Isolario of Alternative Forms of Progress
Another World is Possible !
Who we are
We are students of the International Joint Master Degree in Sustainable Territorial Development - Climate Change Diversity Cooperation (STeDe - CCD). We made this story map in the context of the course "Territory, development and alternatives - Alternatives to development and territorial practices of post development" with the professor Massimo De Marchi during the year 2020-2021.
Joelle Ayan
While still living in Beirut, Lebanon, I graduated with a bachelor in Public Health & Development Sciences from the University of Balamand. After working in the humanitarian aid sector, I realized that public health is heavily intertwined and linked to the health of the environment and sustainability, so I decided to deepen my knowledge in this sector and thus my journey on the Sustainable Territorial Development masters began.
Hugo Vacus
I am French, from the region of Paris. Before entering in the STeDe - CCD master, I studied in a double bachelor programme of the university Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne both in History and in Political science.
Kristof Van den Branden
I am a Belgian, Romanian STeDe student which studied a bachelor in geography and a master in governmental economics, very interested in which ways our earth can be made a better place, together with my teammates who come from different fieds of studies we try to get more insight into some transformative initiatives.
Introduction
"It is easy to pretend that nobody can change anything, that we are in a world in which society is huge and the individual is less than nothing: an atom in a wall, a grain of rice in a rice field. But the truth is, individuals change their world over and over, individuals make the future, and they do it by imagining things can be different." _ Neil Gaiman
Through the lens of three concepts (commons, degrowth and eco-socialism) this strory map aims to define another kind of progress by presenting an isolario of related inspiring examples around the world. These iniatives draw up new paths of progress by overcoming the green econnomy and any other sort of reformist solution that target sustainability.
The green economy targets three goals: overcoming economic crises, ecological crises and to reduce poverty (UNEP, 2011). The green economy aims to value natural capital and ecosystems services as having an economic value just like the negative externalities. This should theoretically lead to using resources more efficiently, improving recycling processes, reducing carbon emissions due to production, financing green investments and green jobs, eradicating poverty and achieving social inclusion. However, economic growth stays as the core of this vision (Burkart, 2009). We would like to propose more radical solutions that consider other measurements than economic growth to quantify progress in society.
First, let's shorlty discuss the three transformative initiatives that serve us as trail in this exploration: commons, degrowth and eco-socialism
Commons
One of the most challenging issues of our world is our overconsumption of natural resources. And this consumerism leads to exponential economic growth. But our world is finite, and this mass consumption cannot be supported by the "system Earth". This will lead sooner or later to the collapse of our economic situation. This race to the bottom is ideologically and politically supported by the concretisation of individual property as a fundamental right. We have forgotten that along their history, humans have shared more commons than they had individual properties. Sharing goods, assets, services, knowledge, is also a way to reduce our global consumption and so our impact on the planet. The abundance of resources and energy that support mass production and so the individual property also undermines social cooperation. The abundance of goods made useless social structures of mutual aid which was much stronger in local communities before. Relearning to use commons instead of individual property materialize a path toward social progress in terms of cooperation, cohabitation, and acceptation.
Degrowth
Degrowth is one of the sustainable alternatives to our economic system. It doesn’t mean going back to the stone age, but that we have to change the way we live to consume and product less things. In other words, we could say that we have to use more efficiently the things we product and to review our current needs. Reducing production and consumption is not a loss. It could be seen as a gain of sustainability, of ressource use efficiency and of perspicacity about the reality of our daily needs. The concept of degrowth goes further than the contrary of growth, defined in terms of GDP and with other usual economical indicators. It is not only an economical project, but also a political, ethical and social alternative. It aims to transform the concept of growth and progress by implementing other indicators than the measurement of the economic value created to assess the well-being of society. It is a real challenge because it implies a complete refinement of finance, bank system, and commercial exchanges. It also brings the matter of scale in the debate about our future world. From a conceptual point of view, Degrowth is a critic of productivism, industrialism, and consumerism. This conceptual basis is the foundation for all the variations of Degrowth which correspond to a pluriverse of alternative models.
