poultry and grow produce on their crofts, while others have diversified by opening businesses in water sports and wildflowers seeds.

Every one of them, however, is bursting with ideas and enthusiasm to innovate and grow their business.

The day began with everyone sharing a ‘sparkling moment’ in pairs to enable their partners to tell the group two strengths or qualities they saw in them.

Melanie Thompson-Glen, of the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE) which is leading the Living Lab with the Centre for Rural Economy at Newcastle University, said: “The ‘sparkling moment’ was the perfect ice-breaker for the day.

“This was before formal introductions were made and it was an excellent way of getting to know each other. There was so much positivity in the room, and it was also very emotional as the women learnt they have more confidence and contribution to make than they realised.”

After formal introductions, the participants then used Lego to build a model of a ‘rural innovator’ before explaining their thinking to the group.

The morning session concluded with roundtable discussions on the types of innovation women are undertaking on crofts and in rural businesses and how business support/initiatives can be better shaped to support rural women innovators.

Many stakeholders involved in this project gave presentations to the group in the afternoon, namely: Scottish Government, Soil Association, SAC Consulting, Wester-Ross Biosphere, NatureScot, Crofting Commission, Impact Hub, Northern Innovation Hub and Scottish Crofting Federation.

Melanie added: “It was great to meet the women, and the organisations involved, and get the project underway. We look forward to very exciting times ahead.”

For more information about the Grass Ceiling project, visit the NICRE project page and GRASS CEILING EU project page.

Kick-starting journey of rural innovation in Scotland Read More »

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Ireland’s first meeting of female rural innovators in the Southeast

General, Ireland /

The first meeting of the Irish Living Lab took place on June 20th, at ArcLabs, Carriganore, Southeast Technological University (SETU). The Lab’s co-leads Dr Leana Reinl, School of Business, SETU and Caroline O’Keefe, Macra na Ferime, welcomed seven women innovators and other stakeholders to the event.

Lab participants are women at early and later stages of innovation and rural business experience. Their business offerings include diverse dairy-based products and services, organic chocolate, micro-greens, and rural marketing services.

Participants shared their perspectives in a series of workshops and discussions and highlighted areas of focus important to their rural innovation aspirations.

Dr Margaret Tynan, Growth Hub Project Lead, SETU Waterford Campus facilitated a workshop using ‘Lego Serious Play’ in which the women built metaphors of innovator identity, which enabled them to share stories of their experience, contexts and communities.

These reflections included examples of progressive initiatives of socio-economic value which draw on ‘the local’ through an authentic and sustainable lens. There was a strong sense of pride among those present. However, many expressed concerns that resources and support are lacking for dynamic, sustainable models of local rural development that can travel, with support often focused on large scale commercial growth.

Suggestions to support the work of rural women included greater visibility of champions and a change of language about the rural and rural women in the wider media. Shared graduate placement models and work hubs offering diverse professional skills to underpin innovation were suggested.

Dr Eugene Crehan, Director of Programmes, Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy, School of Business, extended a warm invitation to the women to be part of SETU’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem, briefly describing research centres, teams and projects at ArcLabs and across SETU’s campuses of value in the context of the project’s aims.

Leana explained “We heard about many impressive initiatives that are being undertaken and about others that are in the pipeline. The rural and small business resource challenges noted in the sessions are a recognised barrier to innovation, and gender specific barriers also emerged. The GRASS CEILING project will support women as agents of change in our rural communities and beyond and will run until December 2025. We are excited about the participatory methodology, training and networking approach that the project will use to support women led innovation”. The next meeting is scheduled for October 2023 in Growth Hub’s Imaginarium, SETU Waterford Campus.

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Ireland’s first meeting of female rural innovators in the Southeast Read More »

Rural women innovators hold their first Living Lab meeting in Trondheim

General, Norway /

On June 13 the Norwegian partner in the GRASS CEILING project held their first Living Lab with rural women innovators. It was organized by Ruralis, a research organization and academic community focusing on interdisciplinary rural studies – and Oi! Trøndersk Mat og Drikke, a non-profit organization advocating for local food production and sustainability, and among many other events, organizing Norway’s biggest local food festival.

