Examples of actions made under the "Greener Fests" project:

Sustainable festival on nature and spirit, 8. 8. 2009 - 18. 8. 2009, Český les (Eurosolar.cz)

Sustainable festival on nature and spirit was carried out at our traditional camping place in West Bohemia, in forest valley in „Český les“ mountains  near to German border.

a)         Week with dancing and psychotherapeutical activities

This week was dedicated to dancing led by dancing teacher Jitka Umacova.  The group was invited to circle dancing in outdoor space. Dancing was conducted by reproduced and living music. The dances were mainly selected from national dances from Greece, Balkan, Russia, Hungary and others. The therapeutic work was conducted by Czech and German well skilled therapists. The number of participants was 24.

b)         Week with natural techniques

There were two techniques: a felt making from natural wool and parchment made from goat and sheep skins with help of Czech experts.  The number of participant was 15. There has been made approx 10 whole skin parchments and wide variety of  miscellaneous felt products including carpets, shoes, toys and similar ...

BIOMARKET Day, 5. 9. 2009, Miskolc (Green Action Hungary)

Organic Market Day was the birthday party of the organic market that was estableshed in the Autumn 2005 with help of Green Action Associaton and the Associaton of Nort-Hungarian Organic Farmers. It is open on every Friday morning and environmentely conscious consumers can buy certificated organic food directly from the farmers who come places not more far than 80 km from Miskolc. The event started with a morning exercise of the local Thai Chi Gymnastic Group. We organized a training for children about the organic farming methods and biodiversity. Connecting to the market we operated an ad hoc coffee-bar where we offered different kinds of organic coffe, tee, juice and biskuits to people. During the time we generated a discussion in cooperation with an expert of dietetic about healthy nutrition. Thinking in terms of biodiversity of species used in agriculture and gastronomy we prepared also an exhibition of old fruit varieties and freshly collected mushrooms of the Bükk Mountin. We closed the market day with a lunch witch was prepared during the event by the farmers and volunteers using organic ingredients. The lunch was served in paper platres and cups that were selectivelly collected and later on composted.

Number of participants: 250 persons (students, children, local farmers, customers...), 5 volunteers

Co-operating NGO’s: Zöld Kapcsolat Egyesület, Ökológiai Intézet Alalpítvány, Miskolci Gombász Egyesület,  Észak-magyarországi Biokultúra Egyesület.

Bio Garden Celebration - Autumn Festival, 10. 10. 2009, Družstevná pri Hornáde, SK

In October 2009, Autumn Festival of Bio Gardens took place in the natural gardens of Družstevná pri Hornáde elementary school and Ekocenter SOSNA. Festival involved children, adults and volunteers that prepared a rich environmental program for kids and adults. About 350 people participated at the Festival; visitors came from the community, but also from surrounding villages and cities.

Festival program:

• Garden Tea Room
• Bio shop
• Adventure tour through herbal labyrinth
• Theatres – gardens fairies
• Accompanying natural garden
• Information panels presentation on natural gardening, river patrols, watershed protection, medicinal herbs, river protection, and Green schools network.
• Projection in the summer amphitheatre

Festival Another Journeys, 20. – 21. 11. 2009, Košice (SOSNA)

Festival Another Journeys consisted of authentic live presentations of humanitarian workers, travellers, photographers and scientists from Slovakia and Czech Republic, on their journeys to developing countries. Presentations, focused on different aspects of sustainable and responsible travelling and tourism, natural resources, poverty, global environment, voluntarism and  humanitarian help, has been combined with photos or document movie presentations. Each presentation finished by discussion with audience.

Projection of documentary movies One World. Parallel part of the festival was a projection of documentary movies on the most serious problems of developing world, called “One World”. This activity has been realised in co-operation with humanitarian organisation Human in Peril Slovakia.

Information panels Another Journeys: As a support activity, posters (information panels) on each of presented country has been prepared and presented at the festival. These panels will be used as a travelling exhibition in different places of Slovakia to promote the topic of development countries, voluntarism and responsible travelling. Institutions which are interested include schools, museums and NGOs in Slovakia.

Promotion of fair trade products and third world culture. Refreshment of festival was also “in style” and it consisted of  fair trade coffee and tee and traditional food from developing countries

Web page. Festival is supported by web page http://www.festival-ine-cesty.net where you can find all presentations, photos, principles of sustainable travelling, etc.

Meat Jelly Festival, 20. – 22. 2. 2010, Miskolc (Green Action)

Meat Jelly Festival is a prominent event of North Hungarian region. Every year in the third week of February the biggest open air festival of winter in Hungary invites thousands and thousands of visitors from Hungary and abroad. The main topics of the festival are culture, sport, health, environmental protection, adventure tourism and gastronomy. The streets and squares are filled with life, more than a hundred events, concerts and performances are waiting for the small and big ones who can taste the famous meat jelly of Miskolc. Part of the colourful festival Green Tent was a place for environmental NGOs to show their activities. In 2009 23 NGOs, working on the field of nature protection, animal welfare, climate protection, waste management, renewable energy, fair trade, organic farming, hiking, biking and public transport were there to make exhibitions, workshops, presentations and projections. Green Action made a tasting quiz of organic herbs, spices, vegetables and fruits to take people one step closer to natural flavours, sustainable farming and direct trade of local food. Those who made a good score on quiz got organic products as a pig in poke. During the weekend we provided the lunch for the volunteers and workers of the Green tent using up organic ingredients, paper plates and cups. Of course a lot of information leaflets, magazines, textile bags, compostable cutleries were available at our desk. We also made a display of waste-reducing and composting techniques.

