Wilbur, Andrew Mahaffey (2012) Seeding alternatives: back-to-the-land migration and alternative agro-food networks in Northern Italy. PhD thesis http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3440/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Seeding Alternatives: Back-to-the-land migration and alternative agro- food networks in Northern Italy Andrew Mahaffey Wilbur MA (Soc Sci); MRes Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geographical and Earth Sciences College of Science and Engineering University of Glasgow Abstract This thesis explores ‘back-to-the-land’ migration in Northern Italy with reference to the social, political and economic networks that sustain it. ‘Back-to-the-land’ generally refers to the adoption of agriculture as a full-time vocation by people who have come from non-agricultural lifestyles. For categorical clarity in this project, research participants were limited to those from predominantly urban backgrounds, most of whom worked in service sector jobs before moving to the countryside. Many geographical studies have examined urban to rural migration but these have focused almost primarily on migrants who are not engaged in agriculture. This research traces theorisations of urban to rural migration within the discipline, situating back-to-the-land as part of broader counterculture practices originating in the 1960s. Many current expressions of back-to-the-land, however, reveal an attempt to address contemporary social, environmental and economic concerns, representing both a trajectory and an evolution from 1960s origins. Empirical research was conducted in four northern regions of Italy, looking specifically at urban to rural migrants engaged in organic or other ‘alternative’ forms of agriculture. Three simple questions informed the methodology and theoretical perspectives employed: 1) Why do people go back-to-the-land?; 2) How do they obtain the requisite skills to become competent farmers?; 3) How do they make this lifestyle economically sustainable? Answering these questions demands attention to how new farmers are inspired, supported and sustained by alternative agro- food networks (AAFNs). The research therefore explores the reciprocal relationships between back-to-the-landers and AAFNs, examining how new farmers can stimulate and influence AAFNs in addition to receiving their support. These issues are explored through interviews with back-to- the-landers and institutional representatives of AAFNs, as well participant observation in alternative agriculture projects. Particular attention is given to the organisations Slow Food, Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) and Associazione per Esperienze (APE), primarily with regard to their respective roles in enabling back-to-the-land migration. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 2. GROWING RADICAL RURALITIES: URBAN TO RURAL MIGRATION AND THE BACK-TO-THE-LAND MOVEMENT 9 2.1. URBAN TO RURAL MIGRATION IN THE STATISTICAL ERA : EARLY THEORIES AND METHODS 10 2.2. URBAN TO RURAL MIGRATION AND THE ‘CULTURAL TURN ’ 17 2.3. GOING BACK TO THE LAND – A MODEL FOR ALTERNATIVE COUNTERUBANISATION ? 28 2.4. CONCLUSION 45 3. ALTERNATIVE AGRO-FOOD NETWORKS (AAFNS): CONTEXT AND DEBATES 48 3.1. ALTERNATIVE TO WHAT ? INTRODUCING INDUSTRIAL FOOD 49 3.2. CONTEXTUALISING ALTERNATIVE AGRO -FOOD NETWORKS (AAFNS) 51 3.3. THE CONTESTED POLITICS OF ‘ALTERNATIVE ’ FOOD 53 3.4. CONCLUSION 59 4. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS 62 4.1. SITE SELECTION AND ACCESS 65 4.2. OVERVIEW DATA : THE WWOOF QUESTIONNAIRES 77 4.3. ACTION , PARTICIPATION , OBSERVATION 80 4.4. IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS 84 4.5. EVENTS 91 4.6. CREATING TASTEFUL RESEARCH : EXPLORING TASTE AS METHODOLOGY 94 5. THE CASE STUDY NETWORKS: APE, WWOOF AND SLOW FOOD 101 5.1. ASSOCIAZIONE PER ESPERIENZE DI AUTOPRODUZIONE E COLLABORAZIONE IN CAMPO AGRICOLE , CULTURALE E SOCIALE (APE) 102 5.2. WORLDWIDE OPPORTUNITIES ON ORGANIC FARMS (WWOOF) 103 5.3. SLOW FOOD 107 6. COMMON GROUND? PROFILING BACK-TO-THE-LANDERS IN NORTHERN ITALY 117 6.1. ORIGINS 118 6.2. MOTIVES 131 6.3. GENDER , MIGRATION AND FARMING 142 6.4. A CLASS OF THEIR OWN ? 