Seven of eight rural women innovators were able to participate in the Living Lab, which was held in the offices of Ruralis in Trondheim. The theme for the Trøndelag Living Lab is rural women innovators in local food production. The women have a variety of backgrounds and produce foods such as potatoes, dairy, eggs, meat, sweets and pastries, fish products, craft beer, and heirloom flour varieties. Many of the participants have aspirations for new and bigger projects. and the women are all active innovators and business owners, ranging from 36 to 79 years of age.

Many topics were discussed, such as really owning the label of innovator and the fact that they are contributing to local livelihoods and developments. Discussing the women’s many roles in their daily lives was also an exercise that brought a lot of awareness to how much they are doing and being in their communities. The topic of rural life and expectations vs urban life was discussed, and how rural life and expectations can yield opportunities but also has limitations, especially in social structures. The women talked about their motivations, and how these are often personal and for the betterment of their lives, their families and their communities, as well as for the local food industry. The importance of sustainability in food production was also discussed, as well as the potential of mutual collaboration regarding residual waste in their food production chain.

They also expressed interest in women’s communities and networks, and places where they can talk, exchange experiences, collaborate and learn from each other.

Towards the end of the day the Living Lab was visited by a stakeholder from Innovation Norway, a government-funded organization that helps innovators and companies by providing access to resources, capital and networks. The stakeholder presented their experiences working with rural women innovators in the food business. They also talked about how men and women behave differently when starting and growing businesses, and how men and women have different ways of seeking finance when they want to raise capital for their ventures.

The women said that they had enjoyed meeting each other and found it both interesting and inspiring to get to know other rural women innovators in their region.

The second Living Lab is set to take place on September 21, again in Ruralis’ offices in Trondheim.

Rural women innovators hold their first Living Lab meeting in Trondheim Read More »

GRASS CEILING establishes a Rural Pact Community Group on women in rural areas

General, Related News /

In 2021, the European Commission launched the Rural Pact, as part of its Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas. 

The Rural Pact aims to give rural stakeholders a greater voice, move their needs up the policy agenda, support networking, and promote action on the ground. The Rural Pact Community Platform (RPCP) is an important tool for achieving the objectives of the Rural Pact. It is an online space that brings together all members of the Rural Pact Community.

The RPCP provides the opportunity to form Community Groups of stakeholders to facilitate structured exchanges and discussions on common areas of interest. In light of this possibility, GRASS CEILING expressed interest in establishing a group on women in rural areas which was approved on 29 June.

GRASS CEILING is a Horizon Europe project (2023-2025) aiming to boost women-led innovation in farming and rural areas.

The approved Community Group seeks to contribute to a greater understanding of the full contribution of women in rural areas, building on the work conducted by the Horizon project GRASS CEILING and its European Policy Forum for women-led innovation, coordinated by AEIDL and COPA-COGECA.

The objectives of the Community Group are:                                   

  • Provide a space for engagement and exchange of knowledge and experiences which contributes to the European Policy Forum for women-led innovation implemented under the Horizon project GRASS CEILING.
  • Raise awareness of the needs and challenges faced by women in rural areas as well as of emerging opportunities.
  • Share and analyse key policies that support women in rural areas and build recommendations based on lessons learned.
  • Create opportunities to link up and connect stakeholders and experts and trigger the development of projects, initiatives and shared action. Provide opportunity for knowledge exchange with other EU funded projects supporting women in rural areas

Join the group!

GRASS CEILING establishes a Rural Pact Community Group on women in rural areas Read More »

The Italian Living Lab starts and takes female rural innovation across the area of Bitonto

General, Italy /

The Italian Living Labs of the three-year project “Grass Ceiling – Gender Equality in Rural and Agricultural Innovation System” are led by two partners, an academic co-leader (CIHEAM Bari) and a practitioner co- leader (Legacoop Puglia). The activities will be all run in cooperation with the “Biodistretto delle Lame”, which is collaborating in supporting the innovation processes and connecting it with the territorial dimension and specificities.

