   Pictures © Barbara Knowles
Transylvania is an amazing place. The rural scenes of village life, hay meadows full of flowers and mown by hand, storks nesting on chimneys, a medieval agricultural system that still relies on horse power, cows coming home through the village street in the evenings to be milked. The place echoes with a past long forsaken in the west but which we remember through fairy tales and view with nostalgia.
First impressions can be deceptive. While many villagers live in primitive conditions by western standards and are poor in material terms, this is neither a primitive place nor a living museum. Many of the people I have met here are rich in values that really matter: family, community, tradition, self sufficiency, and above all a warmth, generosity and hospitality that makes visitors come back again and again. This beautiful region of Romania has important lessons to offer the modern world. Many of us recognise the dysfunctions of western societies and want to do something to mend them. There is much talk of sustainable agriculture and forestry, local food production and biodiversity protection in Britain, yet the villagers of Transylvania have been managing their land and rural economies sustainably for the past thousand years. The small scale patchwork of hay meadows, pastures and fields are an ideal management system for biodiversity. Storks, frogs, eagles, insects, newts, wild flowers thrive here. Local food production and consumption is the norm in most villages. The credit crunch and high oil prices have less impact on people who grow their own food, don't run a car, and heat their homes with wood from managed forests. But we are in danger of losing this wealth of experience and natural richness through misguided or misapplied EU policies, globalisation, economic pressures and the understandable desire of people to improve their infrastructure and standard of living. Projects to support rural incomes and natural heritage Working with the Adept Foundation, Pagan Snow Cap Association, scientists, farmers and local communities, we are running three major projects to improve rural incomes, support traditional agriculture, understand the ecology and biology of important wetland habitats, and identify and protect key species and habitats in need of conservation. One project focuses on the ecology and conservation of some very special ponds and wetlands. One aims to increase milk quality and value. The newest project, starting in September 2009, will look at the hay-meadow biodiversity and management. What could such disparate topics have in common? The natural and cultural treasures of this special part of the world are closely connected. By helping local people to realise their value (in both senses of the word) we aim to improve the rural economy in its modern context, while supporting activities that keep it special. Support our work How can you help to preserve the best aspects of this special place while helping the people who live and work here - and who are the custodians of its treasures - to make a good living? Read more about our projects and support our work through these pages. Our supporters include The Environment Protection Agency for Hargita County, Hargita County Council and Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania in Csikszereda.  
 © Barbara Knowles 2009 |