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Paper short abstract

Cork production sits amid forestry and industrial practices, global trade and local heritage. Using Tsing’s concept of friction, this research explores a few assemblages formed at the intersections of transnational capitalism and vernacular techniques, historical milestones and imagined futures.

Paper long abstract

This communication is based on my ongoing doctoral research, which is a multi-sited ethnography of cork cultures in Portugal. The final thesis aims to reflect, from an anthropological perspective, on the meanings of socio-environmental sustainability and world heritage in contemporary society.

Situated between forestry practices, industrial manufacturing, global commodity trading and local heritage-making processes, cork landscapes reveal complex relations and meanings. What do stakeholders consider to be sustainable practices? Which historical events shaped current scenarios? How do modernity frameworks and climate change´s overflows coexist?

Drawing on Anna Tsing’s concept of friction, this research explores ´polyphonic assemblages´ formed at the intersections of transnational capitalism and local practices, historical milestones and imagined futures. Besides observing cork extraction sites, fieldwork included extensive observation of technical congresses and sectoral meetings, where cork becomes a platform for advocating future-oriented ideas and projects. It also comprised visits to museological spaces, tourist attractions and local festivals where cork is undergoing processes of heritagization. Through engagement with diverse actors entangled in cork production Portuguese landscapes, this study describes how multiple temporalities and scales intertwine to shape more-than-human ecological-cultural landscapes.

This panel's focus on imaginaries of rural/urban divides, capitalist expansion, and the simultaneity of progress and preservation resonates with my investigation, which questions where nature begins and ends amid socio-economic dynamics and heritage mobilization. I intend to present my original research design and some key field insights at this conference, seeking critical feedback during my thesis development.