Rare and its partners (IFOAM, AGC and CCS) are excited to announce the upcoming 12-day C4C and technical training workshop in the use of Living Bio-beds in pig husbandry. The workshop, from August 6th-17th, will be held at the Ba Vi Resort near Hanoi in Vietnam and will bring together participants from the host country, as well as India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines.

The current use of concrete-floored pigsties are expensive and time-consuming to construct, cause discomfort to the animals living in them, and can lead to effluent (pig manure, urine and waste water) entering adjoining streams and rivers resulting in eutrophication, declining water quality and fish-die-offs. There is a better way... Living Bio-beds (http://www.agrowingculture.org/fermented-bed-technology) are an important and timely technique designed to immediately eliminate any pollution from pig production, while creating a healthy, odor-free and clean environment for the raising of pigs. Additionally, this innovation opens the door to a number of additional markets that can be incorporated into the farm regardless of size.

At the workshop participants will learn more about this “solution” and how it can be promoted to farmers in their area during the twelve days together. Three days will be spent broadening and deepening participant understanding of the uses and benefits of the Living Bio-bed solution. We will explore how farmers and the rest of the value chain can use the solution to further improve the productivity, product quality, income, as well as the overall sustainability and prosperity of their own enterprises. Participants will get hands-on practice in building food systems - knowing about and working with the system’s different parts, how they interact with each other, and how to develop them toward further progress.

The adoption of new innovations is not only dependent on knowledge, so eight days of this training will also incorporate workshops on igniting behavior and social change within communities to accelerate the take-up of techniques like Living Bio-beds. Participants will learn the principles of social marketing and how to use research to better understand the drivers of human behavior. They will put lessons learned into practice using real-world situations and will themselves create simple, cost-effective, focus-group-tested materials and activities to engage communities and promote new behaviors.  Participants will leave the workshop able to design and implement mini campaigns. Campaigns that are designed to increase the public’s appreciation for nature and the adoption of more sustainable behaviors.

This portal provides a space for participants to exchange ideas both during and after the workshop, as well as a forum to discuss sustainable farming techniques with others from around the world.