About Klub Gaja

Klub Gaja is one of the oldest, leading civil society organisation dealing with environmental protection and animal rights in Poland. It was founded by Jacek Bożek in 1988. The misssion of Klub Gaja is to protect our planet Earth and to preserve the natural environment for us and for future generations.

Klub Gaja has been active in various fields of environmental protection for more than 22 years. We work for nature conservation. We carry out national campaigns and programs aimed at protection of rivers and river valleys. We publicize environmental risks and proble¬ms related to human activity and emphasize  our shared responsibility for the condition of our environment. In our educational activities, events and workshops, we use non-conventional methods and various forms of art.

Our address:

Klub Gaja
ul. Parkowa 10, 43-365 Wilkowice, Poland
Tel./fax: 00 48 33 812 36 94
e-mail: klubgaja@klubgaja.pl
www: www.klubgaja.pl

International co-operation is essential for the healthy future of our planet and international co-operation is essential in our work. We work with organisations, groups, institutions and individuals around the World who work for human rights, animal rights, for nature and our healthy environment. At focused campaign level, we especially work with those who oppose the mismanagement of water resources and who promote pro-ecological, pro-social solutions, especially with those who oppose destructive dams and river regulation. We also work very closely with those working for animal rights and animal welfare.
For the Vistula river, we instigated and form part of the international coalition with World Wildlife Fund, IUCN, Birdlife International/OTOP and Wędkarski Świat (this is the national magazine "Angling World" which co-ordinates the input from anglers who wish to work for the Vistula). We are part of the Coalition Clean Baltic.
We have been visited by and run workshops with people from all over the World. We have hosted young activists from Kazakstan and Kirgistan providing a training programme for them. We have hosted and been part of a winter meeting of the European Youth for Action Network. In 1998, we hosted and organised the First International Meeting of Non-governmental organisations: Dams, Water and Life, Bielsko-Biała, organised specifically to address co-operation of non-governmental organisations who work against destructive dams and river regulation and which promote pro-ecological pro-social alternatives. The meeting focused on co-operation at the European level, between the northern and southern hemispheres and with the World Commission on Dams (WCD). We presented the Vistula as a case study at the European Hearing of Non-Governmental Organisations with the WCD and represented Polish NGOs at the World Water Forum in the Hague in March 1999. In our centre, we have held international meetings of people who are in the Waldorf education movement. Exchanges have taken place with environmentally active young people from the UK, delivering concrete input from each participant in campaign and environmental education work. Our international partnership project with Kirklees Metropolitan Council and Enviroyouth in the UK continues to develop at many different levels.
We work closely with NGOs who are concerned about animal rights and animal welfare issues. Our focus is the transport of live animals for meat; in particular, the transport of live horses for export from Poland for meat. We are an Associate of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and are invited as an observer to Eurogroup for Animal Welfare made up of representatives from NGOs in the European Union Member States. We are a member of the Vegetarian Society and European Partners for the Environment.

National Co-operation

National co-operation has been at the heart of our organisation since the beginning. We have worked to build connections, contacts and co-operation as a fundamental part of our activities.
We work with scientists, politicians, government representatives and officers, institutions, groups and interested individuals. This has been done through a variety of different methods, for example, through joint actions or working together to organise a series of events or a happening. We started the first coalition for the rights of animals in this country. We also instigated the coalition Water is the Spring of Life for all those in Poland who are interested in working for Poland's rivers and for better water management.
Each year, we organise and host our annual congress Earth Now attended by representatives of groups from all over Poland meeting to discuss campaign strategy and co-operation.
Co-operation includes lobbying activity, signature gathering to petitions, education work (Klub Gaja also sends other groups information packs and materials), we work together with different groups to prepare workshops and exhibitions in many towns. We provide workshops to NGOs working with animal rights to help them in their activities, for example, How you can help work for animal rights a workshop which we lead uses experience from over 12 years of activity. In the annual congress of 1999, we put forward the idea to form a Federation and this is now progressing.
Co-operation with other organisations led to Klub Gaja being invited as a special guest to the Woodstock Festival in 1998 and 1999. Here we had our own area, displayed
materials and part of our "An animal is not a Thing" exhibition, gathered petition signatures, talked to many people and addressed the festival from the stage and on the festival radio.
We are part of the Coalition of Farm Animals and the Animal Rights Network. We also form part of the coalition Save the Carpathians and work with other groups to oppose the Winter Olympics being held in the Tatra Mountains.

Media
Our work involves substantial co-operation with the media. Coverage is received in local, national and international media.
For 5 years, we also broadcast our programme "The Way of Gaia's Warrior" on local radio "Delta". A number of films have been made about our work and campaigns. A special film called "The Space of Freedom" was also made about the founder of Klub Gaja, Jacek Bożek. These films and programmes are broadcast on national television. 
The most recent examples are a programme on BBC World News broadcast on the 4th of  October 2000 and information in Newsweek magazine on the 25th of September 2000.

Groupwork and educational and cultural visits "The Way of Gaia's Warrior" 

"The Way of Gaia's Warrior" is the project of ecology and social education contrived by
Jacek Bożek. The project was inspired from spirituality, psychology and the social activity originated from the 1970's. It is connected with theatre (Laboratorium - Jerzy Grotowski), and from the life of communities based on non-violence to all beings.
We organise a variety of different group activities, carried out to suit the needs and level of those taking part.
You can also make an educational and cultural visit. We will take care of organising the programme to meet the needs of your group and work closely with the group leader to plan the programme in advance.

