How can farmers respond to growing challenges like climate change and economic instability? Resilience seems to be the answer—but what kind? Drawing on animal metaphors from the Polish Academy of Sciences, we explore the trade-offs between robustness, adaptability, and transformation. Can a farm be like a turtle, chameleon, and butterfly all at once—or is a new metaphor needed?

We recently held a resilience seminar at Juchowo Farm, exploring how agriculture can adapt to the challenges of climate, consumption, and biodiversity loss. Biomass now accounts for 28% of climate impact and 97% of biodiversity loss. Can models like biodynamic farming offer a path forward? Resilience is no longer a buzzword—it’s a necessity.

Over the past two weeks, my students and I explored how entrepreneurship has evolved from solving essential societal needs to navigating today’s growth-obsessed economy. From steam engines to the internet, innovation has driven immense progress — but are we now stuck in a growth trap? The entrepreneurs of tomorrow may be those who redefine success through sustainability, balance, and purpose.

Visiting Dwórzno Vineyard in Poland sparked reflections on entrepreneurship, resilience, and the value of moving at nature’s pace. In a country where vineyards didn’t exist under communism, this family-run business shows how patience, stress, and long-term vision can shape sustainable growth. Sometimes, deep roots matter more than fast returns.

Poland ranks low in both the European Innovation Scoreboard and the Global Innovation Index, reflecting persistent weaknesses in collaboration, institutional stability, and business environment. Despite strong government R&D support, limited cooperation among research and business sectors continues to hinder progress. The key message: “Collaborate more, reform less.”

How we build shapes the resilience of our societies — and the future of our planet. In Grey Hour: Time for a New Architecture, Filip Springer explores how architecture must evolve beyond profit-driven design toward sustainable, community-centered spaces. From 15-minute cities to adaptive reuse, we must build less, rethink comfort, and align interests for a more resilient, livable future.

Resilience is a concept that is intuitively understood but surprisingly difficult to measure. For the Earth as a system, the Planetary Boundaries Framework offers a relatively precise set of measures that help define resilience in environmental terms—essentially, how much pressure our planet can absorb before its vital systems are at risk. But when it comes to individuals, organizations, or even entire societies, no such commonly accepted measurement framework exists.

economic divides. Karol Nawrocki won with less than 51% of the vote—drawing support mainly from rural communities, lower-income voters, and those without university degrees.

As the planet struggles to keep pace with our appetites, the true cost of our food choices is becoming impossible to ignore! Agriculture...

Addressing inequality is not just a matter of fairness but also resilience—societies with greater equality are often better equipped to...

The Consumer Dilemma: Price, Choice, and Responsibility When you see organic rucola priced 50% higher than the regular option, what comes...

Even the mightiest can fail. Ancient Egypt’s colossal achievements were buried under sand for centuries...

"Let's have some resilient fun" shows some important topics in a more relaxed and joyful way. After all, humour is quoted as a desirable...

More evidence and perspectives are emerging that challenge the 20th-century growth-driven economy.

A dear friend of mine, Marcin Kaluza, pointed me towards an IBM report that presents four case studies of resilient crisis management....

A simple solution to the global warming challenge would be to use less energy. However, this is not actually so simple because energy...

The Journey to the High-Income Club What a journey it has been! When I entered university in 1990, Poland's GDP per capita (expressed in...

Different Routes to Success Last week I was writing about Switzerland  in the resilience context. I had later a chat with a friend who...

I spent the last nine years in Switzerland, and it is a significant amount of time. After such a period, the place becomes a part of you....

First Anniversary I published the first post of the Resilience Institute on September 24th, 2023, on Facebook and LinkedIn. It evolved...