The Italian Living Lab of the three-year project “GRASS CEILING – Gender Equality in Rural and Agricultural Innovation Systems” are led by two partners: an academic co-leader (CIHEAM Bari) and a practitioner co-leader (Legacoop Puglia). The activities will all be run in cooperation with the Biodistretto delle Lame, which is collaborating in supporting the innovation processes and connecting them with the territorial dimension and specificities.

The first meeting was held on June 20th in Bitonto (Ba) – Italy, where seven women innovators met to work on their personal empowerment, their own identity as innovators and on how to increase awareness of their role as agents of change.

This was the first Italian meeting of the Living Lab and associated focus group and aimed to foster the empowerment of women in rural areas and contribute to the implementation of the EU Gender Equality Strategy.

Among the participants, there is a diverse group of innovators and enterprises. One owns a farm, another produces lavender. Some own a vegetable garden laboratory and raise 250 chickens, others have a bookshop that organises communities of readers and literary walks in Alta Murgia, near Bari, southern Italy. Another innovator is a cultural worker who advocates for biodiversity, slow tourism, local agricultural production and rural culture. There is also a cooperative member of a rehabilitation community for drug addicts who has set up a vegetable garden to provide young people opportunities of the future; and another participant has a longstanding working experience in care work.

During the session the women worked on obstacles, difficulties, prejudices, and stereotypes by playing with Lego, the bricks used by children to build dreams and be creative. As Katia De Luca, project manager of Legacoop Puglia, said: “they worked on the identity of female innovators through the ‘Lego Serious Play’ methodology, in which they used the bricks to build symbols and metaphors of their own experiences and representations, strengthening their self-awareness as actresses of change in their own contexts and communities”. Patrizia Pugliese, project manager of CIHEAM Bari, added: “we started listening to the voices of women in the Bio-distretto delle Lame, a fertile context of interesting initiatives managed by women, who immediately proved to be open and interested in a critical and participatory discussion on gender issues”. The participants shared needs, suggestions, insecurities and ideas on how to continue the path of innovation and great enthusiasm for the chosen methodology.

The Italian Living Lab starts and takes female rural innovation across the area of Bitonto Read More »

First Croatian Living Lab “Eco-Women Entrepreneurs”

Croatia, General /

The Living Lab Croatia (LLHR), named Eco-Women Entrepreneurs (EWE), has held its first meeting. It was organised by the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Zagreb and the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK) and held in Šibenik on June 16, with the support of the Public Institution Development Agency of Šibenik Knin County.

Eight rural women set out to develop their ideas and entrepreneurships for social-ecological innovations over the next three years. During this first LL HR event, the participants presented their innovation ideas and shared their experiences in terms of business, introduction of innovations and commented on the obstacles they encountered while starting their entrepreneurships.

They spoke of changing environmental awareness, hunger for knowledge and sharing knowledge for a better world, changing traditions, a healthier living environment, reviving childhood stories and living with nature, all factors that encouraged them to innovate in their rural setting. They also highlighted that on their way to success they encountered a considerable lack of understanding in their social environment, as well as numerous administrative obstacles, frequent changes in laws and regulations, and a lack of adequate support for knowledge transfer and research. In the second part of the one-day EWE workshop, stakeholders from academia, civil society and the public sector joined the workshop and together with EWE participants identified the key shortcomings in the institutional support available for rural women entrepreneurs.

First Croatian Living Lab “Eco-Women Entrepreneurs” Read More »

Dutch Living Lab holds its first meeting

General, Netherlands /

On 16 June, Wageningen University and LTO Noord organised the first Dutch GRASS CEILING Living Lab meeting. Eight women started their journey to further develop their ideas for socio-ecological innovations in the next three years. There was much excitement within the group as they completed activities and got to know one another. Towards the end of the day, everyone introduced their personal plans that will be followed and curated over the next three years. It was clear from the very start that the women were keen to support one another and utilise their own networks for their colleagues. They are also looking forward to contributing to the GRASS CEILING project with their knowledge and experiences.

Dutch Living Lab holds its first meeting Read More »

Debate session on the role of women in agriculture and livestock at the University Campus of Palencia

General, Spain /

The event was organised by GRASS CEILING’s Spanish Living Lab, which aims to support innovative initiatives led by women in the agricultural sector. The session was hosted by a team of professors from the Palencia Campus of the University of Valladolid.

