BIONALES Network: The Food Heroes

The climate crisis is on everyone’s lips, and almost everyone now wants to actively put a stop to global warming – but where should we start? With food, we think! Because our food makes up a large part of our ecological footprint: On the one hand, conventional agriculture produces masses of greenhouse gases through artificial fertilizers, pesticides and the use of machinery; on the other hand, food is transported thousands of kilometers around the world without hesitation until it lands on our plates. The fact that this food is anything but fresh is another matter…

As vegetable heroes, we want to (re)discover and explore an alternative way of producing food: growing it on site, in the middle of the city! In the Green Lung, a 16-hectare, partially overgrown garden area, we cultivate a whole series of gardens according to the principles of permaculture and grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including old varieties, in mixed culture. We do not use any chemicals, but work exclusively by hand and with the means that nature provides us.

About us

A regional agriculture that avoids long distances, works biologically, builds up humus and provides citizens with fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables: Isn’t that what we all want? More green in the cities, local recreation areas, leisure opportunities and more social interaction in the neighborhoods: These are also declared goals of politicians and city dwellers alike. Why not combining? By creating eatable islands on urban green spaces, which are often not very attractively designed, by pleasing the eye with colorful fruits and vegetables and at the same time supplying Frankfurt’s citizens with fresh food, we create a perfect synthesis and make a valuable contribution to climate protection. We are taking a step towards food sovereignty by becoming less dependent on food imports and large corporations and instead re-learning to take care of our own food!

Our community gardens

We started implementing our ideas in the Grüne Lunge at Günthersburgpark. There, Juliane Ranck and Laura Setzer started in March 2019 as a couple in one garden. Today we manage 17 gardens. For each garden, there is a team of 5-10 people who manage the garden collaboratively. Overall, we are proud to have a community of over 130 people.

The future is productive and colorful!

Our team

As we continue to grow, we need many heads behind the scenes to organize, coordinate, network…. Our ‘Orga team’ has grown to seven people ( six women, one man) who meet regularly to discuss current issues, draft proposals, discuss the further development of the project and have a lot of fun.

Sometimes things get a bit heated because we are all very enthusiastic – but in the end, something good always comes out of it! It is the diversity of our skills and qualifications, but also of our interests, that makes us so productive.

www.gemueseheldinnen-frankfurt.de