Justyna Paluch has lived in the countryside for eight years and helps run the family fruit farm in the village of Klimczyce, Poland. In addition to growing fruit, the farm also processes its harvest and sells its produce. Justyna is mainly responsible for the educational aspects of the farm. She completed postgraduate studies at the 'Faculty of Nutrition' and several courses on small food processing and agrotourism. She is the creator and coordinator of the 'Naturalnie nad Bugiem' entrepreneurs' cooperation network and vice-president of the local tourist organisation 'LOT nad Bugiem'.

For many years, the farm has welcomed school groups interested in visiting the orchard during the harvest season, which lasts around six weeks. Over the last three years, during the harvest period, the farm has been visited by around 700-1 000 children and adults each year.

In addition, the farm cooperates with about 100 schools and kindergartens for children aged 3-15 by providing apples and juices. The training and advisory offer is dedicated to study trips organised by Local Action Groups, agricultural advisory centres and other rural entities.

However, all educational activities used to depend on the weather and workshops could not be conducted all year round. Restrooms were also lacking. The idea of adapting the farm building so that it could accommodate more bespoke spaces for this kind of visitor activity was born. This type of development would allow for the growth of the business to represent a more reliable and continuous source of income.

The project aimed to modernise the farm building, create a culinary studio and develop activities that would use the products of the family’s fruit farm as well as those from other local fruit growers and farmers.

Following the completion of the new spaces, the objective was to organise and launch culinary workshops. The plan was to expand the offer of activities to reach more schools across the region.

An important aspect of the project was also cooperating with the other fruit farms, a juice press and a local food store in the area so that the new workshop and training spaces would also benefit them.

The main project activities commenced with undertaking relevant structural tests of the 1980s building and then planning its reconstruction. The rebuilding included expanding to create a modern workshop space with a culinary studio for conducting workshops and consulting/training activities. All the necessary facilities for conducting culinary classes, such as storage for raw materials and other products, and sanitary amenities were also planned and created.

In addition, the project included the construction of an outdoor kitchen where classes can be held. Everything was adapted to the needs of children. The building is heated and adapted for year-round operations.

Relevant research showed a good potential for demand from around 300 schools and kindergartens across the region. The findings informed the development of the educational offer of the workshops for schools. In addition, a training and consulting offer for adults was developed.

The research also involved the assessment of the demand from tourists in the area. It showed that only a few of the approximately 50 accommodation facilities in the nearby area had an educational and/or playing offer for children. This supported the development of the workshop on the orchard farm as it helped expand the region's tourist offer and generate an additional income source for the farm during the summer months.