(Re)claiming land, labour, and livelihoods
Online course for collectives & a series of public events (2023)
Agricultural transformation is a crucial battlefield for planetary survival and care. This course is a co-learning process for collectives, where we share and develop tools and tactics for agroecological struggles. Bringing together diverse agents of agricultural transition and radical rural transformation — from migrant land workers to farming collectives and ecological and community platforms, across various countries and countrysides — we focus on four key dimensions: labor and migrant rights, access to land and struggles for common property, local and commons-based economies, and transformative agriculture in response to the climate crisis and ecological devastation. Through four thematic sessions, an introductory networking hour, and a final assembly, we unite tools and tactics from different regions, with a focus on Europe as an institutional, legal, and social battlefield.
With: ABL (DE), Ackersyndikat (DE), Arran de Terra (ES), La Bolina (ES), Colletivo Epidemia (IT), Area de Agroecología de Ecologistas en Acción (ES), Inland (INT), Interprt (INT), Jornaleras de Huelva en Lucha (ES), SALT (Solidarity across Land and Trades, UK), Mar Menor Platform (ES), Mondeggi Commons (IT), co-organisers of the Vergesellschaftungskonferenz (DE), and others
Facilitating Local Agroecological Transition
February, 2023
In this event, we launch our brand new translation of the Manual for Facilitating Local Agroecological Transition, with its co-author Daniel García López presenting its specific strategic and practical horizons – followed by an example of the very concrete work of agroecological facilitation by the Catalan Arran de Terra cooperative. With an introduction by Common Ecologies and a comment by Inland/Campo Adentro.
Join us to get your hands on some tools and inspirations, with this amazing line-up!
Beyond exploitation
Feminist, Anti-Racist and Ecological Social Syndicalisms in Agriculture
February, 2023
This session highlights feminist, anti-racist, and ecological social syndicalisms as strategies for challenging industrial agriculture from within. Analyzing agroindustrialism reveals that migrant seasonal workers are both essential to its functioning and its most exploited workforce. They are rendered invisible, along with the (hi)stories of extractivism, land grabs, marginalization, and colonialism they bring with them. Migrant workers are rarely considered part of the solution, let alone as drivers of transformation.
This session centers on the realities, knowledge, and organizations of farm workers, connecting struggles in industrial agriculture with farm worker organization in peasant and collective agriculture. A just agricultural transformation is impossible without addressing issues like work permits, labor exploitation, and migrant and global justice. Drawing on participants’ experiences, we will explore agri-social syndicalism, its tactics, legal and organizational tools, campaigns for regularization through agriculture, budding farm workers’ unions, and more.
With presentations by: Jornaleras de Huelva en Lucha (feminist and anti-racist organizing in industrial agriculture), La Bolina (creating livelihoods and equity in community-oriented agroecology), and SALT (setting up a grassroots agricultural workers union). Introduction by Common Ecologies.
Beyond private property
Socializing and (re)Claiming land for Transformative Agriculture
February, 2023
The land question is central to transforming agriculture from a predatory, extractivist model to a socially and ecologically just food system. Large corporations control vast areas of land, leading to soil degradation, groundwater depletion, and exploitative labor markets. In this session, we aim to rethink land ownership, not only by examining land grabs and environmental degradation but by envisioning the socialization of land as a horizon for change. Inspired by German Vergesellschaftungs activism, which is exploring ways to communalize various sectors following the success of the Berlin referendum to expropriate major corporate landlords, we will explore the legal dimensions of potential ecosocial expropriation. More importantly, we will focus on how to build social support for such demands and what this could mean for agriculture. Drawing on participant experiences, we’ll discuss financial and infrastructural models for collective farm ownership, campaigns for public land leasing based on the common good (Gemeinwohlverpachtung), land occupation for agricultural commons, legal frameworks for civic use, community-driven referenda on land use, and other tactics.
With ABL (DE), Ackersyndikat (DE) and Mondeggi Commons (IT).
Beyond the capitalist food system
Cooperatives, Commons Economies and Local Agroecological Facilitation
February, 2023
In this session we take a closer look at how to fight unjust socio-economic dynamics affecting rural populations, such as depopulation, the revolving doors of precarious work, and the defunding of local social infrastructures. Agricultural transition means a transition away from those, towards a communitarian and solidarity-based model of production and reproduction. It means questioning narratives of development by proposing sustainable forms of re/counter-development, learning from cooperative experiences and exploring the possibilities of different legal and institutional frameworks for change. From the local to the regional, national and EU levels, what laws, norms and policy frameworks may be used to push for agroecological transition? What municipalist impulses may we learn from in this sense?
Based on participant experiences, we’ll discuss facilitation tools for local agroecological transition, agri-commons, community box-schemes and agri-cooperatives, migrant workers incorporation into local agri-economies, municipalism, and other tactics.
This video features presentations by La Bolina (ES) and AgroPermaLab (PL).
Beyond Agri-Ecocide
Organizing, research and legal battles against agro-extractivist destruction
March, 2023
Agroindustry promotes the exploitation and poisoning of ecosystems as much as of people, increasingly greenwashed but no less destructive. In the face of this, we must urgently find ways of opposing agri-ecocide, through social mobilization, legal and institutional battles, and the weaponizing of knowledge for socio-ecological change. In this session, we learn from collective endeavours to oppose extractivist, toxic agriculture, that develop other ecologies of struggle, knowledge and care in the face of greenwashing and technofixes.
Based on participant experiences, we’ll discuss popular legislative initiatives for the rights of nature, the production of knowledge and evidence against ecocide, and the struggles for recognition of ecocide as a crime.
With Plataforma por el Mar Menor (ES), Interprt, and Collettivo Epidemia (IT).
Why agri-transition is vital, and how we can build common strategies
March, 2023
In this event, we’ll present our course’s outcomes and strategic hypotheses on agroecological transformation, followed by reactions, reflections and broader thoughts by our Common Ecologies advisors Stefania Barca, Jason Moore, Amaranta Herrero and Andrea Ghelfi.
Join us to hear what we take away from six sessions of dense collective debate in our course, to discuss with us, and learn with our fantastic advisors (who bring together perspectives of food sovereignty, global anticapitalism, ecofeminism, municipalism, the commons and agroecology networks).