On June 12th, the first in-person meeting of the Living Lab took place on the University Campus of Palencia of the University of Valladolid (UVa), coordinated by the academic team of the University of Valladolid and Cooperativas Agro-Alimentarias de España. Eight women farmers from Castilla y León, Aragón, and Asturias took part in the session, together with nine external stakeholders related to the project’s theme.

Participants initiated the session by reflecting upon the concept of agricultural innovation, perceived as taking progressive and transformative steps aimed at generating value in both products and processes. This extends beyond production and englobes various aspects such as commercial, organisational, environmental, social, and business and institutional management scales.

The debate then focused on analysing the positive and negative factors currently influencing women when adopting leadership roles in the agricultural sector and explored potential actions that would give the work of women farmers and livestock breeders greater visibility.

The session received a high positive evaluation from all participants. They agreed on the importance of using participatory methodologies and networking approaches to analyse such a broad and complex reality and appreciated the opportunity to strengthen support networks and exchange perspectives, knowledge, and best practices. The project will conclude in December 2025 and continues to gather the necessary information to achieve the established milestones. The next LL meeting is scheduled for September.

Debate session on the role of women in agriculture and livestock at the University Campus of Palencia Read More »

First meeting of the GRASS CEILING Living Lab in Lithuania

General, Lithuania /

On June 12th, the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences and AgriFood Lithuania organised the first session of the Living Lab established under the Horizon Europe project GRASS CEILING. The Living Lab has eight women farmers engaged in agricultural and rural innovations.

Male farmers also took part in this session and contributed to revealing the differences between men and women regarding innovation. The participants conducted a focus group exercise to identify the role of women innovators in agriculture and rural areas and discuss the major drivers and expectations. The results will be compared across the countries represented in the GRASS CEILING project to develop policy recommendations for EU agriculture and rural development.

First meeting of the GRASS CEILING Living Lab in Lithuania Read More »

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Sweden first meeting of women rural innovators

General, Sweden /

The first meeting of the Swedish Living Lab took place on May 3rd, at the Administrative Board of Jonkoping. The meeting was hosted by the Nina Elmsjö, Head of the Division of Rural development, at the County Administrative Board. The Lab’s co-leads Siv Lindén, Hela Sverige ska leva, and Dr Katarina Pettersson, SLU, welcomed seven, of eight, participants to the event. The women pursue various rural and farm businesses, at various stages of innovation. The women have different backgrounds and their entrepreneurial endeavors include a forest garden; a boarding house for retired milk cows; a farm café and vegetarian protein production; farm shops; natural pasture meet production; locally produced pork; and organic milk production; horse activities – and an on-farm dairy producing cheese.

Nina Elmsjö, extended a warm invitation to the women, and stressed their importance for the viable development of the county of Jönköping, and she described the County Administrative Board’s work, including available support for farmers and rural entrepreneurs. During the event a series of discussions and exercises were performed – with the overarching aim of creating a shared understanding of the GRASS CEILING project, the living lab participatory methodology and getting to know each other. The participants and co-leads also initiated discussions on gender equality, innovation, sustainability and rural development, which enabled them to exchange experiences and reflections. The participants’ all shared a strong commitment for contributing to sustainable rural development – and the importance of women’s entrepreneurship for such a development.

During an exercise called ‘The headlines’ the women were encouraged to make visions for the future – imagining what they and the Lab will have achieved during the course of the GRASS CEILING project, and beyond. Thoughts on the Lab’s achievements comprised it having contributed to the creation conditions for thriving rural areas – including well-functioning social and child care service –  more rural women pursuing rural businesses and a larger degree of self-sufficiency in food production.  The next meeting is scheduled for September, to be held at the farm café, owned by one of the participants. The focus will be on sharing more in-depth experiences of the respective woman’s business development, including reflections on conditions and difficulties for development.

GRASS CEILING Living Lab Sweden first meeting of women rural innovators Read More »

GRASS CEILING holds its kick-off meeting

General /

Last week, from 21 to 23 March 2022, the GRASS CEILING consortium held its kick-off meeting at the COPA-COGECA headquarters in Brussels (Belgium)

The meeting began with a discussion on the impact of the GRASS CEILING project. The session aimed to ensure that everyone had an overall understanding of the project and to encourage all participants to ask questions and make suggestions for the work packages and task leaders.

