Paper short abstract

This text is about the relations between irrigation water, memory and local conflicts in the midst of a local peasant community, forged daily.

Paper long abstract

In this rural village, located on the southwest coast of Madeira Island, peasants(heréus)share irrigation water, a common right acquired due to the land purchase. In that place, conflicts, discussions and strains build up around water, always have been frequent. The purpose is to analyse the social dynamics associated with the management of water resources, which transform the Levada do Moinho (water cannal) into a contestation space, more precisely, identiy and analyse the places, actors and situations of internal conflicts, recorded during the giro (rotation of water). Knowing that water resources are a common good, this case shows the obstacles on maximizing the resource by the creation of several mechanisms which turn the water a target of several manipultions.