CLUSTER took part in the inauguration of the 1st aquaponics farm in Catalonia on 27 October!

The increasing need to invest in and diversify sustainable sectors of the economy to better cope with future economic and climate crises requires retraining or upskilling young people as part of an effective response to these challenges. For this reason, the CLUSTER project aims to provide young people, especially women, in seven Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, Cyprus, France, Jordan, Palestine and Tunisia) with marketable skills in blue, circular and green economy and sustainable agriculture. CLUSTER is developing curricula to train this target group in four areas of the sustainable economy: Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Organic Farming and Food Processing. Such training-oriented curricula aim to reduce the mismatch between labour market demand and the skills of the target group.

With this in mind, CLUSTER was present at the opening of the first farm in Catalonia by Green in Blue Consulting S.L.U. The company had previously participated as stakeholder in the Focus Group in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss training materials produced with the aim of improving the employability skills of youth and women in the Mediterranean.

Green in Blue supports people and companies in Barcelona that work for a more sustainable food chain and grows vegetables and herbs using the aquaponics method. Aquaponics is an innovative farming method that combines fish farming with crop production. In short, it is a closed-loop ecosystem that recycles fish waste into organic fertiliser for plants. In return, the plants purify the water for the fish. Aquaponics therefore has many advantages over conventional farming methods.