SURE Workshop on Sustainable farming and gardening

SURE Workshop on Sustainable Gardening & Farming

Gömörszőlős, Hungary · 13–15 July 2026

The three-day SURE Workshop on Sustainable Gardening & Farming took place in Gömörszőlős, Hungary, on 13–15 July 2026, hosted by the Ecological Institute for Sustainable Development within the Sustainable Food strand of the SURE project.

The workshop brought together 31 participants from 10 countries for three days of practical learning, site visits, demonstrations and discussions on ecological and regenerative approaches to food production and sustainable rural living.

Participants explored Gömörszőlős and its Sustainable Village Programme, learning about sustainable resource use and locally implemented solutions for sanitation, heating and resource management. The programme also included a visit to the ancient orchard, highlighting traditional fruit varieties, biodiversity and locally adapted genetic resources.

A visit to Iván Gyulai’s garden in Szuhafő provided practical insights into ecological gardening, soil cover, organic matter, composting, nutrient cycles and approaches to reducing chemical inputs.

Throughout the workshop, participants discussed the connections between healthy soils, biodiversity, climate adaptation, food production and resilient rural communities, while exchanging experiences and ideas from their own countries.

The combination of practical examples, field visits and peer-to-peer exchange demonstrated how ecological principles can be translated into solutions at household, garden and community level.

The program included:

• Getting to know the village: village walk • Getting to know the sustainable village program - learning about sustainable resource use techniques • Visit to the ancient orchard of Gömörszőlős - landscape history, the development of the landscape Visit to Szuhafő - soil-regenerating and pesticide-free gardening • What kind of agriculture do we want? discussion about the present and the future