The StreekWaar association has started a new project: de Duurzame Slag (the Sustainable Step Forward). After 2 years of official existence, there is a need for StreekWaar to professionalize as an association. In collaboration with the municipality of Wageningen, and with a financial contribution from the province of Gelderland, StreekWhaar will focus the next 2 years on the professionalization of logistics, processing and administration, and of the communication and marketing, on building a community with citizens, and on increasing its sustainability. You too can participate!
Context
The demand for the ecological products of StreekWaar has significantly increased recently, also among restaurants. In order to meet the demand, the internal organization of StreekWaar must be better coordinated, as well as the distribution, processing and marketing of the products. This also includes a stronger system to guarantee the sustainable principles of StreekWaar. There is also a concrete demand from residents to participate in StreekWaar, which calls for community building.
That is why StreekWaar is going to work on the two-year project ‘de Duurzame Slag: – towards the professionalization of the StreekWaar association’, which started in January 2023. The project has 4 pillars:
- professionalization of the organization, including administration, market and principles
- a pilot for collective logistics and processing,
- community building and
- professionalization of communication and marketing tools.
Three parts of the project are highlighted below:
Reinforcing sustainable principles in a participatory guarantee system
The members of StreekWaar do not all have an organic certification. For some this is too expensive, for others the certification’s requirements are an obstacle to further sustainability. That is why the members have made their own agreements about sustainable production – see the sustainability criteria. In the coming period, we will review these starting points and develop a form in which members can support each other even better in getting (even) more sustainable. We will also involve residents in this so that the principles are clear, relevant and verifiable. This process is known internationally as the “Participatory Guarantee System”.
A pilot for collective logistics and processing
A number of StreekWaar members deliver part of their production to other businesses, such as caterers, restaurants and shops such as LEV Hotel de Wereld or Food of Cultures. Now they all do this separately. Due to the increasing demand for ecological food from the region, the members are organizing themselves better so that their distribution logistics become more efficient and sustainable, for example via a webshop for business-to-business. In addition, we will see whether we can develop a central location for the processing of primary products into, for example, local grain noodles or a regional soft drink.
Building community with citizens
StreekWaar will make a plan to give consumers an active role in the StreekWaar association, for example through membership, crowdfunding, cooperating or organizing tastings. You will hear more about this soon!
Do you have a question or do you have an idea to share? Please contact our project coordinator Sandra van Kampen: sandra@descalevankampen.nl.
