Bilim is a community of organizations active in Agroecology from Eastern Europe, Central and Western Asia region. Our community brings together grassroots movements, organizations, NGO’s and other groups organizing peasants and small-scale food producers, indigenous peoples, academics, women and youth.
The members of Bilim community are practicing and / or promoting Agroecology on the ground and /or at policy level, with a focus on protecting biodiversity and cultural heritage, placing smallholders’ knowledge at the center of food systems. Our work is guided by our cultural diversity and the Nyéléni Declaration on Agroecology, UNDROP and UNDRIP .
In this video, developed as part of the Agroecology Fund’s “Grassroots Evidence for Agroecology” project, we introduce Bilim. While it highlights only part of Bilim’s diverse initiatives, it showcases the community’s mission to support rural areas, preserve biodiversity, and empower grassroots organizations, many of which are women-led. By exchanging knowledge and sharing best practices, the Bilim community strengthens the efforts to advance agroecology in the region. From seed exchanges to agroecology schools development, Bilim fosters trust and collaboration among diverse actors, strengthening connections across the agroecology landscape.
Bilim Case Study
Together with the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Institute for Agroecology, we’ve documented some of these efforts also in the brief published in the Agroecology Journal of the Institute for Agroecology
Agroecology has found a place in this large geographic area and is offering a perspective for organizations – mostly led by women – to consider, value and share that knowledge; start agroecology schools; inspire one another to honor local practices; save seeds; and organize communities. The Bilim Alliance is a grassroots network of agroecology organizations with a diversity of language, culture and history which promotes cross-pollination of ideas. Engagement across the organizations has inspired local actions and innovations that have strengthened agroecology in the region. With its multiple voices, Bilim is evidence of the power of local organizations and regional networks in advancing agroecology and food sovereignty.
At a Glance
Strengthening networks to share local knowledge and innovations is a path of transformation. Bilim’s work…
- Breaks the sense of isolation and separation
- Builds confidence by valuing each participant’s experience
- Inspires initiatives such as founding rural agroecology schools
- Fosters concrete collective action like seed-sharing
- Builds an extended family through openness, diversity and agency
- Enables collaborations between informal knowledge systems and formal institutions, challenging the traditionally top-down system of Research and Development