Tomaszyn
Smart Villages Initiative promoting sustainable farming in Warmia and Mazury
Description
Tomaszyn is a small village in the Warmia-Mazury province of Poland with ten households, where all landowners, villagers and farmers in the village are members, partners, or employees of the local Ostoja Natury cooperative. Several projects have been launched in Tomaszyn since 2019 under the Smart Rural 27 initiative, including a Bio Hub ecosystem and a farm producing high-quality products, by partnerships of ecological and traditional producers in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and beyond.
Technology
Included within the Bio Hub ecosystem is “Vegemat” – a fully automated sales system based on a network of automated stores and an online shopping platform entitled “Bio Hub Bazar online”. Vegemat is a maintenance-free and contact-free system for the distribution of fresh food and preserves, including vegetables, fruit, honey, dairy products, eggs, juices, flour and herbs. BioHub Bazar Online is an interactive shopping platform where users can order products online and pick up their goods from the Full of Health Eco Market, promoting the short food supply chain. The Smart Rural 27 initiative has also spurred the introduction of renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, and water and wind turbines, as well as a small agricultural biogas plant with a cogeneration engine for the production of electricity, heat and cold, creating a 360 cycle in which waste is used as fuel. Ostoja Natury communicates its activities through such channels as Ostoja Natury TV and a dedicated website (www.ostojanaury.pl), which also facilitates the exchange of information and knowledge.
Target
The primary targets of Tomaszyn smart village are medium- and small-sized farmers and agricultural cooperatives engaged primarily in organic food production. A key element of the Tomaszyn “smart village” model is the extensive cooperation of entities at local, regional, national and supranational levels, including academia, civil society organizations and private companies engaged in food production.
Impact
The primary goal of Bio Hub Bazar is to support the maintenance of a short food supply chain that includes also the processing and marketing of agricultural products. The primary objective of the smart village is to better organize farmers engaged in organic food production and to enhance their position in the production chain, leading to more stable and higher incomes. Furthermore, as it expands, Bio Hub is developing also as a facility for the storage, packaging and preparation of ecological products for the market. As a result, the multi-element sales and distribution sub-system is gaining strength, and as of October 2024, more than 50 local entities are included in the Bio Hub Producer’s Group.
Partners
European Commission; EcoEgs Gospodarstwo Rolne Sławomira Szerszenia; Traditional Warmińska Smokehouse; Flis-Pol; Warmińskie Kiszonki,; Fitness Natura; Roguska Struga Dairy Craft; Roguska Struga Dairy Craft; BioGrim; Suwałki honey; Beekeeping farm Jan Głasek; Beekeeping farm Jan Głasek; Rol-Apis - Tadeusz Rolnik; Mandam, – Go farming!; ProBiotics Polska; Walczak Pipes; Farmer Foil Tunels; “Zielone Technologie“ (green solutions); Kubota; Scorpion Machines; EURO HEMP; IRWIN PAN; Bank Żywności w Olsztynie; Warmińsko-Mazurski Ośrodek Doradztwa Rolniczego; University of Warmia and Mazur.
Four Betters
Better production
