While many departments, research institutes and universities offer a fertile ground for intellectual collaboration and mutual support structures, like-minded scholars also happen to work outside these formal frames, often hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometers away. In this blog post, we reflect upon how a group of ten scholars writing joint articles based on individual research became what we currently call the emerging Polička Collective: a spatially dispersed and interdisciplinary alliance of scholars interested in diverse and community economies in Eastern and Central Europe (CEE) and the Former Soviet Union.
In this blog entry, we reflect upon what made our encounters possible and provide insights, perhaps only short glimpses, into the processes of creating a convivial atmosphere, on the one hand, and the planning as well as execution of collaborative writing efforts in between relatively short physical meetings and long periods of spatial dispersal, on the other hand. Rather than offering a blueprint for how to grow organically into a spatially dispersed scholars’ collective, we trace this genealogy with one main goal: we hope this self-reflective account can provide helpful insights for other collaborative projects and collectives, especially since both creating a convivial atmosphere and writing collaboratively remains often tacit and embodied knowledge among participants in collective projects.
Despite the tendency that internationalized collaborative projects are increasingly regarded as stimulating, there remains little guidance on how to grow together. We will make explicit some important rules of conduct, methods and activities that helped us in working together, narrated in a somewhat chronological order for the sake of simplicity.
Polička Collective is an interdisciplinary group of scholars engaging with diverse and community economies in the Global East. From top left to bottom right: Markus Sattler, Peter North, Sunna Kovanen, Anja Decker, Ottavia Cima, Thomas Smith, Lilian Pungas, Lucie Sovová, Nadia Johanisova, Petr Jehlička.
Brussels, 29 April 2024. The SERIGO project kicked off to promote social innovation as a means to enhance social inclusion within rural communities. The project is coordinated by the University of Eastern Finland and brings together 17 partner organisations from 11 different EU countries.
SERIGO will conduct community-based participatory research, through case studies and pilots testing, foster collaborations, and provide policy recommendations on how socialinnovation can enhance resilience, social inclusion, and well-being in European rural areas. The project is a 4-year initiative funded under the Horizon Europe programme of the European Union (EU).
13 case studies and 5 co-creation pilots
SERIGO applies an intersectional perspective to analyse vulnerability and implements critical systems thinking in combination with community-based participatory research. This approach aims to explore both the capacity and limitations of socially innovative solutions in enhancing social inclusion and equitability. Empirical data will be gathered in 13 case studies over Europe.
The project will also co-create five experimental pilot actions aimed at testing socially innovative solutions and providing support to vulnerable groups in Austria, Estonia, Finland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
A training programme tailored for refugee and migrant women in Carinthia region (Austria) and the creation of a community energy initiative while fostering capacity building in Ostrovany (Slovakia), are some examples from the pilot actions.
Additionally, SERIGO will co-create and validate the research results and policy findings through a Community of Practice (CoP) which will also serve to facilitate knowledge transfer and peer-learning.
SERIGO is conducting community-based participatory research, fostering collaboration, and providing policy recommendations on how socialinnovation can enhance resilience, social inclusion, and well-being of vulnerable groups in European rural areas. The project is exploring socially innovative solutions initiated by or involving actors from the social economy. With a focused approach to addressing the challenges faced by rural communities, SERIGO is committed to harnessing the capabilities of social economy actors to drive inclusive development initiatives.
Anna Roodhof picking fruit in the Paradijsvogelbosje (Almere)
By Anna Roodhof – Food forestry is an advanced type of agroforestry where practitioners design a forest ecosystem that incorporates edible and otherwise serviceable perennial plant species. In the Netherlands, food forests have become an increasingly popular land-use form, inspired by Martin Crawford’s forest garden. The first occurrence of the term ‘food forest’ dates back to 2009, when Wouter van Eck and Pieter Jansen started a forest garden sized 3 hectares, which they aptly renamed ‘food forest’. Since then, and especially from 2017 onwards, this innovative approach to agroforestry has flourished across the country. As a PhD candidate at the Rural Sociology Group at Wageningen University and Research, I study this emerging phenomenon.
Last week, the first article of this project, called ‘Understanding the emerging phenomenon of food forestry in the Netherlands: An assemblage theory approach’, was published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. This article presents an exploratory study of food forestry through the lens of assemblage theory, which I describe as “the coming together of many components which interact, producing emergent properties” (Roodhof, 2024, p. 3).
While the concept was originated by Deleuze and Guattari (1987), I resort to DeLanda (2016) for his emphasis on the immanence of emergent properties: the emergent properties of assemblages cease once an assemblage disbands. Sarmiento (2020) theorized that the interactions between the elements of an assemblage can be characterized as relations of dominance and difference: such relations play a role in solidifying or dissolving assemblages.
As such, my research identified numerous elements of the food forestry assemblage, such as the mentioned experts, food forests, practitioners, networks and coalitions, laws and regulations, subsidies, events, workshops, and other activities in and around food forests. The interactions between these elements lead to various emergent properties, such as increased hope for the future and feelings of belonging. Particularly noteworthy is the shared experience of ‘pionieren’ (pioneering): “practicing FF entails the excitement of being part of a new, grassroots movement that gives a sense of purpose, while also having a sense of insecurity” (Roodhof, 2024, p. 9-10).
Moreover, I uncover intricate relations of dominance and difference within the food forestry landscape, influencing recruitment, shared values, definitions, organization, and infrastructure. For instance, while shared values unite practitioners in their quest for sustainable food systems, differing perspectives on food forestry’s purpose and scope lead to debates over its definition and institutional recognition.
