Changing with the climate – thoughts on the power of visions

Mértola in southern Portugal has been selected by a group of World Food System Summer School alumni participating in the Food System Vision Prize (FSVP) as the location for creating a food system vision. The following thoughts emerged after a short study trip to Mértola. The aim of the trip was to get first hand information about the past, current and future prospects of the local food system in Mértola.

Should I stay or should I go?

Long before arriving with the bus in Mértola the view from the window showed a dry and sparsely populated landscape against the darkening evening. The bus, which was one of the two daily connections from Mértola to Lisbon (only 230 km away), was almost empty. The dry surroundings and the empty bus summed up quite well the current trends affecting the local community.

As the impacts of climate change have only gotten stronger in the region of Mértola, the future prospects of the inhabitants of the municipality are more and more directed towards the urban areas far away from Mértola. Dryness and desertification are severely limiting the agricultural activities in the region and hence, farming seems like an almost impossible task. The circumstances dictated by nature together with the stagnant economic situation create a challenging starting point to gather young aspiring farmers to Mértola, who would be willing to work towards a resilient and regenerative local food system.

Farmers at work – hope arises

The sun rises above the Horta da Malhadinha.

On the first morning of my visit, I met Antonio who is the farmer in charge of the agro-ecological transition of some of the gardens and farmland surrounding Mértola. I joined the morning meeting of him and his team of farmers as they went through the tasks of the day. After the meeting I joined the team to Horta da Malhadinha, one of the gardens that is being transitioned according to syntropic agriculture practices. It was on our way to the farm when I got into a short discussion with one of the aspiring farmers. He had just left the hectic city life behind, and was now living with his girlfriend in Mértola, both working on the farm. I asked the young farmer outright why he is here, referring to the current trend of people in his age leaving Mértola and not coming back.

The answer came as straight as my question was. “There is nothing in the city for me”. After elaborating on his answer it became clear that he was in no way forced to move out of the city. There was in a way “everything” for him – a job, an apartment to live in, some friends to share time with. But after some years he recognized that the “everything” of the city did not seem to satisfy him. So he and his girlfriend decided to leave the crowded city behind, and to move to the countryside. They decided to change the “everything” of the city to the supposed “nothing” of the rural area. The “nothing”, the couple explained, consisted of more time spent outdoors, more meaningful jobs and no hurry and need to be going the whole time. I was amazed by both their ease and determination to follow this newly chosen path.

Think ahead - act now!

It was only later during my visit when I began to realize the importance of such persons, as the couple mentioned above. Since I had been deeply focused on talking with people about visions of the future, concentrating on material and ideal approaches to create a fantastic food system vision for 2050, I had for a while forgotten the actual people of the now. It became very clear to me that how appealing a vision might be, it needs people who are willing to stand behind it and to work towards it. And this work should preferably start as soon as possible. Beginning small, and finishing strong, hopefully.

In the case of Mértola, a couple of this is exactly what is needed. Young portuguese people voluntarily moving to rural areas and willing to stay, in search of a more compelling life. Then for those who have chosen to stay in the rural areas, the realm is to adapt in multiple creative ways to the challenges ahead. And this has the power of bringing people together and to create meaningfulness of a kind that a more abstracted urban life might not be able to offer.

Farmers at work in the Horta da Malhadinha. In syntropic farming plants that are beneficial for each other are planted closely.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Juha Järvinen is currently finishing his Master´s thesis in Grain Technology at the University of Helsinki. Prior to his studies, he worked as a professional chef, focusing on local and organic products in the area of Helsinki, Finland. He is an alumnus of the World Food System Summer School 2019 in Rheinau. His interest is evoked by the wide complexity of the food system and leads him to tackle questions about how to produce food in a fair, transparent, and sustainable way.