Food Communities Empowerment 

PRIN PNRR 2022

The project "Post-development geographies of Local Food Systems: Community-based networks addressing food insecurity”, or "Food Communities Empowerment" (Fo.C.E.) investigates community-driven solutions to food security by exploring local economies and alternative food systems rooted in relational, informal, and cultural practices of food production, distribution, and consumption. The research, grounded in fieldwork conducted in Morocco, Jordan, and Tanzania, combines theoretical analysis with action-oriented approaches to socio-ecological transformations involving ancestral knowledge, more-than-human relationships, access to land and resources, environmental degradation, and the potential for regenerative practices. 

This project is funded under the PRIN PNRR 2022 (MUR: P20223SFMN; CUP: D53D23020000001).

Jordan

The research explores a pluriverse of community-based experiences of food production and consumption in the city of Amman that couple alternative models of farming, storing and sharing food with practices of relational pedagogies and epistemologies. 

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Morocco

The research explores the artisanal and shore fishing practices within a Slow Food community in Sidi Bounouar, situated in the Souss Massa region. It investigates how these practices are intertwined with food security and how they are affected by profound environmental, infrastructural, political, and economic changes in the context.

The second field of research in Morocco is Tangier, where the relationship between urban development and the transformation of local food systems is explored. Starting with the analysis of specific food chains and their nodal locations, the research aims to investigate the relationship between spatial and food injustice and the bottom-up responses of local food communities.

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Tanzania

The research considers Masai communities, primarily pastoralists, in Northern Tanzania which are heavily affected by climate change, land fragmentation and population growth. In particular, working together with communities and grassroot groups, the research focuses on the specific role of indigenous knowledge to elaborate strategies for the mitigation of food scarcity and deprivation.

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Reflections 

This section presents reflections and thoughts emerging from fieldwork, seminars, meetings, encounters, and readings. If you are interested in walking with us through our questions and thoughts you are welcome!

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