Living Labs

Living Labs

What is a Living Lab?

Living Labs (LL) are collaborative platforms that bring together researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders to experiment, co-create, and test solutions in real-life environments. They offer a unique opportunity to address complex societal challenges, such as soil degradation, climate change, and sustainable agriculture, through participatory and inclusive approaches. By engaging local communities, LL promote innovation, knowledge sharing, and the co-creation of practical solutions to improve soil health and agricultural sustainability.

Advantages of Living Labs

Co-creation and Collaboration: They enable the participation of a wide range of stakeholders (farmers, researchers, policymakers, and businesses) to develop solutions that are context-specific and practical.

Real-Life Testing: LLs allow experiments and solutions to be tested in real-life settings, ensuring the scalability and applicability of findings.

Sustainability Focus: These labs prioritize long-term sustainability by addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges in agriculture.

Knowledge Exchange: They foster the exchange of best practices and innovations across regions, strengthening collective action for sustainable development.

SOILCRATES Living Labs

Spanish Living Lab: Granada

Discover the SOILCRATES LL in Granada, Spain, located in a region that combines dramatic landscapes with diverse agricultural practices. From sea level to over 2,000 meters in altitude, this area boasts a wide variety of climates—Mediterranean, temperate, and subtropical—making it a unique testing ground for innovative farming solutions. With five key soil types, the lab focuses on tackling soil erosion, improving water retention, and restoring organic matter, all while addressing the challenges posed by an arid, semi-arid environment.


Dutch Living Lab: North Netherlands


Explore the SOILCRATES LL in the North of the Netherlands, a region characterized by its diverse soils of clay, sand, and peat, and renowned for its thriving dairy and arable farming. Home to over 9,000 farms, this region is not only an agricultural powerhouse but also faces significant environmental challenges like soil compaction, salination, and the impacts of climate change. Working closely with farmers, researchers, and local stakeholders, the LL is committed to improving irrigation efficiency to restoring soil biodiversity, the lab addresses critical issues while promoting resilient farming systems.


Irish Living Lab: South-West

In the counties of Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary, the Ireland Mid-West LL tackles key issues related to the overuse of nitrogen fertilizers and the management of heavy clay soils. These soils, with their structure leading to poor drainage, present significant challenges for local farmers. The LL focuses on innovative solutions such as intercropping with nitrogen-fixing plants, using biochar to enrich the soil, and improving drainage systems. This LL is committed to restoring biodiversity while addressing soil acidity caused by nitrogen imbalance.

French Living Lab: Landes


Discover the AGROBIO 40 LL, located in the innovative farming region of the French Landes, where sustainability meets cutting-edge research. Focused on improving soil health, water retention, and biodiversity, this LL brings together farmers, researchers, and experts to tackle the challenges of climate change. From agroforestry to regenerative hydrology, the lab pioneers solutions that reduce soil drought, optimize irrigation, and increase biodiversity across the landscape.