Agriculture Aftermath
Wietstock, Western Pomerania| Location | Germany |
|---|---|
| Period | 2025 - ongoing |
Villagers in Northeast Germany think about the future of agriculture
The village of Wietstock in Western Pomerania wants to take a closer look at its future over the next two years. What unites the people there is their love of nature. However, climate change and the agricultural industry are putting it under pressure. Now they want to formulate a commission for an artist to deal with this problem without jeopardizing cohesion. They will be accompanied by a mediator from the New Patrons.
During the GDR era, most of the villagers of Wietstock in Western Pomerania worked in the agricultural production cooperative (LPG). With the political change, this was transformed into a market economy business with just five employees. Most of the residents lost their jobs, many left the community, and later local self-government was abolished. Today, Wietstock has around 120 inhabitants, who are faced with the challenge of creating a new sense of community.
In 2018, a steadily growing group of villagers from different generations, backgrounds and lifestyles began to shape a common future for the village. Supported by a moderated discussion process by the New Patrons, it became clear that the common denominator for the decision to live in the countryside was the connection to nature. As a result, in collaboration with the artist Antje Majewski, they developed a mosaic showing the animals and plants that are important to them, as well as initial plans for a garden pavilion with a solar system and community garden.
Now the villagers are faced with the question of how the village can respond to climate change and the monopoly of industrial agricultural businesses. How can they strengthen local, diverse farming and at the same time make the common good sustainable?
Agriculture and pig farming have always played a central role in the 780-year-old village. Nowadays, these are run by a European agricultural group that cultivates all the fields around the village on an industrial scale. The last retreats for a self-determined approach to nature, agriculture and food are the private kitchen gardens with small animal husbandry. These provide families with healthy food all year round and support economically weak households. At the same time, these gardens are a dramatic reflection of global ecological conflicts.
The operators of the local village gardens have developed strategies to deal with this. In a moderated process, this valuable knowledge of local experts is made available to others. The local knowledge is collected and deepened in workshops, where topics such as biodiversity, self-marketing, solidarity agriculture and networking could play a central role.
The aim of this project is to formulate a commission for an artist who will use nature-based artistic interventions to support the stakeholders in developing new perspectives and generating more visibility for the problem. The aim of this project is not only to improve the lives of the villagers and cohesion, but also to serve as a model for sustainable development in similar communities.
Photo by Victoria Tomaschko/Neue Auftraggeber.
- Profiles
- Mediators
- Susanne Burmester
- Commissioners
- Wietstock villagers
