Korowód Bioregional Center

Location: Sudeten Mountains, Lower Silesia, Poland
Focus Areas: Integrated landscape management, soil health, agroforestry, circular rural economies, participatory governance, bioregional resilience, biodiversity and conservation

Korowód is a bioregional foundation based in the headwaters of the Oder River in southwest Poland—an ecologically vital, culturally rich, and climatically sensitive mountain region. Our mission is to catalyze the regeneration of degraded landscapes, reweave community relationships to land, and build place-based capacity for climate adaptation, biodiversity recovery, agroecology/agroforestry and circular local economies.

We are currently seeking partners to join or co-create a Horizon Europe Cluster 6 consortium proposal. Our long-term vision is to establish a bioregional Living Lab to demonstrate and scale regenerative land use systems, nature-based solutions, and participatory territorial governance rooted in the unique social-ecological context of the Sudeten foothills connected to food, culture and nature..

What We Offer

• Place-based capacity: We are working with farmers, landowners, cultural actors, NGOs, and local officials who are committed to transforming land use practices in the region. This includes interest in agroforestry, silvopasture, biodiversity corridors, rural economic development and short food supply chains.

• Bioregional orientation: Our initiative is grounded in the principle that regeneration must emerge from the ecological, cultural, and historical realities of place. We connect mountains to valleys, forests to farms, and people to one another across sectors. Network weaving and developing complex systems rooted in the principles of interconnectedness based on biomimicry.

• Consortium readiness: We are assembling a transdisciplinary regional team and are prepared to join as a contributing partner or co-develop a full proposal with others aligned with our vision.

Thematic Priorities

• Soil health and land regeneration: Regenerating degraded, compacted, and eroded soils through agroecological practices and ecosystem-based management.

• Agroforestry and silvopasture: Promoting diversified, low-input land use in mountain regions to improve biodiversity, water retention, and climate resilience.

• Local food and circular economies: Supporting short supply chains, value-added rural production, and farmer-led cooperative models for a thriving local bioeconomy.

• Participatory governance: Enabling co-creation processes between farmers, citizens, researchers, and local governments to shape regenerative transitions.

• Territorial collaboration: Aligning efforts across municipalities and borders (Poland, Germany, Czech Republic and beyond) through a shared bioregional lens.

Who We’re Looking For

Korowód is building a cross-sector consortium rooted in collaboration and long-term impact. We are looking for partners who share a commitment to regeneration, multi-actor engagement, and place-based approaches to land stewardship.

We seek to collaborate with:

• Research institutions and universities with expertise in soil science, agroecology, biodiversity, landscape management, and systems thinking.

• Local and regional authorities interested in rural regeneration, participatory planning, and long-term ecosystem stewardship.

• Farmer networks, cooperatives, and advisory services working on agroecological transitions, especially in mountainous or marginalized regions.

• Environmental and community-based NGOs active in nature-based solutions, environmental education, or cultural revitalization.

• Social and solidarity economy actors (e.g., cooperatives, SMEs, producer associations) engaged in regenerative value chains and local food systems.

• Tech and monitoring providers offering soil health, biodiversity, or citizen science tools adapted to small-scale farmers and rural contexts.

• Artists, storytellers, and facilitators who help shift narratives and reawaken cultural connections to land and place.

Korowód is ready to contribute territorial commitment, bioregional insight, and community-rooted momentum to a shared European journey toward soil regeneration and rural resilience. We believe that systemic change starts in place—with the people who love and care for the land.

If you are building similar alliances or working on integrated solutions within the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 framework, we would love to connect.