Food production and preparation in Roma communities in Slovenia

 

What do we need for sustainable gardening? Facilitator: Aljaž Plankl, May 21, 2025, Maribor.
Photo: Sandi Horvat

Come Together! project aims to connect two challenges: environmental issues and social justice. We invited representatives of the Roma community to help design the project activities, with whom we chose the topic of educational and artistic activities: food production and preparation through time. 

Roma are a recognized ethnic minority in Slovenia, and their presence in the region dates back to at least the 15th century. Approximately 12,000 Roma live in Slovenia. The Slovenian Roma community is diverse, and we included different groups in the project: from Prekmurje, Dolenjska and Maribor. Roma in Slovenia still face significant challenges: social exclusion and discrimination, housing problems, challenges in the field of education and employment, and health inequalities. In order to include Roma in discussions about food production and preparation, which are significantly affected by climate change, we developed educational and artistic activities.

Discussion with Roma in Prekmurje on the topic of traditional food production and preparation,
May 24, 2025, Lendava. Photo: Sandi Horvat

Traditional Roma food to try.
Prepared by Sonja Horvat,
Nova pot - Nevo drom association.
Lendava, May 2024, 2025.
Photo: Sandi Horvat.

Sonja Horvat from the
Nova pot - Nevo drom association 

talks about the diet of Roma, 

Lendava, May 24, 2025.

Photo: Sandi Horvat.

The aim of the educational activities, which covered topics such as sustainable gardening, collecting herbs and making products from them, waste management, using leftover food and cooking was to provide participants with new information and enable them to try out new practices themselves. In doing so, we raised the question of what they themselves could do to make a difference in their local environment – ​​in some places they have land and can plant their own garden, but in urban environments it is more difficult to get to land. We also talked about which herbs are medicinal and what we can make from them, how to cook delicious dishes and use up leftovers, and about the possibilities and methods of waste separation. It was particularly interesting to hear about the history of the Roma community and its development based on nutrition. The activities on herbs and nutrition were prepared and carried out by experts in these areas from the Roma community.

The aim of the artistic activity was to sensitize participants to the topic, to recognize their experiences and knowledge, and to use this as a basis for addressing the heritage of food production and preparation in Roma communities. The result of this activity is the recording of selected heritage narratives, which will become part of the newly created Roma heritage archive, which will be kept by SEM. 

Herbal corner at the premises of the Roma association,
June 6, 2025, Šentjernej. Photo: Sandi Horvat. 

             

We carried out activities for the Roma community in Lendava, Maribor and Šentjernej. At the request of the organizers, who provided the space and participants for the activities in which they recognized potential, we carried out activities for two additional groups: for students at the initiative of the Lendava People's University (which operates in a multicultural environment where the Roma community and the Hungarian minority coexist) and for long-term unemployed individuals at the initiative of the NGO EPEKA; both organizations were part of our activity design meetings. In addition, we hosted a group of Roma from Prekmurje at the museum, who viewed the permanent exhibition Between Nature and Culture, and then talked about their heritage of food production and preparation. In Šentjernej, we were also joined by a representative of the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Peter Dirnbek Vatovec.

95 people participated in the educational activities and 93 in the artistic activities. The implementation of the activities was also documented with a short film available here.

Many thanks to all participants and all facilitators for the exceptional gatherings and exchange of knowledge and experiences!

Aljaž Plankl talks about preparing the soil for sustainable gardening in the garden of the founders of the Roma Association, June 6, 2025, Šentjernej. Photo: Sandi Horvat.

Seniors Talking Climate to Children: A Shift in Perspective

We often imagine children as the ones who push adults to act on climate change. What if we turned the picture around? In Come Together, we tested this idea: involving seniors to pass on climate knowledge to the younger generation.

The activity, designed and led by Planète Sciences, brought together a group of seniors from the Brel-Brassens Social Center in Évry-Courcouronnes (France). Over a session, they built a complete weather station—anemometer, wind vane, rain gauge. It was hands-on, educational, and designed to spark intergenerational exchange.

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A hands-on start

From the very beginning, seniors pictured how they would use the weather station at home and share it with their grandchildren. Each built an instrument adapted to their own environment—balcony, garden, or window ledge. Concentration and engagement stayed high throughout.

Fun fact: when they first came, many thought the workshop was about gardening. Some even brought their own tools, expecting to start a vegetable patch. The surprise? They loved building scientific instruments—and especially the idea of teaching this skill to their grandchildren. But it raised an open question: would they have come if the activity had been announced as “scientific construction” from the start?

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From tools to climate discussions

As they built and tested the devices, participants discussed the difference between weather and climate, and the changes they had witnessed over decades. Their lived memory became a powerful entry point to connect personal stories with scientific knowledge.

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Extending the dialogue

The activity was designed to be reproduced at home, turning the workshop into a tool for family dialogue. Seniors left not only with instruments but also with stories to share—making them credible and trusted messengers for climate issues.

Later, the group came back to continue the exchange, this time around biodiversity, seasonal consumption, and a mini-vegetable garden. The potager gave a concrete way to explore how everyday choices link to environmental change.

 

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Why it worked

• Practical engagement: building something tangible creates attention and motivation.
• Credible messengers: seniors bring long-term experience and authentic stories.
• Intergenerational impact: knowledge is passed on with emotions and memories, not just facts.

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What we observed

• Consistent focus and investment from participants.
• A strong desire to reproduce the activity with younger generations.
• Collective pride in creating something useful, visible, and easy to share.
• Reinforcement of the idea that climate mediation works best when grounded in everyday life.

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Takeaways for practice

• Offer simple, manual activities that can be repeated at home.
• Provide a clear protocol so participants feel confident passing it on.
• Encourage intergenerational conversations.
• Always connect practice with clear, relevant messages on climate.

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In conclusion

This workshop showed how seniors can be powerful actors of climate mediation. By making them builders and storytellers, we opened a new way to spark dialogue with children—rooted in experience, practical skills, and the joy of sharing.

It was also the last activity in the formal phase of Come Together. Now begins the next step: analyzing and formalizing everything learned since the launch of the mediation actions, to draw lessons for the future.

The Come Together Project Presented at a Diversci Webinar

On July 17, 2025, we had the pleasure of presenting the Come Together project during an online webinar held for members of the Diversci community.

Diversci is a European network of professionals committed to fostering diversity and inclusion in science. It brings together people from science communication, education, research, and civil society.
👉 Learn more: www.diversci.eu

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What We Shared

We were invited to present the project’s collaborative, European approach, and how it has been built step by step across countries, with local adaptations and shared learning.

We also gave an overview of the actions carried out over the past months:
✅ Nearly 125 professionals trained
✅ Over 500 people reached, many of whom are in situations of social exclusion

Some concrete examples of what was done in France:

• Two mini-exhibitions created by incarcerated people, for others in the same center
• A sound and visual map of biodiversity, built by young adults in professional and social reintegration programs, in collaboration with experts
• An informal creative workshop with a neighborhood association and a researcher
• A weather station and vegetable garden, co-created with a group of seniors

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A Space for Shared Reflections

Beyond the presentation, the webinar gave us the opportunity to share some open questions we’re currently facing as the project nears its end:

• What next, with such an active and committed community?
• How can we build new projects with new partners?
• How do we keep the momentum going?

Other project partners also joined the conversation and shared their experiences and challenges during small-group exchanges.

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Thank You 🙏

We were delighted to connect with the Diversci community — to share our journey, hear from others, and explore common paths forward.

Looking forward to continuing to build bridges between science, society, and inclusion — together.