Resignification Practices of Youth in Zona da Mata, Brazil in the Transition Toward Agroecology

Abstract

Youth play an important role in the transition toward agroecology through practices of resignification. This article discusses how young people resignify agroecology by taking part in education initiatives that originate from social movements, and that aim to strengthen young peoples’ abilities to reflect on their practices and realities. We used action research to create films with young agroecologists in the region of Zona da Mata Mineira, Brazil. Our analysis draws on films, interviews and participatory observations made during thirteen workshops to visualize the agroecological practices and visions of youth. We explore how social frames—e.g., the specific ways in which people understand reality—shape practices and how these frames are actively changed by youth. The findings show how frames are changed during (1) frame amplification by building on existing local values; (2) frame bridging by linking with other social movements; (3) frame extension by inclusion of new frames; and (4) frame transformation by altering the meaning of agroecology. We find that young people who engage with agroecology contribute to processes of repeasantization that rework local culture to be more inclusive of different populations, generations and genders, and that they foster an appreciation of the interconnectedness of humans and nature.

Beyond words – the potential of arts-based research on human-nature connectedness

“…Undoubtedly, more empirical research is needed to help foster our understanding of such 'chains of leverage' (Fischer and Riechers 2019), but when extending the scope from human-nature connectedness to a broader environmental sustainability context, several studies support the idea that arts-based research could facilitate these different types of changes in a system (e.g. De Groot and Zwaal 2007; Zurba and Berkes 2014; Heras and Tàbara 2016; Rathwell and Armitage 2016;Johansson and Isgren 2017;Lopez et al 2018;Goris et al 2019).…”

“Good Morning, Poet, How Are You?” Peasant Poetry and Its Vitality in Sertão do Pajeú (Brazil)

“…In Pajeú, these organizations consider peasant poetry as a tool to facilitate this "dialogue of knowledge" and social mobilization in the face of agroecology [16]. In other words, peasant poetry is thought of as a pedagogical instrument of communication and massification of the implementation of agroecological management techniques in food production and conservation of natural resources, which can become a revitalization tool for the social and political articulation of peasants as a peasant resistance strategy [66]. In an interview with Paulo Petersen, the coordinator of Brazil's National Articulation of Agroecology (Articulação Nacional de Agroecologia)-ANA, we noticed how the discussion of poetry and agroecology can be connected from the perspective of the autonomy of peasant families and the subjectivity of their way of life.…”

Human-nature connectedness as leverage point

“…In environmental education, arts-based methods (e.g. theatre exercises, drawings, playful methods) could engage pupils in a process of resignification of key concepts, for example, about agroecology (Goris et al 2019). Raatikainen et al (2020) apply an arts-based research methodology to conduct an environmental education activity with pupils regarding the management and conservation of meadows and wood-pastures in Finland, focussing on conceptualizing the human-nature relationship.…”