This study demonstrates the complex relations between the many elements that compose the food forestry assemblage in the Netherlands and highlights the rapid development this assemblage is currently undergoing: this paper presents a snapshot in time. Its sets the stage for further research about social and economic possibilities for food forestry. As the food forestry landscape is highly diverse, the common denominator of food forests being their multifunctionality, further research should take note of the importance of the socio-geographic context.
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (B. Massumi, Trans.). University of Minnesota Press. (Original work published 1980).
Roodhof, A. (2024). Understanding the emerging phenomenon of food forestry in the Netherlands: An assemblage theory approach. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development, 13(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2024.132.018
Sarmiento, E. (2020). Field methods for assemblage analysis: Tracing relations between difference and dominance. In J. K. Gibson-Graham & K. Dombroski (Eds.), The handbook of diverse economies (pp. 486–492). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788119962.00067
In the Master thesis “Working for the occupier: Palestinian youths navigating the colonial settlement”, Davide Fabris investigates how young Palestinians make it through the daily challenges and precarity of working in a Israeli settlement. The main research question of his research is: ”How are young Palestinians experiencing and dealing with labour incorporation within the Israeli settlements’ economy?”.
Colonial settlement under construction near Nablus
The research is based on qualitative fieldwork in Palestine (West Bank), making use of semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and observations. The research first unpacks precarity in settlements, showcasing how the spatial, social, economic organization of the settlement allow for the precaritization of Palestinian workers. The settlement per-se is presented as an encroaching entity, that facilitates exploitation through fragmentation of the Palestinian territory and the control over labour and movement.. Following the steps of young workers inside the settlement, and deep diving into their peculiar working context, this research underlines how the incorporation of Palestinians within the settlement economic life is marked by securitization and dispossession. As workers experience precarity, they deal with it through different approaches and a variety of practices, according to their agency and to specific social conditions. Some workers only focus on their job performance, avoiding any form of ties with colleagues and supervisors. Others are very sociable, relying on the special protection of their supervisor or eventually initiating proper workers unions.
The research hence demonstrates how settlements’ precarious conditions are navigated by Palestinian youths individually and collectively. Social navigation might therefore entail a variety of practices, ranging from silencing and normalization to proper initiatives against (and even beyond) the oppressive work system of the settlement. According to their specific work sector and working conditions, Palestinians might adopt a low-key approach, focusing on simply obtaining their salary, as well as unify and sue legal protection to see their rights fulfilled. Furthermore, this research questions the meaning of such practices, unravelling their inner motivations and highlighting those social activities that attempt to challenge the settlement’s status quo. While doing so, it gives voice to young workers’ claims for a better life that can hardly be achieved within the current domestic job market.
The research is relevant, as it addresses a highly sensitive and understudied topic. It provides valuable insights concerning the inner challenges and problematics of workers reactions in informal and institutionalised ways, paving the way for a deep reflection on an important topic of contention of the current times.
Davide Fabris. 2024. Working for the occupier: Palestinian youths navigating the colonial settlement, master thesis International Development Studies, Wageningen University, Wageningen. Supervisors Lotje de Vries and Joost Jongerden
Nederland besloot in 2022 de financiering voor de Palestijnse NGO UAWC (Union of Agricultural Work Committees) stop te zetten. UAWC ondersteunt duizenden Palestijnse boeren, vooral in gebieden op de Westelijke Jordaanoever waar Israël een illegale kolonisatiepolitiek voert. Israël heeft lang druk uitgeoefend op donoren om de steun aan UAWC te stoppen, omdat het volgens Israël een mantelorganisatie is van de Palestijnse verzetsbeweging PFLP (People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine).
Nederland heeft UAWC extern laten onderzoeken door een bureau dat gespecialiseerd is in veiligheidsvraagstukken. Uit het externe onderzoek zou blijken dat sommige (voormalige) medewerkers banden hebben met de Palestijnse verzetsbeweging PFLP. De UAWC reageerde geschokt op het besluit van de Nederlandse overheid en betoogde dat het externe onderzoek geen aanwijzingen had gevonden voor financiële stromen tussen UAWC en de PFLP, noch voor organisatorische banden tussen beide organisaties.
De Boerengroep en Rurale Sociologie hebben in mei 2022 met een beroep op de Wet openbaarheid van bestuur (WOB/WOO) verzocht om informatie met betrekking tot het besluit van Nederland om de financiering aan de Union of Agricultural Workers Committee (UAWC) stop te zetten. In januari 2024 is de gevraagde informatie toegestuurd, bestaande uit meer dan 600 documenten, variërend van (korte) e-mails tot notities. De WOB/WO-documenten bieden inzicht in hoe de Nederlandse overheid tot het besluit is gekomen om de financiering aan UAWC stop te zetten, en meer in het algemeen:
De politieke context waarin een dergelijke beslissing is genomen;
De criteria die het hanteert, en;
De afwegingen die de overheid daarbij maakt.
Voor een kwalitatieve analyse van de documenten en het doen van vervolginterviews wordt gezocht naar een masterstudent. Deze masterstudent dient te beschikken over Nederlandse taalvaardigheid en bij voorkeur bekend te zijn met kwalitatieve onderzoeksmethoden. Het onderzoek is interessant voor die studenten die geïnteresseerd zijn in onder meer i) het politieke krachtenveld waarin overheidsbeleid en besluitvorming tot stand komen, ii) veiligheidsvraagstukken in relatie tot medefinanciering en iii) de politiek van hulp in de context van langdurig conflict. Gezien de omvang van het materiaal, is er ruimte om een eigen invulling te geven aan het onderzoek.
Voor meer informatie: Joost Jongerden (RSO) en Gemma van der Haar (SDC)
