The workshop led by Ronja Grossar took place in das andere Labor (“the other lab”). At the centre of the room, a large circular rug was covered with a wide variety of materials that could be used to create and explore cycles. Three large sheets of brown packing paper, two spread across the floor and one on a table, were prepared for a later printing activity using cardboard plates. Gouache paints, coloured pencils, rollers, plexiglass sheets, paint containers, cardboard plates, and a diverse collection of plants and food items from Ronja’s garden completed the material setup.

The aim of the workshop was to help children understand how the cycles of different plants function and to encourage reflections on present and future food systems. In the first part of the workshop, the participants created a large collective cycle with a symbolic sun at its centre. Together, they connected elements such as a corn kernel, soil, a growing plant, a corn cob, more corn kernels, and, in an additional branch, a chicken that pecks the kernels and lays eggs. The cycle continued through products such as popcorn, corn flour and cornstarch, extending into unexpected transformations that included bags, railway tracks, filament, feathers, crystals and finally returning to soil. Afterwards, the children split into smaller groups and each created their own cycle.

In the second part of the workshop, the children received cardboard plates divided into two sections: a smaller section labelled “for me” and a larger section labelled “for everyone”. Three stations were set up, each providing a different gouache colour and a guiding question that participants responded to through printing and image-making on their plates. The questions were:

• Who would I like to share my plate with?
• What would we like to eat in the year 2100?
• What nourishes the soil? What does not?

A variety of foods and plant materials were available on a large table for printing and experimentation. The theme of “cycles” was visualised particularly effectively through the large rug filled with diverse objects, making the concept tangible and accessible for the children. Sensory experiences played an important role throughout the workshop. Participants compared organic and supermarket-grown produce through taste, and later examined different soil samples through smell. Printing with foods and plants initiated aesthetic and creative processes, while the children carefully analysed the scents of various plants and developed their own systems of classification and organisation.

The questions posed during the creative phase were intentionally open-ended and abstract, encouraging participants to think beyond the immediate activity and reflect on their own lives, eating habits and possible futures. During the second workshop session in the afternoon, the team also explored more open-ended creative processes centred around one of these key questions.

Participant and facilitator voices
When Ronja Grossar asked, “What do you like to eat?”, the children responded with a wide variety of answers: “Anything that tastes good,” “rice and chicken,” “steaks,” “borscht,” “Arabic food,” “goulash,” and “döner kebab.” Ronja shared that her current favourite food was strawberries from her own garden.

As an introductory exercise, Ronja handed each child two small pieces of carrot: an organic carrot from a local farmer in one hand and a supermarket carrot in the other. The children tasted both with their eyes closed. When Ronja asked, “What did you notice?”, the children replied: “The one on the left tasted more bitter.” “The one on the right was sweeter and softer.” “One was smaller than the other.” When asked why they thought the carrots tasted different, they suggested: “Different varieties,” and “One was ripe and the other wasn’t.”

Later, while smelling different soil samples, one child observed: “One of them smelled strongly of wet earth.”