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- Formats:
- Panel
- Mode:
- Online
- Sessions:
- Thursday 18 July, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Madrid
Long Abstract:
This panel is formed of sui generis papers that talk to similar themes.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 18 July, 2024, -Nguede Ngono Jean Pierre
Paper short abstract:
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the cultural practices of the indigenous Baka people of south-east Cameroon in the light of current changes. This once nomadic community lived in the forest, where they derived most of their livelihood and survival.
Paper long abstract:
This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the cultural practices of the indigenous Baka people of south-east Cameroon in the light of current changes. This once nomadic community lived in the forest, where they derived most of their livelihood and survival. Today, having been displaced from their ancestral lands for the creation of protected areas, agro-industrial complexes, logging and large-scale mining projects, this community is more than ever in permanent contact with the "big blacks" or Bantus, who largely influence their way of life (hunting, gathering and fishing) and very often condition their future. The State of Cameroon and national and international organizations, through vast programs, are gradually forcing the Baka to embrace a new way of life that integrates the demands of "modernity". How do they react to the cultural mutations imposed on them by the State of Cameroon? The aim of this paper is to identify the various cultural mutations that have occurred, to describe them and to analyze the strategies put in place to revitalize and enhance cultural practices such as hunting and gathering, which remain an important cultural heritage for mankind. Certain mutations may appear on the surface without fundamentally calling into question their attachment to the forest and to certain ancestral values. However, the various exogenous (e.g. sedentarization, globalization) and endogenous (e.g. individual attitudes, transmission) pressures that determine the degree of progress of the various mutations should not be underestimated, as they are a threat to their development.
Tharanga Dilhari Silva (University of Sri Jayewardenepura)
Paper short abstract:
This study highlights the vulnerability of TK and farming practices to climate unpredictability. It underscores the urgent need for an inclusive, collaborative approach, integrating traditional wisdom with modern technology, recognizing socio-cultural and socio-economic dimensions.
Paper long abstract:
This paper seeks to comprehensively explore the interplay between climate, culture, and agricultural anticipation in Sri Lanka. Utilizing a stratified random sampling technique, 120 interviews were conducted with farmers representing the wet, intermediate, and dry zones. The study sheds light on the vulnerability of traditional knowledge (TK) and farming practices, emphasizing that the historical reliance on TK for predicting and conducting agricultural activities in Sri Lanka is increasingly strained due to contemporary climate unpredictability and intensity. Research findings underscore the pressing need for an inclusive and collaborative approach to address these challenges. Beyond integrating traditional knowledge with modern technology, the study recognizes the importance of acknowledging the socio-cultural and socio-economic dimensions of climate change impact on farmers’ livelihoods. Additionally, it emphasizes the critical role of local institutions and governance structures in supporting community-led climate adaptation initiatives. Furthermore, the paper advocates for the development of targeted policies that bridge traditional wisdom with contemporary science to foster sustainable agriculture. It suggests that a holistic approach involving multi-stakeholder partnerships can enhance the resilience of Sri Lankan agriculture and contribute to global discussions on sustainable climate adaptation. This study serves as a call to action, highlighting the urgency of embracing a comprehensive strategy that involves diverse stakeholders in safeguarding the future of Sri Lankan agriculture amidst the evolving challenges posed by climate change.
Brenda Andrias (Autonoma Universitat de Barcelona)
Paper short abstract:
In Papua New Guinea (PNG) women entrepreneurs depend on informal institutions, such as, social networks, and familial connections, among other social ties, to recover and rebuild their business from economic losses imposed by the pandemic.
Paper long abstract:
Abstract
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, women entrepreneurs in the global south experienced businesses losses. In Papua New Guinea (PNG) women entrepreneurs with formally registered businesses experienced more hardship after the pandemic compared to women operating in the informal economy, despite the availability of economic recovery support through the formal institutions. This phenomenon points out the instrumental role of informal institutions, such as, social networks, and familial connections, among other social ties.
To address this question, this ethnographic study explores the impact of the pandemic on 20 migrant women entrepreneurs in the city of Port Moresby and 20 indigenous women entrepreneurs in the township of Goroka. Through interviews and field observation, the study aims to shed light on the current situation of these women entrepreneurs and explore possible initiatives that may help these informal businesses, like public recognition, funding opportunities through social monies, and cooperative ventures, among others.
