Invisible Ecoproducers

Galician family farming spaces for local self-consumption

Abstract

In the first quarter of the 21st century, we are facing the profound impact of centuries of overexploitation of the Earth and the consolidation of a globalized capitalism with deep colonial and patriarchal roots. Two major challenges converge at this crucial point: the climate crisis and growing social inequality. The urban-centric approach in critical studies represents a significant obstacle to the construction of transformative counter-narratives. In urban and territorial studies, we tend to produce city-centered analyses that ignore the ecological footprint on the spaces - and bodies - that sustain them, often referred to as emptied territories. However, in Galicia, territorial practices persist which, despite having been historically devalued, have survived to the present day. These include family farming for local consumption. The spaces of Galician family farming allow us to imagine alternative ways of inhabiting the land that go beyond the rural-urban dichotomy. Many older Galician women continue to support this system of production and reproduction of the land, creating essential networks of cooperation and interdependence. This research article documents the workspaces of some of these ecological producers of farming descent who have played, and continue to play, a decisive role in the food sovereignty of numerous Galician families, respecting the environment, and caring for biodiversity.