Landprobe

“Landprobe” invites city dwellers to try out life in the countryside. In autumn 2020, a village with approximately 2500 inhabitants in Upper Austria will become a rehearsal space for both city and country dwellers during one week to get a taste of everyday country life and to test the effects that an active invitation, an interest-driven exchange and a conscious arrival respectively hosting could achieve on both sides.

Many young (and older) city dwellers dream of a life in the countryside. At the latest when this wish turns into a concrete interest, various fears arise: What does everyday life in a small village really look like? Would the local people even accept me? Where do I have to go to meet locals?

The project “Landprobe” addresses exactly these questions and encourages so-called “Landschwärmer*innen” – people who have the desire to move to the countryside but do not dare to – to be curious and rehearse country life for a week in a fast-paced way. The aim of the project is to expand their own possibilities for action by playing through the process of moving in and arriving. People who have been dreaming of living in the countryside for a long time, can be supported to lose fear of this big step. But also for people who have been living in the rural area for a long time, the project opens up new ways of actively participating in the arrival of new people. The view from the outside, which is taken by the newcomers, can make visible blind spots and potentials in the village. At the same time, focusing on the treasures of a community, the potential of rural areas and the opportunities of a region in general is exciting, instructive and encouraging, even for people who have lived there for a long time.

Time

June 2020

Location

Upper Austria

Team

Magdalena Hubauer

Katharina Spanlang

Links

https://landprobe.net/