The research offers evidence to inform policies and strategies that are contextually relevant and appreciates the unique role that women entrepreneurs perform within the economy. It considers the institutional structures that these women belong to and identity with, and how best to utilize these in post pandemic economic recovery efforts.
Keywords: informal economy, Papua New Guinea, entrepreneurs, women, post pandemic, institutions
Meenal Tula (North Eastern Social Research Centre, Guwahati)
Paper short abstract:
How are indigenous farmers ‘being resilient’ in the face of the increasing precariousness brought about by climate change and expansion of industrial agricultural systems? How far have politics of food sovereignty been able to respond to these emergent challenges?
Paper long abstract:
This paper explores the lacunae in Northeast India between the strategies of food sovereignty activists which are aligned with global conversations around Indigenous food systems, the state-led initiatives which seek to empower indigenous farmers through livelihoods and market linkages and food security, in the context of the multifaceted aspirations of Indigenous farmers in the region. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between January 2022 and December 2023, the paper considers the diverse significations that heritage food crops (such as buckwheat and millets), traditional agricultural systems (subsistence based shifting cultivation) and livelihood options come to accrue as Indigenous farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, navigate the emergent challenges of climate change, changing food preferences, youth migration, ever-expanding reach of industrial agricultural systems and global markets. The central question for the study has been: what makes an Indigenous farming community ‘resilient’ (Monica M. White, 2018) in the present context and have the received notions of food sovereignty been able to accommodate and respond to the present needs of the communities?
Morana Jarec (Institute for Anthropological Research)
Paper short abstract:
Exploring challenges in Slovenian small farms amidst global crises, this study analyzes impacts, altered practices, and future implications. It investigates opportunities and challenges for local food, providing insight into small farms’ realities in the context of various global insecurities.
Paper long abstract:
This research examines the intricate challenges faced by small family-owned agricultural businesses in Slovenia within the broader context of global insecurities, and food security and food sovereignty. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, economic downturns, and inflationary pressures, these businesses grapple with heightened risks, precariousness, and an uncertain future. Induced panic and fear of food shortage lead to increasing demand for local and ecologically produced food, which represents both opportunities and challenges for small farms.
As part of the collaborative project “The influence of global insecurities on the strengthening of the movement for food sovereignty in Croatia and Slovenia (SLOHRanA)" (funded by the Ministry of Research and Education of Croatia and Slovenian Research Agency), and using a classic ethnographic approach, the study comprehensively analyzes the multifaceted impacts of crises on small agricultural ventures, including their production and sales.
Special attention is given to altered practices, such as the adoption of web shops and social media in time of COVID-19 pandemic, which were re-actualized after the start of war in Ukraine.
The research also explores the implications of these challenges on the future of small farms in Slovenia, particularly considering the limited means available to young individuals entering this sector. Factors like unequal competition with larger producers, bureaucratic hurdles, and administrative complexities are considered.
This research aims to present challenges associated with various crises and transformation of the realities of small farms in Slovenia, and to provide insights into market’s demands within the context of global-local food system.
Filipa Fernandes (University of Lisbon, Universidad de Salamanca)
Paper short abstract:
This work proposes to analyze the dynamics of heritagization of traditional commerce. It will focus on the safeguarding of establishments and their material and historical heritage, and the way they’re (re)doing their activity, role, identity, and social meanings.
Paper long abstract:
In recent years, tourism has contributed to processes of transformation in the city of Lisbon (Portugal). Traditional commerce, rich repositories of cultural heritage, has changed to give way to new consumption spaces, from disputes and material and symbolic re-appropriations. Based on theoretical perspectives of the anthropologies of tourism, we will critically explore touristification in Lisbon, with a focus on the dynamics of heritagization that result from strategies of re-signification of Lisbon's cultural heritage. Anchored in ongoing ethnographic research, this work aims to analyze the dynamics of the heritagization of traditional commerce. It will focus on the safeguarding of establishments and their material and historical heritage, and the way they’re (re)doing their activity, role, identity, and social meanings.
Inserted in heritage conservation, protection and safeguard policies in tourism and neo-liberal contexts, full of disputes and conflicts, a case study will be presented. In 2015, the Lisbon City Council created the project “Stores with History”, which has by object the distinction of stores that stand out for their characteristics and value for the identity of the city of Lisbon. This project aims to preserve and promote this heritage relevant to the identity and socio-economic development of the Portuguese capital city.
