Guilherme Raj presents at ‘Grassroots Innovation’ webinar

It is about power! Unveiling power and empowerment in grassroots agri-food initiatives. Grassroots Innovations Webinar, Sustainability Transitions Research Network.

Abstract. This webinar examines the role of power and empowerment in grassroots-led food system transformation. It focuses on prefiguration (enacting a desired future in the present) as a particular contribution of grassroots initiatives to food system transformation. Drawing on various conceptualisations of relational power and empowerment, the analysis explores how power relations emerge from micro-politics and collective identity formation and shape (i) work relations, (ii) the inclusion of queer people, and (iii) leadership roles for women farmers. Empirical insights from community-supported agriculture (CSA) in Italy and Portugal unveil how power relations are decisive in determining how transformation unfolds and what outcomes become possible.