Description
The Netzwerk Solidarische Landwirtschaft is the German association of community supported agriculture (Solawi): farms whose members pay a monthly share of the farm’s costs and get a share of the harvest in return, usually every week. It is an alternative to supermarket vegetables from heated greenhouses and long-distance imports.
The idea came to Germany in 1988 with the Buschberghof, a biodynamic farm near Hamburg, and the network grew out of it. Solawi farms and initiatives founded the association; it lists their farms on a map, advises groups who want to start one and runs training. By 2024 it listed almost 490 Solawis, more than 400 of them members. Since 2019 the cooperatives among them have their own network within the association.
Members don’t buy vegetables; they finance the farm for a year. Many Solawis set the contributions in a bidding round (Bieterrunde): each member offers a monthly amount, often around a suggested figure, until the bids cover the year’s budget, so those who can pay more support those who can pay less. Examples in the press range from about €40 to €110 a month for a share. Most Solawis farm organically, and some are run by an association or cooperative of members rather than by a farmer alone. Members usually commit for a year and are often invited to help in the fields.
Strengths
- Farmers have a secure income before the season starts, whatever the weather or the harvest.
- Seasonal, local and mostly organic vegetables, without packaging or a supermarket in between.
- Contributions set in a bidding round let households pay according to their means.
Weaknesses
- Members eat what the season gives: a lot of cabbage and roots in winter, little choice.
- Most farms ask for a commitment of a full year and some help in the fields or at the pick-up.
Who it is for
Households in Germany who cook regularly, can collect a weekly share and want to know where their food comes from and who grows it.
Sources
- The official site solidarische-landwirtschaft.org refused automated reading in November 2026.
- Wikipedia: Solidarische Landwirtschaft
- Nascent transformativ / DUZ: Solidarisch gegen Höfesterben (2024)
- Nordkurier: So läuft das Bieterverfahren der Solawi
- Wochenblatt: Tag der offenen Tür bei der Solawi Mannheim-Süd