Motivational trajectories and careers of involvement in alternative food networks. A comparative analysis of Piedmont and Catalonia.

Many forms are attributed to the negative effects of the dominant agribusiness model. Homogenization of produce, impoverishment of the social fabric, reduction of food quality, jeopardization of local and small economic activities, loss of biodiversity, reduction of autonomy of the vast majority of the subjects acting in it. Not only producers and consumers are becoming more and more aware of these effects. They are also becoming aware of the existence of a complex chain of cause-effect relations tying their own daily actions and choices to the natural environment, to local economies, to others. Attempts at creating alternative food networks result from this awareness, where farmers' markets, box schemes, CSA, direct selling, purchase solidarity groups, are among the most renowned examples. This communication is intended to present the results of a comparative qualitative research, carried out in the regions of Piedmont (Italy) and Catalonia (Spain). Twenty in-depth interviews were carried out, aimed at collecting evidence of different alternative projects. Objectives of the interviews consisted in retracing: the evolution of projects ends, the motivational trajectories and the careers of involvement of the proponent subjects, the innovative content and the problematizations these projects were based on. Some common features emerged that can be considered as means/objectives of actions. These include: the increase of autonomy and of the collective decision-making power of producers and consumers, the exclusion of impure/unnecessary actors (seeds producers, commerce intermediaries, certification bodies, large companies, etc.), the weaving of relationships based on trust, the replacement of values such as competition and yield with values such as collaboration and “trust in land”, the acknowledgement of the role of women. While some of these means/objectives were present (or expected) since the very early stages of the projects, others could have emerged from the motivational trajectories and the careers of involvement of different actors. Therefore, it happened the alternative projects to increase their richness and complexity along their paths, as more actors and relationships entered (and contributed to give shape to) the new networks. Nonetheless, they gained both more transparency and the ability to bring direct beneficial impacts on both the actors and on the territories they populate: easier access to higher quality products; fairer prices paid to producers; improvement of soils and ecosystems' health; new agricultural activities carried on by young-adults and women; new learning processes and situations for sociality

La ReVuelta al Campo : sistematización de experiencias de jóvenes en la incorporación al campo

Este trabajo pretende acercarse a la realidad del fenómeno de 'vuelta al campo' de gente, mayoritariamente joven, que pone en marcha iniciativas socio-económicas relacionadas con el sector agrario o con actividades tradicionalmente ligadas al medio rural. El objetivo es comprender mejor para profundizar en las reflexionas, como la de si estas incorporaciones suponene un aporte transformador para la realidad rural, o de hasta qué punto pueden ayudar a revertir las estadísticas de abandono y envejecimiento de los pueblos