Number of participants: 20 000 persons (in the whole Green Tent) and around 850 persons at Green Actions’ desk directly.

Main Organiser of the Green Tent: Zöld Kapcsolat Egyesület

Co-operating NGOs’, institutes, companies in the Green Tent project: Aggteleki Nemzeti Park Igazgatóság, Amatőr Meteorológusok Egyesülete, Baráthegyi Vakvezető és Segítő Kutya Iskola Alapítvány, BiroLogic Kft, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Megyei Természetjáró Szövetség, Bükki Nemzeti Park Igazgatósága, E-misszió Természet- és Környezetvédelmi Egyesület, Szabó György, Holocén Természetvédelmi Egyesület, Magyar Gombász Kkt.,  Magyar Kerékpárosklub B.-A.-Z. Megyei Alapszervezete, Magyar Madártani és Természetvédelmi Egyesület, Magyar Természetvédők Szövetsége, Miskolci Állatkert és Kultúrpark, Miskolci Gombász Egyesület, Miskolci Vadászgörény Klub, MIVIZ Miskolci Vízmű Kft., Ökológiai Intézet a Fenntartható Fejlődésért Alapítvány, Szimbiózis Alapítvány,  Zöld Akció Egyesület, Zöld Kapcsolat Egyesület, Védegylet Egyesület, Vitalitás Biokereskedés

Pozdní Zimní Pestrovečer, 12. – 13. 3. 2010, Mikulčice (Konopa), www.pestrovecer.wz.cz

Pozdní Zimní Pestrovečer is a “small but ambitious festival that proves that even in a small village it is possible to prepare an unique event. Or that good entertainment doesn’t exclude with meaningful and useful activities. And it proves that in our region live a lot of people that keen more to live than to consume...”

It is unique by the time, early spring, venue – cultural house in small town in south Moravia with vineyards around - and organisation. Boys and girls from local branch of Hnuti Brontosaurus are the main initiators and organisers, mostly as volunteers.

Hnutí Brontosaurus s one of the oldest environmental youth NGOs in Czechoslovakia. It focuses on a direct work with children and youth, on a development of environmentally, socially and personally friendly behaviour. Thanks to that Pestrovečer is animate not only by great music and artworks but by ecology too.

It consisted of friday evening session on fair-trade and drum concert.

Saturday afternoon – evening programme with music bands, theatre, local artists pieces presentation, sesions on citizenship and direct action in work of NGOs and session on Greener festivals project. The project was presented by PPT presentation made by Michal Ruman.

Konopa as a partner of the festival had its well frequented stand in the entrance hall during the saturday part of the festival.

Around 500 youth and alders mainly from the region visited the festival. Around 35 participants were present at the Greener Festival session.

See pictures here and there

Round tables, 14^th April and 3rd May 2010, Prague and Brno (Konopa)

Konopa organised two round tables – meetings of festivals promoters, eco-companies and NGOs that aimed to find an optimal modus of cooperation.

Interactive programme consisted of overview of techniques used at sustainable festivals, exchange of participants knowledge and group work on strategy creation.

Around 13 participants from each sector came to both meetings (25 altogether) and came with inspiring results. Fruitful partnership have been developed and the first outcomes are visible already in 2010 festival season. See other relevant documents (presenční listiny and fotos) for more details.

More about meetings here and here. Reports for download: Zpis_KS_Pha.doc zapis-KS_bno.doc

St George Shepherd’s Day, 24th April, Túrkeve (NIMFEA)

This day was traditionally the day when livestock was counted before sending them out to the fields. In Túrkeve this day was the occasion to celebrate traditional animal-keeping practices and the related lifestyle.

The one-day festival started with the walk of the sheep around the town, accompanied with traditionally dressed shepherds on horses and horse-carriages, with live musicians. Traditional local foods were prepared open-air and served during the day together with other local foods from mangalitza bacon to plum jam, mostly from ecological farming.

Traditional handicrafts (pottery, leather works, wool processing etc.) were presented and participants could try to make such crafts themselves. Children could take part in traditional group games such as rope pulling; folk dances and plays were also presented and taught to the interested participants. On the stage live music, dance and traditional shepherd scenes took turns.

Our partner organization was Herman Otto Nature Conservation Circle and Beklen Foundation

Number of visitors: 650 mainly local famillies, musicians, shepherds, bio farmers and craftsmen.

More information in Hungarian... and ...

10^th year of a meeting of reggae lovers organised by Beat Promotion agency at Točník village near to Prague. Konopa joined the preparational team and presented possible eco-solutions for their festival, Together we decided on the most suitable activities. We focused on waste management, sustainable travelling and visitors sensibilisation. More then 400 kg of waste was separated with help of Bioplaneta. Next to that more then 7 000 biodegradable dishes came back to Bioplaneta within the refundable system.

We promoted common rides, public transport, water savings and so in the festival area on webpages and from the stage.

Datas from Bioplaneta on bioplastic dishes collection: RM_2010-bioplaneta.xls