Hülsen&Früchte - Project to promote the diversity of legumes in the Kamptal region, Austria
The aim of the three-year LEADER project "Hülsen&Früchte" is to promote the fascinating diversity of legumes, including all their culinary qualities, by means of numerous diverse project activities, ranging from crossing workshops to collaborative breeding and monitoring activities. An important focus is on raising awareness on the societal benefits as well as the ecological advantages of growing and eating legumes.
With more than 600 varieties, ARCHE NOAH has a large variety of legume seeds in its seed archive and aims to make a contribution to the promotion of the cultivation of legumes for human consumption within this new, multi-year focus.
Legumes
The plant family of the legumes (fabaceae), such as beans, chickpeas, lentils and others are an essential future component of a sustainable food system.
Climate and environment
- Legumes offer an ecologically sustainable alternative to animal protein sources, as they consume significantly fewer resources in production.
- Legumes enable sustainable nitrogen fertilization
- Legumes contribute to biodiverse agriculture and promote soil fertility.
- Some legumes and varieties cope very well with heat and drought, which is important with regard to climate change adaptation.
Human nutrition
- In culinary terms, legumes are a valuable and healthy source of protein and appeal with almost unlimited processing possibilities.
- In addition to their many important nutrients, legumes also contain numerous secondary plant constituents with health-promoting effects.
Project activities
The following project activities are planned:
Participation project
Gardeners and farmers are invited to cultivate and document a special variety from the ARCHE NOAH Seed Archive or from other collections in their own gardens and to bring the harvest to the "Bohnen-Vielfalt Auftafeln" event in the ARCHE NOAH Show Garden in Schiltern in September 2020.
Courses and seminars
In the course of the project, workshops, seminars and holiday programmes will be developed and implemented.
Collaborative research and breeding activities
ARCHE NOAH offers collaborative research and breeding activities in close cooperation with organic farmers and gardeners from the Kamptal region. ARCHE NOAH coordinates and accompanies the decentralised activities at the various locations. These activities are embedded in regular project meetings, field days and workshops on topics such as pea crossing.
info@arche-noah.at