Dancing with the River 
Authored and led by Jacek Bożek, Founder and President of Klub Gaja.
We dance at different levels and to different rhythms. Sometimes we dance alone, sometimes with a partner, sometimes we have many people around us.
This groupwork is about the many different levels and meanings of - What is a river? - ecological biodiversity, valleys, cultural, spiritual and historical elements, ways of working with and saving a river. The level of ecological biodiversity and river valleys,  the cultural and historical levels, the level of its meaning for spirituality. The groupwork uses wonderful Polish nature as its venue.

Saving a River 
Authored and led by Jacek Bożek, Founder and President of Klub Gaja.
We are able to show possibilities to those who are interested in working with rivers on the campaign level. If you are really interested in working with rivers we will prepare an intense programme to show which way we work with rivers, our roots and what we want to achieve.

Natural Kingdom - Human Management
Led by Dr Zbigniew Wilczek and Roksana Krauser.
Cygański Las or The Gypsy Forest is on the foothills of the Beskidy mountains and is our local forest backing onto our garden gate. It is within the Beskid Śląski Landscape Park and forms part of the forest covering the Beskidy mountains which, in turn, form part of the Carpathian mountain range.
Participants will learn about the most interesting natural areas of Cygański Las
including the area called "Kołowrót".  This area now has special reserve status. As part of our "Local Earth" activity, an agreement has been reached with foresters for the protection of the area and an interpretation trail is planned.
This groupwork takes you into the foothills of the Beskidy mountains walking along forest trails.

Art for the Earth
Use of theatre and happenings led by Jacek Bożek and Dariusz Paczkowski. Graffiti-Street Art workshop led by Dariusz Paczkowski and Adam Blażej Sobański.
How to use art. Why is art used? This is all about the understanding of the application of art for the earth and not simply art for arts' sake including use of theatre and happenings and graffiti-street art. Klub Gaja uses art in its campaigns for environmental protection and animal rights.
Use of exhibitions are also included why we have them and methods and rules for success. Our exhibitions have been shown all over Poland in schools and art galleries, in Polish parliament and the Ministry of Environment. In the graffiti workshop the group can work together, for example, on a large design or on T-shirts which can be taken home.
Ceramic artist, Remigiusz Gryt, also leads ceramic workshops called the "Four Elements" for adults, young people and children.

Art is a wonderful medium of communication. Our art is done in our work for the earth, not as art for the sake of art. For those of us who are working together for the earth as a team what we do has to be inspiring for us too; if we make something inspiring together, this is good for our own inspiration and well being.
Klub Gaja uses different art forms in its work for environmental protection and education, for animal rights and in its campaigns. We use different forms of theatre, happenings and graffiti-street art, music and poetry.
Art is a beautiful way of raising people's attention and awareness and the attention of the media. Another method is developing our different exhibitions which we take around Poland. These have been shown in a wide variety of different venues including schools, art galleries, the Polish Parliament and Ministry of Environment.

The exhibitions are "How to Save a River", "An Animal is not a Thing", "Local Earth" and "Graffiti - Street Art".
We created at our centre with our partners from Yorkshire, England, a traditional
Yorkshire dry stone wall which is a wonderful example of art for the earth and a physical representation of our partnership.
We provide group activity for those interested in learning why art is used and how to use art, which includes hands on practical experience in using the different art forms. Such groupwork has been provided for many different groups around Poland and the UK.
Our happening about live horse transport formed part of a nationwide tour around
Poland raising awareness about the transport of live horses for export for meat.
The street theatre performance "Wild River in the Heart of Europe" for the "Teraz Wisła" campaign is invited to different events and festivals and forms a major awareness raising tool in the campaign. It has been filmed and broadcast by television stations including BBC World News and used in a film for lobbying activity in Brussels.
Some of the volunteers who have helped us with our work have also gone on to prepare their own exhibitions, paintings, collages and sculptures.

How to Act for the Protection of Animal Rights

Led by Wojciech Owczarz, co-ordinator of the national Polish campaign "An Animal is not a Thing".
We capture our experience of the work we have undertaken for animal rights. Looking at the situations in Poland and at what has been achieved, we cover how to work with the media and how to organise actions. We look at campaign strategy.
In addition, we also address how to engage others in your work to help you.

"The techniques used during "The Way of Gaia's Warrior" workshops do not aim to teach - they are just like we are.
They border on art, psychology, religion. They are a challenge. Can anything be achieved by applying them?
But you, what do you want to achieve? Where are you heading? Have you taken the Path?
We can spend together a few hours, a few days.
We may keep silent, or shout, or dance.
We need fire, water, space.
We need to be mindful."

Jacek Bożek

Publications
Every year, we produce a number of brochures as part of our campaign activity: "Wisła Fax" ("The Vistula Fax") for the "Teraz Wisła" ("Vistula Now") campaign and "Współodczuwanie"("Common Feeling") for the campaign "Zwierzę nie jest rzeczą" ("An Animal is not a thing"). These are accompanied by a variety of leaflets and informational "fliers". We have also authored and published a number of books entitled "The Way of Gaia's Warrior", "An Anthology of Animal Rights" and "Saving a River".
"Saving a River" is published in both Polish and English versions.

"Klub Gaja, a group of ecology activists in southwest  Poland. In 1997 he successfully lobbied for an animal-rights law and is fighting plans for a dam on the Vistula River."
Newsweek, 25 September 2000