Beyond coping strategy: Central European informal food
economies as future-oriented and transformation-enabling
practices

k 2019

Beyond coping strategy: Central European informal food economies as future-oriented and transformation-enabling practices

DANĚK, Petr and Petr JEHLIČKA

Basic information

Original name

Beyond coping strategy: Central European informal food economies as future-oriented and transformation-enabling practices

Authors

DANĚK, Petr (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution) and Petr JEHLIČKA (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution)

Edition

International workshop From Economic to Political Informality: Exploring the Link between Shadow Practices, Policy Making and Development, 2019

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

50704 Environmental sciences

Country of publisher

Sweden

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/19:00107698

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

Keywords (in Czech)

Samozásobitelství; rezilience; tichá udržitelnost; střední Evropa

Keywords in English

Food self-provisioning; resilience; quiet sustainability; Central Europe

Abstract

V originále

Household food self-provisioning and sharing in Central and Eastern Europe has long been considered as either remnant of socialist past or a survival strategy of the poor. In either case it was deemed to be an expression of passive resilience on the margins, to be incorporated into or replaced by the capitalist market production. We present an alternative interpretation of informal, non-market, household food self-provisioning (FSP), reading it as a set of practices unconsciously undermining the assumptions and questioning the values of neoliberal capitalism, and, at the same time, offering significant contribution to overcoming major economic, social and environmental problems of market food production. Drawing on a large-scale survey (2058 households), four focus groups and interviews with active gardeners conducted in the Czech Republic, in this paper we address FSP from three perspectives. First, from the economic perspective, FSP is presented as a widespread social practice (38 per cent of Czech households are engaged directly as producers of food, and further 33 per cent of households indirectly as recipients of food grown in gardens of others) which account for two fifths of fruits and vegetables consumption in households practising FSP. Second, from the social perspective, we highlight knowledge and skills related to FSP, its inclusive nature (households from different social classes participating equally) and its contribution to establishing and strengthening social relations within the networks based on sharing home-grown food. Third, from the environmental perspective, we interpret FSP as quiet sustainability, where households, following their individual and collective objectives of growing fresh, healthy food and sharing it with friends and relatives, contribute - mostly unreflectively, but significantly - to environmental sustainability by enhancing biodiversity, avoiding chemical fertilisers and pesticides and by relocalisation. The research shows that FSP is sustained by largely positive motivations and can be viewed as a form of resilience which is proactive, preventative, future-oriented and transformation-enabling.

Links

GA19-10694S, research and development project

Name: Prostory tiché udržitelnosti: samozásobitelství a sdílení

Investor: Czech Science Foundation

Citovat

DANĚK, Petr and Petr JEHLIČKA. Beyond coping strategy: Central European informal food economies as future-oriented and transformation-enabling practices. In International workshop From Economic to Political Informality: Exploring the Link between Shadow Practices, Policy Making and Development. 2019.

@proceedings{1565996,
   author = {Daněk, Petr and Jehlička, Petr},
   booktitle = {International workshop From Economic to Political Informality: Exploring the Link between Shadow Practices, Policy Making and Development},
   keywords = {Food self-provisioning; resilience; quiet sustainability; Central Europe},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Beyond coping strategy: Central European informal food economies as future-oriented and transformation-enabling practices},
   url = {https://www.academia.edu/40424531/FROM_ECONOMIC_TO_POLITICAL_INFORMALITY_EXPLORING_THE_LINK_BETWEEN_SHADOW_PRACTICES_POLICY_MAKING_AND_DEVELOPMENT_-_workshop_programme},
   year = {2019}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 1565996
AU  - Daněk, Petr - Jehlička, Petr
PY  - 2019
TI  - Beyond coping strategy: Central European informal food economies as future-oriented and transformation-enabling practices
KW  - Food self-provisioning
KW  - resilience
KW  - quiet sustainability
KW  - Central Europe
UR  - https://www.academia.edu/40424531/FROM_ECONOMIC_TO_POLITICAL_INFORMALITY_EXPLORING_THE_LINK_BETWEEN_SHADOW_PRACTICES_POLICY_MAKING_AND_DEVELOPMENT_-_workshop_programme
L2  - https://www.academia.edu/40424531/FROM_ECONOMIC_TO_POLITICAL_INFORMALITY_EXPLORING_THE_LINK_BETWEEN_SHADOW_PRACTICES_POLICY_MAKING_AND_DEVELOPMENT_-_workshop_programme
N2  - Household food self-provisioning and sharing in Central and Eastern Europe has long been considered as either remnant of socialist past or a survival strategy of the poor. In either case it was deemed to be an expression of passive resilience on the margins, to be incorporated into or replaced by the capitalist market production. We present an alternative interpretation of informal, non-market, household food self-provisioning (FSP), reading it as a set of practices unconsciously undermining the assumptions and questioning the values of neoliberal capitalism, and, at the same time, offering significant contribution to overcoming major economic, social and environmental problems of market food production. Drawing on a large-scale survey (2058 households), four focus groups and interviews with active gardeners conducted in the Czech Republic, in this paper we address FSP from three perspectives. First, from the economic perspective, FSP is presented as a widespread social practice (38 per cent of Czech households are engaged directly as producers of food, and further 33 per cent of households indirectly as recipients of food grown in gardens of others) which account for two fifths of fruits and vegetables consumption in households practising FSP. Second, from the social perspective, we highlight knowledge and skills related to FSP, its inclusive nature (households from different social classes participating equally) and its contribution to establishing and strengthening social relations within the networks based on sharing home-grown food. Third, from the environmental perspective, we interpret FSP as quiet sustainability, where households, following their individual and collective objectives of growing fresh, healthy food and sharing it with friends and relatives, contribute - mostly unreflectively, but significantly - to environmental sustainability by enhancing biodiversity, avoiding chemical fertilisers and pesticides and by relocalisation. The research shows that FSP is sustained by largely positive motivations and can be viewed as a form of resilience which is proactive, preventative, future-oriented and transformation-enabling.
ER  -

DANĚK, Petr and Petr JEHLIČKA. Beyond coping strategy: Central European informal food economies as future-oriented and transformation-enabling practices. In \textit{International workshop From Economic to Political Informality: Exploring the Link between Shadow Practices, Policy Making and Development}. 2019.

Detailed Information on Publication Record