English subtitles available
The Biodiversity Festival, held on June 1st at the Articulturae farmers’ market in Manziana (Rome), marked another significant milestone in the journey of Terrae Vivae. This initiative aims to nurture ecological communities centered on local, wholesome food, biodiversity and environmental protection, regenerative agriculture, and the well-being of both humans and animals.
The Festival coincided with the online launch of our new short film „Biodiversity is Life„, which documents a deep and participatory learning process on biodiversity, agroecology, and earth care. Though rooted in a specific territory, this process aspires—through its holistic dimension—to establish a replicable model in other regions, countries, and continents.
Across the world, a movement is underway to reclaim control over our food and distribution systems. Local economies are being overtaken by globalization, while biodiversity is systematically eroded in favor of monocultures and industrial livestock systems that scar landscapes, pollute soil and water, and produce food lacking in nutrients and contaminated with pesticides and herbicides. The impact of this system on the environment and society is both profound and destructive.
An international network to tackle the challenges of multinational corporations and globalized economies
In response to the many challenges posed by the globalized industrial production model, Navdanya International launched Terrae Vivae—a program designed to actively involve citizens and local producers in shaping how food is produced and distributed. Producing quality food thus becomes an act of sharing and community. Democratizing food systems is an essential step in reversing the totalitarian and destructive processes driven by industrial lobbies.
Terrae Vivae seeks to share the knowledge and experience gained by Navdanya over more than thirty years in defending the rights of nature and promoting biodiversity and local knowledge against the threats of globalization and corporate monopolies.
The program aligns with and supports the many grassroots initiatives that have organically developed in communities worldwide: ecological food districts, biodistricts, ecovillages, food councils, solidarity purchasing groups, farmers’ markets, and more. Responding to the challenges of a finance-driven global economy means reviving democratic processes, regenerating communities, fostering circular economies, reducing waste, recycling, eliminating climate-altering emissions, regenerating soil, purifying groundwater, reclaiming the commons, addressing health crises, and ensuring animal welfare. These are some of the most pressing causes around which the social and cultural fabric can be healed and rebuilt through inclusive democratic processes.
Terrae Vivae thus acts as a living network, promoting the transition to agroecology by weaving together research, education, policy, and grassroots action to co-create regenerative communities. Agroecology is not merely a set of farming techniques; it is a knowledge-intensive, systemic transformation that reshapes both agricultural practices and governance structures to enhance social and ecological resilience. It is essential to adopt a relational and co-creative approach in which researchers, farmers, policymakers, and communities collaborate to develop, test, and refine agroecological practices in real-world contexts. By linking scientific knowledge with traditional and local wisdom, agroecological transitions become place-sensitive, culturally rooted, and climate resilient.
This is not only about restoring what has been degraded, but also about forging new paths so that relationships between communities, cultures, and ecosystems can thrive together. Regenerative communities are dynamic, co-creative ecosystems in which all actors—human and non-human—actively participate in shaping one another and their shared environment. Regeneration is understood as an active process, based on relationships, where communities are not merely sustained but continually reimagined and reshaped by the mutual influence of all participants. It is a commitment to long-term transformation, where growing, eating, learning, and buying local food are acts of care, collaboration, and connection.
Ecological Education: Cultivating Knowledge and Community
Education is a vital aspect of the agroecological transition. Through experiential, place-based learning, individuals can build a connection with local ecosystems, food systems, and sustainable practices—ensuring that education is not abstract or purely cognitive, but a relational, hands-on experience. By engaging directly with the land, participants develop a deep respect for nature’s complexity and the resilience of agroecological systems, recognizing their personal and collective role in environmental stewardship.
The ecological education program of Terrae Vivae is therefore much more than a standard learning journey. It fosters connections between people, the land, the community, farms, and the complex ecosystems that sustain us. Active community participation transforms this process into a shared, vibrant experience. Thanks to this hands-on, inclusive approach, participants rediscover their connection to the land in an authentic and meaningful way through learning by doing, which involves continuous knowledge exchange between generations. In this way, young people become stewards of valuable ecological wisdom and active agents of change within their communities through direct, hands-on relationships with the earth.
Ecological education thus becomes an indispensable tool for building sustainable futures, where respect for nature’s complexity and resilience translates into daily practices of care and regeneration. These educational paths promote not only knowledge but also the capacity to become agents of change—recognizing young people not just as recipients, but as protagonists of social and ecological transformation. It’s not just about acquiring information, but about cultivating a deep respect for nature’s complexity and the resilience of agroecological systems—and recognizing the crucial role of the new generations as environmental stewards.
It is therefore essential to inspire and equip the next generation with the skills, knowledge, and ecological literacy needed to sustain resilient, just, and environmentally conscious communities. The goal is to support a transition toward sustainable living practices that prioritize environmental resilience, local knowledge, and global experience. Through regenerative practices, education in the principles of deep ecology, and community-driven action, we can build resilient communities capable of meaningful action for the planet.
Celebrating Biodiversity to start off Regenerative Processes
The Biodiversity Festival celebrates collective work with the community and offers a tangible synthesis of our pedagogical and political approach. Held at the end of each educational cycle, the event strengthens ties between producers, students, and families, placing young people at the center and building an increasingly vibrant and connected network. Workshops, seed exchanges, intergenerational dialogues, moments of collective reflection and play all serve as concrete tools for practicing food democracy and building more just, resilient, and sustainable food systems.
These themes are captured in the short film „Biodiversity is Life,“ released on the occasion of the Biodiversity Festival. The film tells the story of ecological education through a journey of discovery and learning about biodiversity, agroecology, and care for the land. This journey begins in India, at Navdanya’s Earth University, which for over twenty years has welcomed students from all over the world to share the thinking and practices of agroecology. It is Vandana Shiva, president of Navdanya, who explains the connection between biodiversity protection and our physical and spiritual well-being. Through imagery and testimonials, the film documents the on-the-ground activities: from observing ecosystems firsthand to sustainable agricultural practices, from educational workshops to collective experiences, highlighting the active role of younger generations as guardians of ecological knowledge that bridges tradition and innovation. „Biodiversity is Life“ captures the meaning and impact of an experience that goes beyond mere knowledge transfer, promoting a culture of shared responsibility and a genuine connection to the land.
Ultimately, the Biodiversity Festival is a standing invitation to join the Terrae Vivae movement—becoming agents of change and defending everyone’s right to healthy, local food produced with respect for the Earth and its people. Cultivating ecological awareness means cultivating the capacity to act together to regenerate our territories, restoring awareness, dignity, and resilience to our communities.