A specific session was held to build strong and resilient Living Labs through co-creation techniques and Lego methodologies. The aim was to learn more about the objectives, participants and methodologies to be used in each LL.

In small groups, each WP leader presented the objectives, tasks, main activities and links with other WPs and tasks to the other partners. The partners showed interest in participating in the communication activities and willingness to send relevant content and information.

Work Package 6 included a workshop on communication and dissemination activities and tools, with two different sessions. The first session presented tips for writing practice abstracts, press releases and blog posts, as well as the work plan for the training academy, the awareness raising strategy and the awards for women innovators and men who fight for the role of women. The second session was more interactive; the project partners were divided into groups and asked different questions about the communication strategy and the communication materials and channels. They used a large panel with post-its to put forward their ideas and suggestions and present them to the other partners.

Finally, the coordinating team gave a presentation on administrative and economic issues.

A fruitful start, with a lot of work and  great ideas that will allow GRASS CEILING to achieve its goal of empowering rural women and increase the number of socio-ecological innovations led by women in agriculture, the rural economy and rural communities. It will also contribute to advancing the UN’s goals on gender parity, realise the EU gender equality strategy, and achieve the goals of the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy, the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas, and the European Pillar of Social Rights.

GRASS CEILING holds its kick-off meeting Read More »

GRASS CEILING’s coordinator attended the Left Feminism Forum at the European Parliament

General /

On 7 March, at the Left Feminism Forum, Sally Shortall, Coordinator of GRASS CEILING, presented the situation of women in rural areas across Europe. While women often lead on socio-ecological transitions and progressive farming methods, they tend to have less access to land, finance and training than men. GRASS CEILING will work with women socio-ecological innovators across nine European countries over the next three years and facilitate interactions with bank managers, agricultural advisers and entrepreneurial experts. The project will also interact with men innovators to understand gender differences in access to resources and approaches to innovation.

More information and video of the event: https://left.eu/events/resisterhood-for-global-revolution/

GRASS CEILING’s coordinator attended the Left Feminism Forum at the European Parliament Read More »

EU funded project “GRASS CEILING” to boost women-led innovation in farming and rural areas

General /


A new EU project will set up living labs in nine countries, train 72 rural women innovators, and establish a network-learning and innovation system

GRASS CEILING is a new European project that aims to empower rural women and increase the number of socio-ecological innovations led by women in agriculture, the rural economy and rural communities.

GRASS CEILING, led by South East Technological University (SETU-Ireland) is a €2.8m project funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, brings together 25 partners from across Europe and will develop a forum where women can drive socio-ecological transitions, that is, develop innovations in response to socio-ecological challenges and strengthen the resilience of rural areas. This is essential to deliver the UN’s goals on gender parity, realise the EU gender equality strategy, and achieve the goals of the Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy, the Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas, and the European Pillar of Social Rights.

To achieve this the project will establish nine living labs for rural women innovators in Ireland, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain and Sweden. Each living lab will train between six and eight women and establish a network-learning and innovation system that will support women innovators, strengthen and measure their innovative identity, and transform gender norms and stereotypes by sharing and capturing insights on rural women-innovator policy and practical experience.

Through these living labs, researchers will analyse the current position of women regarding megatrends in European agriculture and rural areas, understand the drivers and enablers for women-led innovations, the barriers encountered and supports that are needed at Member State and EU level.

Speaking of the importance of this project, Prof Sally Shortall, Project Coordinator said, “This is an exciting EU funded programme for empowering women´s innovation in rural and farming communities. We will work across Europe with leading women innovators to capture and share the key elements of their success, with the aim of increasing grassroots impact for women in rural and farming communities. The project will work together with both men and women to build a positive and empowering environment for socio-economic and green growth.”

Socio-ecological innovation in farming and rural areas is a developing area in Europe and GRASS Ceiling will ensure women can fully participate. The project commenced in January 2023 and will run until December 2025.

EU funded project “GRASS CEILING” to boost women-led innovation in farming and rural areas Read More »