This collaboration is crucial to strengthening the agroecological transition, not only in international cooperation contexts, but also at the local level. Putting conscious consumption at the center means recognizing its transformative power, capable of affecting not only production systems, but also economic and financial models, making them more equitable and sustainable.

Elisa Lenhard, Global Citizenship Education and Advocacy Coordinator at Mani Tese

Our degree program has always promoted active collaboration with NGOs, associations and entities on national and international projects through the engagement of students and faculty in site-specific teaching activities, internships, research and public engagement. This allows us to experiment with transformative knowledge and practices, supporting the formation of a conscious community capable of effectively intervening in complex contemporary socio-territorial dynamics.

Alice Giulia Dal Borgo, Chair of the Graduate Program in Geography, Environment and Territory – University of Milan

Soulfood ForestFarms deals with the design and implementation of Agroforestry Systems. All of these systems are conceived and designed following patterns that Nature has chosen to be successful in its goals. When we talk about Agroforestry we are talking about Communities: plants are chosen with the aim of achieving very dense rows and in such a way that species support each other. There are numerous Ecosystem Services and ecological functions that plants fulfill for local Communities: from the simple production of oxygen to the more refined influence it has in decreasing the stress rate of people. For the SFFF reality, it is crucial to create support networks with related realities, creating distributed, solid and transparent links with the common intent of working for ecological transition.

Enrico Sartori, Founding Partner of Soulfood Forestfarms

The first planned activities concern two key areas:

• The upgrading of the community chicken coop, an intervention that aims to improve and expand the existing facilities within the “Adopt a Hen” project, already active at Soulfood Forestfarms. This initiative has created the first neighborhood chicken coop in Milan, located in the Urban Agroforest of Vettabbia Park, and allows citizens to adopt a chicken, contributing to its ethical and sustainable breeding. The expansion of the chicken coop will improve resource and facility management, ensure optimal conditions for the animals, and expand local community involvement, strengthening the connection between production and conscious consumption.
• Strengthening the local community, through moments of aggregation and awareness raising. The collaboration will be developed around meetings dedicated to discussing key issues such as food sovereignty, sustainable supply chains and environmental justice, with a look that combines the experiences of the Global South with agroecological practices developed in the European context. Mani Tese has been working for years in countries of the Global South so that global financial flows contribute to sustainable development, ensuring that resources are used to strengthen the rights of local communities and build more just and resilient economies.

At the heart of this collaboration is the dialogue betweenregenerative agroforestry, promoted by Soulfood Forestfarms, and agroecological transition, carried out by Mani Tese. Two complementary approaches coming together to build agricultural models that can respond to the environmental, social and economic challenges of our time.

Soulfood Forestfarms represents a concrete example of how agroecology can be not only a farming method, but also a tool for environmental and social regeneration. Through the direct involvement of citizens, the initiative aims to create connections between people and the land, stimulating greater awareness of sustainable agricultural practices and their impact on collective well-being.

This collaboration is part of Mani Tese’s broader commitment to equitable and sustainable agriculture that puts social and environmental justice at the center. Further initiatives will be activated in the coming months to consolidate this path and expand local community involvement.

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This project is co-funded by the European Union. The contents of this article are the responsibility of Mani Tese ETS alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.