GRASS CEILING – GENDER EQUALITY IN RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION SYSTEMS
GRASS Ceiling enables women to drive socio-environmental change by developing innovations that respond to socio-environmental challenges and build rural resilience.
The project will empower women to develop and lead socio-environmental innovations in agriculture, rural economies, and rural communities. Women’s participation in socio-environmental innovation in agriculture and rural areas is an emerging area in Europe, and GRASS Ceiling will contribute to the development of tools to support this.
With decades of research and practice experience, GRASS Ceiling brings together leading academics with experience in empowering women in agriculture and rural areas.
AgriFood Lithuania DIH, in collaboration with 25 partners from nine different countries, is implementing a project to train 72 rural women and farmers in different regions of Europe in social-ecological innovation. The project will transform the lives of women farmers and rural entrepreneurs by offering them the opportunity to participate in 9 Living Labs in 9 case study countries: Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland (UK), Lithuania and Croatia.
The Living Lab in Lithuania will be located in a rural region that has experienced depopulation due to internal and external migration. Past extensive agricultural practices have severely degraded the environment. As part of the lab, AgriFood Lithuania DIH will study the innovation needs of women on very small farms and rural women developing rural social capital initiatives.
With the support of Member States and the EU, we can make a real difference for women across Europe.
Project Coordinator: Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) Ireland
Project Partners:
- University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UNEW) United Kingdom
- Wageningen University (WU) Netherlands
- European Environmental Bureau (EEB) Belgium
- Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) Belgium
- European Association for information on local development (AEIDL) Belgium
- Mediterranean Agronomic Institute Zaragoza (IAMZ-CIHEAM) Spain
- Mediterranean Agronomic Institute Bari (CIHEAM Bari) Italy
- Pisa University (UNIPI) Italy
- Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (LCSS) Lithuania
- Institute for Rural and Regional Research (RURALIS) Norway
- Valladolid University (UVA) Spain
- Sveriges Lantbruksuniversite (SLU) Sweden
- European Farmers & European Agri-Cooperatives (COPA-COGECA) Belgium
- Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España (CCAE) Spain
- Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK) Croatia
- Zagreb University (UNIZG FAZ) Croatia
- Oi! Trøndersk Mat og Drykke (Oi!) Norway
- The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) United Kingdom
- Hela Sverige Jönköpings länsavdelning (HEAL SVERIGE) Sweden
- VŠĮ AgriFood Lithuania DIH (AFL) Lithuania
- Kilpatrick Innovation Ltd. (KI) Ireland
- Lega Regionale delle Cooperative e Mutue di Puglia (LEGACOOP) Italy
- Zuid-Hollandse Land- en Tuinbouw Bond (ZLTO) Netherlands
- Macra na Feirme (young farmers’ association) (MnF) Ireland
Project website: grassceiling.eu