BioColAlp

Action Research on Reviving the Diversity of Crops and their Cultivars in the Alps - The Case of the Village of Assling

The part of the project administered by BOKU ensures - in the sense of a participative action research - the scientific monitoring and documentation of the construction of a network of seed savers for traditional crops of the Alpine region in the community of Assling (Lienz district).

The activities planned

At the core of the activities of the village of Assling is the establishment of a network of gardeners and farmers, who grow traditional crops such as poppy, horse bean, turnips or potatoes, who preserve the local varieties of these crops and pass them on to the community.

Since seeds and the associated local knowledge represent both tangible and intangible cultural heritage - comparable to books - the library Assling is closely involved in the project.

In the near future it should be possible not only to borrow books in the library Assling, but also seeds of the Assling seed savers network. Anyone who has successfully cultivated and harvested returns part of the harvested seed back to the library in the following year, and shares his or her knowledge of at the library cafe, which also discusses gardening knowledge.

Current media reports (In German language only)

Dolomitenstadt berichtet über den Projektstart (April 2018)

Demnächst in Assling: Saatgut aus der Bücherei

Kleine Zeitung berichtet über den Projektstart (April 2018)

Saatgut für lokale Sorten kommt aus der Bücherei

Osttiroler Bote berichtet über den Projektstart (April 2018)

Mit Bürgern gemeinsam lokales Saatgut erhalten

Pustertaler Volltreffer berichtet über die Null-Kilometer-Tomaten (Mai 2018)

Mit Bürgern gemeinsam lokales Saatgut erhalten

Dolomitenstadt berichtet über die Null-Kilometer-Tomaten (Mai 2018)

In Assling wachsen "Null-Kilometer-Tomaten"

Osttiroler Bote berichtet über die Null-Kilometer-Tomaten (Mai 2018)

Assling produziert Null-Kilometer-Tomaten

Kleine Zeitung berichtet über die Null-Kilometer-Tomaten (Mai 2018)

Gemeinde Assling erzeugt nun Null-Kilometer-Pflanzen

Dolomitenstadt berichtet über Blauen Lemur, Schwarze Urperle und Gelbe Osttirolerin (August 2018)

Blauer Lemur, Schwarze Urperle und Gelbe Osttirolerin: Assling ist Hot-Spot für die Kultivierung traditioneller Kulturpflanzen und lokaler Sorten

Please click on "Deutsche Version" in the menue above, for more and most recent media news in German language.

The network of Assling seed savers is embedded in a series of educational measures. These are intended to increase understanding of the importance of seed saving and to provide the necessary technical skills that are essential for successful seed saving. Also methods of organic horticulture and a sustainable green space design in the community are topics that will promoted by the community Assling in the next two years. Among other things, it will improve the local composting in the gardens, as well as the sowing of wild flowering plants.

Key words

General biology; Botany; Horticulture; Vegetable growing; Grain cultivation ; Organic farming; Plant breeding; Seed breeding; Seed cultivation; History of agriculture and forestry; Sustainable agriculture; Agricultural sociology; Ethnography; European ethnology; Cultural anthropology; Regional research; Urban and village renewal; Action research; Historical regional studies;

Organic Gardening; Citizen science; Homegarden; Seed saving;