Paper long abstract:

This paper draws on comparative research conducted in Romania with people who choose to lead a 'peasant way of life' and with budding permaculture designers and activists who were also involved in the Transition Towns initiative in the UK. I focus especially on how these two groups re-imagine hope and crisis in their everyday practices, and how this contrasts with other 'environmentalist' practices, outlining the key differences and commonalities between the everyday practices of both groups. I consider the implications of real engagement with practice-oriented research for anthropology in theory, practice and dissemination. Kenrick's (2009: 52) 'commons thinking' approach assumes that we live in a common-life world upon which we all depend, that problems stem from a breakdown in relationships and that solutions are primarily about restoring these relationships. I propose the concepts of hope and autopoiesis as a way to change anthropological knowledge formation regarding desirable practical change.