EBDA Engineers’ Training Program

Training on Soil life and Fertility 

Organic Egypt recently conducted a transformative three-day training session in collaboration with the partner association, EBDA, focused on enhancing soil life and fertility management.

First day, the training commenced with a thorough exploration of soil structure and types, underscoring their critical importance in fostering successful agricultural practices. Lectures highlighted the indispensable role of healthy soil in optimizing crop yield and sustainability.

Throughout the program, participants delved into practical applications such as various composting techniques, including compost and compost tea preparation.

Second and third days, the training was dedicated to hands-on sessions, enabling attendees to acquire firsthand experience in assessing soil health through simple yet effective tests and observations. Practical demonstrations on weed suppression techniques and natural methods for controlling pests and diseases provided invaluable insights into sustainable farming practices. Eventually, the training program equipped the engineers with a holistic understanding of soil health dynamics and equipped them with practical skills poised to enhance agricultural productivity and environmental stewardship across the region. The EBDA engineers’ training was led by Dr. Hend El Sawy and coordinated by Eng. Rana Hany. 

SEKEM Festival 2024

From June 13 to 17, the first destination was Fulda, where the Sekem festival took place. This festival aimed to provide insights into sustainable business practices and showcase SEKEM’s economic model, ‘Economy of Love.’ The festival featured a variety of activities, including:

• Panel discussions
• Artistic and practical workshops
• Working groups
• Cultural programs

The Egyptian Biodynamic Association and the Economy of Love team played a significant role in organizing and participating in these events. The festival highlighted the principles of sustainability, social responsibility, and innovation. Activities included planting trees, nature observation and a long walk. 

The SEKEM vision has been alive in Egypt for over 45 years now; SEKEM friends in many countries support this vision in their local environment with great commitment and the implementation of the SEKEM Future Vision 2057 is in full swing. The EBDA team participated in the festival among diverse backgrounds. Naglaa Ahmed with the team from sekem and heliopolis University joined two important different panels about Economy and Ecology. They were hosting the Ecology panel and Naglaa was moderating the economic panel. Want to have heads up about the festival, check the link: Sekem Festival.

BFDI Member Assembly Meeting

The trip to Poland was more intense, centered around attending the 2024 BFDI member assembly meeting in Krzyzowa. This trip included several meetings, sessions, and group works with a focus on:

• Discussing the history of biodynamic and organic agriculture at a global level.
• Evaluating current certification approaches across the movement.
• Designing a future system of certification that ensures quality, serves the movement, and aligns with the principles of biodynamics and the overall vision of the movement.

These activities aimed to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of biodynamic certification, fostering greater consistency and alignment with the movement’s core values.

Economy of Love standard remarks

A total of 7 Carbon Credit Certificates were sold in the month of June. Additionally, the EoL team is preparing to trade 500 CC on the Egyptian stock exchange to be executed in the month of July

– EBDA/EoL Communication Team

The Communication Department at EBDA/EoL has made significant strides in our recent digital marketing efforts. We have launched targeted ads on our Facebook pages, resulting in impressive growth. EBDA’s page saw an increase from 756 to 2.5K likes and 2.8K followers, while the Economy of Love (EoL) page experienced growth from 600 to 2K likes and 2.2K followers. This surge has allowed us to reach more new accounts and boost engagement across our platforms.

Additionally, our team successfully covered the Climate Heroes events in diverse regions this month, Aswan, Luxor, and El-Minya, highlighting the achievements of these impactful gatherings. The events were a resounding success, further amplifying our mission and engaging our audience.

– Climate heroes ceremony at El-Miny

The ceremony was held at the government theater at El-Minya Government. The ceremony started with a cultural music performance by 2 of the government’s volunteers. The EoL team rewarded small-holder farmers with carbon credit incentives at El-minya Governorate. A total of 82 farmers were handed their financial rewards and their certificates  for their hard work and contribution to the environment.In addition to meeting several women associations in particular, “Al-Noor Al Satea”.  The EBDA team, in  presence of Justus Harm, Ibrahim Saad and Ngalaa Ahmed,  managed to find cooperation with the association’s officials  and a representative from the Ministry of Social Solidarity to set up a program for the women in the environmental sector. The discussion highlighted the program to be divided  into three courses, one for women’s health, the other for soft skills and the third for global issues. In  the upcoming few weeks, the EBDA  & the association should sign the MoUs to initiate the program.

– Climate heroes ceremony at Aswan  (11.06.2024)

• The event takes place in the theater of Aswan governorate building where  the governorate, representatives from ministry of agriculture, and other members from the local authorities   were present.
• Eng.Mogeb from the EBDA team opened the event with an introduction and gave the space to the local authorities led by the governor to speak.
• During the speech of the governor, he emphasized the crucial role of the farmers in saving the environment and contributing to food security in Egypt. He mentioned that through sustainable agricultural practices, farmers can mitigate climate impacts, preserve the fertile lands, and ensure future generations inherit a thriving ecosystem.  
• The awareness session highlighted the transformative power of the Economy of Love concept in fostering empathy, cooperation, and sustainable development, emphasizing its role in creating inclusive communities and resilient economies.
• At the end of the event, SI EoL team distributed the certificates and the carbon credit incentives for the farmers in Aswan who supported in mitigating climate change. 

– The awareness session on the Economy of Love and network creation concluded on a positive note, with participants expressing enthusiasm and commitment to implementing collaborative economic practices in their respective fields. The session not only raised awareness but also laid the foundation for ongoing dialogue and collaboration among participants.

EBDA Highlights and Recognitions

– The African Biodynamic Conference has received recognition and positive feedback around numerous organizations. Gladly, the conference’s vision and activities were shared and published in different articles and magazines such as Biodynamische Vereniging  and Lebendige Erde that related to biodynamic farming and movement in Europe as well as newsletters from the Geotheanum, BFDI and others. 

– Two brochures and two fact sheets have been published summarizing and documenting the current state of scientific knowledge in two areas: 

• Facts on Biodynamic Farming
• Bio-Century Fertilizer.

Brochures and fact sheets are available on the EBDA webpage, check the link for more: EBDA Knowledge

– Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) Updates 

Following the PGS auditing plan, more than 571 farms are under the auditing process starting from June, 2024 and following until August, 2024. 

EBBA Farmers’ Growth

EBDA extension engineers successfully registered 150 new farms in June that included 949 farmers with a total area of 2,135 acres.

EBDA total registered information from January until June, 2024 as follows:

Total farms: 956

Total farmers: 5137

Total area in acres: 12,669.5

Farmers’ Training Plan June 2024