Educational activity of agritourism farms in Poland (on examples from the Pomeranian region)

Abstract

The main aim of the article is to present the educational function of agritourism developing in a region of Poland which is unique in terms of its natural environment and cultural heritage. The educational function of agritourism is more and more often emphasized in scientific research. The best developed network of agritourism farms in Poland is in the Province of Pomerania with over 600 of them. Despite strong competition on the market, Pomeranian farmers have noticed opportunities for development of their farms through educational activities and the countryside has become a place of education in the scope of agriculture, folk culture and ecology. The research involved nearly 10% of active agritourism farms. The results of the surveys and direct questionnaire interviews confirmed great involvement of the agritourism farms in the development of various forms of education. The abundance and variety of those forms are present in the organization of educational activities, participation in farm work, getting familiar with the offer of folk artists, learning about regional and local culinary traditions as well as ecological education.