Nyéléni Polska is an initiative started by the Polish delegation present at the 2nd Nyéléni-European Forum for Food Sovereignty in Cluj-Napoca 2016. The forum gathered delegates from over 40 countries, united in a struggle for fair and sustainable agricultural principles and policies, and against industrial farming.
Inspired by the gathering, the Polish group, consisting of farmers, researchers, NGO's and urban activists, committed to build a network of actors engaged in sustainable, local food production and distribution in Poland. Nyéléni Polska was created because we all recognize the lack of structures in our country that could represent the voice of the people, groups and organizations working in the broad field of food sovereignty (farmer's unions and organizations, food-coops, CSA's and other consumer groups, NGO's working in the areas of ecology, sustainability and local heritage preservation). The structures present in Europe for decades are just emerging here. There are many important, valuable initiatives in Poland, but they lack a collective representation and a unified voice that could have an influence on the public debate and politics.
We aim to change it by creating an open forum for the exchange of information, promotion of existing alternatives, collaboration in campaigns and communication with other organizations at the international level. So far, having started our work only a few months ago, we have created a website in Polish dedicated to food sovereignty: www.nyeleni.pl. This site is open for people to join the movement. At this point we have registered around 50 farms and organizations.
We took part in several events about food and agriculture promoting the ideas of the Nyéléni Declaration, including the Slow Food Festival Central Europe. Our members from Warsaw take part in parliamentary sessions, lobbying for laws in favor of small farmers to enable them easier access to markets. Most recently we have toured Poland connecting with farming communities and organizations and we are currently organizing a series of webinars about food systems in Poland, Europe and globally. We are also working on our first bigger campaign on April 17th, International Peasant Struggle Day.
Read more (in Polish) at the Nyéléni Polska website.