157 6.5. CONCLUSION 164 7. SLOW TRANSITIONS: TIME, SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE 167 7.1. TIME DISCIPLINES 168 7.2. SLOWNESS , SKILL AND CRAFT 170 7.3. A SLOW ETHIC 173 7.4. LOCAL AND FORMAL SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGES 179 7.5. NETWORKS OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL 185 7.6. CONCLUSION 200 8. FROM LIFESTYLE TO LIVELIHOOD: ACHIEVING ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY 202 8.1. THE QUEST FOR SELF -SUFFICIENCY 204 8.2. PLURIACTIVITY 207 8.3. MARKETS 215 8.4. GRUPPI DI ACQUISTO SOLIDALE (GAS) 229 8.5. BETWEEN CENTRES AND MARGINS : RETAIL TERRAINS 235 8.6. CONCLUSION 242 9. CONCLUSION 245 10. REFERENCES 254 APPENDIX I - WWOOF HOST QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS (ENGLISH)______________________________272 APPENDIX II -WOOF HOST QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS (ITALIAN)________________________________ 278 APPENDIX III - WWOOF VOLUNTEER QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS________________________________ 286 APPENDIX IV - WWOOF DIRECTORY SAMPLE___________________________________________________ 297 List of Tables and Figures Tables Table 2.1 – A typology of back-to-the-landers Table 4.1 – Types of information for studying the geography of agriculture Table 4.2 – In-depth interviews by region Table 6.1 – Backgrounds of farmers interviewed Table 8.1 – Income sources for case study farms Figures Figure 2.1 – Map of Northern Italy Figure 2.2 – Trials of the Green Man Figure 4.1 – Map of Northern Italy Figure 4.2 - WWOOF host farms by region, 2011 Figure 4.3 – Map of WWOOF farms by region, 2011 Figure 4.4 – Locations of case study farms (Participant observation) Figure 4.5 - Slow Food Earth Market, Bologna Figure 5.1 – WWOOF Italia volunteers by country of origin Figure 6.1 – WWOOF hosts’ length of time on current farm Figure 6.2 - Italy’s urban middle class as percentage of working population, 1951-93 Figure 6.3 – Ristonchia, Tuscany Figure 6.4 – Homemade preserves, Tuscany Figure 6.5 – Lunch for 10 Figure 7.1 – Recently slaughtered poultry Figure 8.1 – Wheat threshing demonstration, Tuscany Figure 8.2 – Artisan cheese vendor, Turin Figure 8.3 – ‘Self-certified’ organic farmers’ market, Bologna Figure 8.3 – The bread of solidarity? Boxes Box 4.1 – Finding a lingua franca Box 4.2 – Killing for research – an ethical conundrum? Box. 6.1 – Back-to-the-land profiles: Walter (Tuscany) Box 6.2 - Back-to-the-land profiles: Giorgio (Umbria) Box 6.3 - Back-to-the-land profiles: Bruno and Milena (Piedmont) Box. 6.4 – Back-to-the-land profiles: Elisa and Romano (Emilia-Romagna) Box 7.1 – On slaughtering a chicken 1 Acknowledgements Long before I had written a single sentence of this thesis I had already composed several versions of the Acknowledgements page. I can only read this as evidence for the constant sense of gratitude I felt throughout the entire process of completing this work. As much as a Ph.D. is regarded as an individual research project, there were many, many times when mine felt like a collaborative effort. Thanks are due to all who contributed to that collaboration, even if they did so unwittingly. Specifically, I would like to recognise the immense help provided by my supervisors Jo Sharp at the University of Glasgow, Leah Gibbs at the University of Woolongong and Jane Jacobs at the University of Edinburgh. All three supervisors were able to offer unique insights and advice, sometimes complementing and sometimes contrasting one another. Hopefully they will see their best ideas and most valuable contributions in the final shape of this work. I also wish to thank Gianluca Brunori at the University of Pisa for practical advice and important theoretical guidance. In Italy I was kindly assisted by Elisa Bianco at Slow Food and Bridget Matthews of WWOOF. This project would have had a very different outcome had it not been for their willingness to arrange interviews and provide crucial information. All of the WWOOF hosts with whom I stayed are also deserving of my gratitude, and of general recognition for their truly impressive range of farming, cooking, building and craft skills. Thanks are also due to my family and the Francescangelis for always ensuring that I remained clothed, housed and fed. The final and most important acknowledgement goes to my co-pilot, travel companion, farming buddy, life coach, pocket entertainer, best friend and wife, Laura. 2 1. Introduction The Seeding Alternatives research project seeks to explore ‘back-to-the-land’ migration in Northern Italy with reference to the social, political and economic networks that sustain it. There is no directly equivalent phrase in Italian, but by ‘back-to-the-land’ I generally refer to urban to rural migrants who adopt agriculture as a full-time vocation, having worked in another sector previously. Many geographical studies have examined urban to rural migration but these have focused almost exclusively on migrants who are not engaged in agriculture. Such studies have made significant contributions to the literature on changing countrysides, using a prism of rural in-migration to explore commuting, rural self-employment, the leisure and tourism industries, retirement and second-home ownership. This is an incomplete picture, however, and this research hopes to provide a sturdy bridge between the hitherto neglected phenomenon of back-to-the-land migration and earlier geographical investigations into city to countryside movements. It is a commonly accepted fact in developed market economies that the financial rewards of farming are minimal.