During my jobshadowing at Mostar Friedensprojekt in March 2025, I had the opportunity to work on a project that focused on understanding target groups for a future self-sufficiency farm near Berlin. While my colleague concentrated on data and production models, my assignment was to explore the social and cultural dimensions: Who are the people most likely to engage with such a project, and what motivates them?
Before this jobshadowing experience, I had already demonstrated my strong interest and motivation in sustainable agriculture and innovative farming methods by developing a business plan for an urban vertical farming initiative called “Urban Roots.” This project focused on using vertical space to increase local food production, reduce transportation needs, and integrate sustainable technologies like IoT and automation. This background provided me with valuable knowledge and a unique perspective that I brought into my observations and analysis during the jobshadowing.
I began my research in Berlin, visiting several urban gardening and community farming initiatives such as the Prinzessinnengärten in Kreuzberg, the Eine-Welt-Acker, and the Havelgärten, but especially many Schreber Gardening Colonies in Berlin. And there are masses of them. These visits showed me the diversity of people engaged in sustainable farming — from young families with children to retirees sharing decades of gardening experience. I spoke with active garderning projects, observed their routines, and started to form an image of the skills, interests, and values that drive urban farming communities. In my 
carreer as IT guy, I have developed enormous skills cracking data, but little being connected with physical activity. So, going out there into the countryside and talking with real people, that are not staring in their phone every second minute was a real experience for me. Thankfully Mostar Friedensprojekt e.V. and their guys were not satisfied until then. They pushed me to go further out, and meet the real-deal-people in the countryside.
The second part of my jobshadowing took me to Neustrelitz and the surrounding region, where I visited over 30 ecological and nature-focused projects. The connection between nature protection and sustainability seems self-explanatory. But it is much deeper than that. My traels included experiences in the Serrahner Forst and the Müritz National Park, learning from Reimers Fischerei at the Rödliner See, and spending time at the lakeside recreation areas there. With the Nature Conservation Association (NABU) in Neustrelitz, I discovered hands-on projects like the Kalkhorst adventure forest, findling gardens, stork nest monitoring, and insect protection initiatives. I also explored several Natura 2000 sites with connected entrepreneurial projects like the Kleine Meierei Café with its educational farm, besides the Flatterhus exhibition in Kratzeburg, and projects supporting the resettlement of wolves through the Müritz Biosphere National Park. This included meeting rangers from the biosphere reserve, getting to know the archives and library of the Neustrelitz Kulturquartier, where I learnt about the enormous wealth of research in this area of the former state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
In Klein Trebbow, I connected with members of a solidarity-based farm (Solawi) where Scottish highland cattle and goats are raised for milk and cheese production, combined with community music events in their barn. I also visited rewetting sites like the Kameruner
Wiese and wetlands near the Sander area in Klein Trebbow, seeing how ecological restoration and carbon sinkages can coexist with sustainable land use.
During my time in Neustrelitz, I also developed a plan for a follow-up project named ‘Young Environmentalist’, which will build on these experiences and deepen the engagement with youth-oriented environmental education. I was happy that I could contribute a very concrete work to the portfolio of Mostar Friedensprojekt e.V.. From these visits, I began outlining a profile of future participants: families and individuals with a strong interest in sustainability, a willingness to engage physically with the land, and a desire for a meaningful community connection. Many already have gardening experience; others are motivated by curiosity and a wish to learn.
This jobshadowing gave me a deeper understanding of how ecological, social, and economic aspects intersect in community farming. It was not just about observing places but about seeing how people interact with land and nature in ways that build resilience and shared
value. Personally, this experience also marked an important time in my life, as I am now planning to build a family in Berlin while continuing to engage in sustainable agriculture initiatives. I have caught fire, as they say in Germany. And now I am much more convinced that I really belong to this exquisite group of activists called “young environmentalists”.
