Presentation short abstract

Using participatory video, we explore stories of Dutch female agroecological farmers. A shared narrative emerges of agroecology as a rooted network built on care, relationality and territory. This positions farmers’ practices as constructive resistance and political proposal for just food systems.

Presentation long abstract

Agroecology tells a story of food systems as relational, transformative and political calling for a re-organization from below. Research on how agroecology, as a science, a movement and a practice provides a counter-narrative to resists industrial food systems has largely focused on regions outside of Europe. Inspired by women-led initiatives resisting exploitative relations in food systems, we co-created a storytelling process with female agroecological farmers in the Netherlands. We used participatory video as a methodological tool which enables participants to control the narratives shared, centring on their lived experiences and perspectives. Guided by the question, "What moves you as an agroecological farmer?", the farmers recorded stories of their everyday lives, which were then shared in a joint screening. Connections were symbolically spun with yarn and unravelled through dialogue, creating space for exchange and collective reflection on the language and stories shaping Dutch agroecology. Positive discourse analysis reveals a shared narrative of agroecology as a ‘rooted network’ (Rocheleau) – a vision grounded in caring ‘naturecultures’ (Haraway), multilateral power relations, the connection to territory and the inclusion of diverse perspectives from human and more-than-human actors. Rooted networks become an ecofeminist analytical tool highlighting how female agroecological farmers challenge hegemonic food system logics by emphasizing relationality, territoriality, and collective agency. This positions agroecological initiatives not as a niches but as acts of constructive resistance (Lilja) and a political proposal for food futures which overcome dichotomies of humans and nature.