Arche Noah (meaning Noah's Ark) was founded by an American woman, Nancy Arrowsmith in 1990, bringing together two local seed networks in Austria. People started meeting informally in people's living rooms until, after a decade, they grew to a point where they had to decide whether to stay small or keep growing and professionalize. There were conflicting views but some of the members decided to formalize into Arche Noah, which has now grown to an organization of 13,000 members. The main aim is preserving and developing the diversity of cultivated plants. Mission statement: Biodiversity is a Source of Life for us and for Future Generations.
This CTP consists of a secession in the life of AN seven years after the foundation of the association. Interviewee considers it was a CTP in several aspects. During the secession in 1997 the heart of the conflict comprised of how AN should operate.
This CTP consist of the momentum of take-off for Arche Noah, which can be dated to 1998-1999.
The CTP consists of financial developments that helped the organisation to consolidate and secure its position.
The CTP consist of management processes of consolidation in and around Arche Noah. It is based on the need to constantly renew and build up continuous rethinking and recreation of activities, while sticking to the original principles of AN.
This critical turning point consists of the reactions to the financial crisis in 2008 which initiated a broader movement of gardening renaissance, urban gardening, food self-sufficiency and this created completely new situation in the life of Arche Noah.
The CTP consist of the opening of the new office in Brussels by AN. The CTP happened in a period when the organisation again reached a point “to reflect on where to go and how much to grow”.
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