Kathryn Peters (Vanderbilt University)
Paper short abstract:
Campesinos from Marina Kue, Paraguay (the site of the 2012 massacre resulting in a parliamentary coup) have leveraged complex care networks and an ethic of food citizenship to secure land and livelihood from a state which often privileges the interests of soy agribusiness and narcotraffickers.
Paper long abstract:
Campesinos in the district of Curuguaty petitioned the state’s bureaucratic channels for eight years in attempts to collect a title for land in Marina Kue, eligible for reappropriation under the post-dictatorship constitution. After prolonged administrative neglect, the campesinos organized a land occupation in May of 2012. But their occupation ended after only three weeks, when three hundred heavily-armed police stormed the campsite, defending the interests of agribusiness and expanding soy monoculture. The political repercussions that followed the massacre at Curuguaty were extraordinary: right-wing politicians blamed President Lugo, who had promised land reform during his campaign, for provoking campesino violence, and removed him from office in a parliamentary coup. The massacre and its political implications thrust the small community of Marina Kue into the international spotlight and caused long-simmering disillusionment with corruption to boil over in Paraguayan civil society. “¡¿Que pasó en Curuguaty?!” emerged as a rallying cry and alliances formed among campesinos, international human rights organizations, the Catholic church, and environmental NGOs in the pursuit of public accountability. After years of work, these coalitions have achieved impressive victories—winning the acquittal of all accused campesinos in 2018 and land regularization in 2023. For a total of 16 months between 2018 and 2022, I conducted ethnographic research with these coalitions in order to examine the circumstances under which campesinos can find and maintain reliable urban allies in order to organize for their land and livelihoods.
Yanping Ni (Princeton University)
Paper short abstract:
This project examines the emerging experiments in fibers among young entrepreneurs in Nantong, China’s largest textile town. It investigates how the pursuit of new materials, technologies, and connotations of “homeyness” reshape production and consumption in a precarious post-pandemic economy.
Paper long abstract:
This project examines the emergence of experiments in fiber and textiles among young entrepreneurs in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China. Facing challenges posed by post-pandemic economic anxieties, resurgent geopolitical tensions, international trade wars, and re-spatialized global supply chains, young generations of textile businesspeople in China’s largest domestic textile center have lately resorted to new fibers, technologies, and connotations of “homeyness” (or “cozy-ness”) as potential solutions. My fieldwork has encountered, for example, bean-based fibers (marketed as an alternative to cotton) that cater to rising eco-friendly preferences among homeowners, as well as lightweight synthetically made blankets with the name “cool bean (bing doudou)” referring to their bean-like shape and texture. Unpacking these material-semiotic experiments through the narratives of various involved actors (entrepreneurs, factory workers, designers, etc.), this ethnographic study seeks to investigate the following questions: 1) What motivates such experiments? Are multiple levels of drives involved, prospectively ranging from peer pressure, market competition, and the Chinese state’s promotion of the slogan “created in China” (i.e., beyond “made in China”)? 2) What kinds of new relations, movements, economies, or experiences can be generated from within? Could they lead to substantial and sustainable developments or could they end up instilling a sense of “cruel optimism,” since the stakes of experimenting with new products in a constantly shifting economy are high? That is, with a thing-oriented analytical approach, this paper attends to new fibers’ rich materiality, configurations for different textile producers, and implications for understanding today’s Chinese economy.
Ruoxi Liu (University of Cambridge)
Paper short abstract:
Drawing from seven months of fieldwork among independent artists and their communities in Guangzhou, China, in 2020-2021, this paper investigates the feminist alternative practices of independent artists in response to their experiences of gender marginalisation.
Paper long abstract:
Drawing from seven months of fieldwork among independent artists and their communities in Guangzhou, China, in 2020-2021, this paper investigates the feminist alternative practices of independent artists in response to their experiences of gender marginalisation. Along with being sexualised and discouraged by some of their art colleagues and the public, there has been an emergence of alternative practices among female independent artists in Guangzhou, including alternative art production, space cultivation, and community development. Alternative art practices have not only diversified the expression and representation of female artists; they have also helped female and non-binary people connect to discuss gender-related issues and provide mutual support. Altogether, these expanding feminist practices, spaces, and communities have yielded everyday life strategies to negotiate and contest existing patriarchal conventions and imbalanced power relationships. This paper also offers a view of changing gender politics within art communities in Chinese independent art field.