Eco-socialism
Eco-socialism is a post-capitalist system, founded on Marxist fundamentals, and is based on three pillars: ecological equilibrium, social needs, and non-monetary criteria (Löwy, 2019).
The current neo-liberal capitalist, market frameworks and the bureaucratic authoritarianism will not succeed in saving the environment and the planet. The challenge the micro-rationality of profit making with the macro-rationality of socio-ecology, thus overcoming the economic centeredness of green economy. productive investments are thus chosen by the community itself allowing them ownership as well as liberation from alienation and existing economic laws, as well as the possibility to re-embed the social and natural environment in the equation (Löwy, 2019).
Decisive Factor: People’s own collective experience of struggle, their socialist consciousness, and ecological awareness (Löwy, 2019).
“The issue isn’t excessive consumption only, but the type of consumption” - Michael Löwe
Map of the isolario
Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, Brazil
The MST (Landless Workers' Movement) Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, is a social movement in Brazil, inspired by the political movement of Marxism, with approxametly 1.5 million members. From 1985 poor farmers, which don't have enough land to make a living occupy abandonned landkeepings together. (MST,2003)
An MST land occupation involves a group of landless people (usually numbering 500–3000) entering a large estate and occupying a piece of unused land. Given that it can take years for the rights to the land to be granted via the government, temporary camps known as acampamentos are formed to try to get the land in their hands. This is based on the legal principle of the 'Squatter's rights' (or adverse possession). Because after a certain amount of time, the famers get the legal right to live there. (Carter,2010)
These acampamentos are highly organized, with the families taking on responsibility for various areas, such as health, education, and food. hen finally the rights to the land are granted the land is divided among the occupiers. Out of experience, the decision is made that the occupiers can choose wich intensity of cooperation they want to keep. hen finally the rights to the land are granted the land is divided among the occupiers. Out of experience, the decision is made that the occupiers can choose wich intensity of cooperation they want to keep. In the national press often they are seen very negatively. In the more internationally set academic world they are indeed seen as a way to fight poverty but on the other hand they make clear that the land distribution is not the only problem. (Rosa,2015)
70 km North-west of Brazil's biggest city, Sao Paulo, on the former Eldorado Ranch, in the Valinhos municipality there lies The Marielle Vive camp of the MST. The 130-hectare plot of land is being reconstructed through agro-ecological principles. It is in danger of being taken over by real estate speculators, but therefore it has first to be evacuated by government officials.This is not yet happening because, the people in the encampment show everyday the strength of their project to become a legal settlement while guaranteeing the peoples’ rights. The settlement contributes to society by internal training, both in the aspect of agroecology, but also in the process of collective work experience and of cooperative work. The collective kitchen for example, provides all meals for the camp. In 2019 a judge ordered the 700 families to leave the camp, this is not legal, and the occupiers have to this day not yet left the camp in hope, that once they can make it their home. Below a video is put which the MST made themself, to introduce themself to the world. (Lamir,2020)
If you want to be kept updated about the MST you can like the following page on Facebook.
For the exact location of the camp of the Marielle vive you can take a look at the following link that leads you to google maps:
ZAD of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, France
The ZAD (Zone to defend) of Notre-Dame-des-Landes has been created to impede the building of a new airport close to the city of Nantes in France. The occupation of this zone was therefore illegal and extremely politicized. The 17th of January 2018, the french Prime minister announced the abandonment of the project. In April 2018, the police forced the occupants to evacuate. But some communities are stil active there.
The ZAD of Notre Dame des Landes is the site of entanglement between civil disobedience, environmental conflicts and an alternative model of society, characterized by collective property and deep democracy. Political life is based on slow deliberations in assemblies, sometimes chaotic but really performative because focused on practical issues (Appadurai, 2013).
This was a kind of anarchy in the sense that the zone was not ruled by any superior authority, like a state or a government is. Therefore some violence, damage on buildings and thefts in villages around.
It is impossible to disentangle the political divide about the airport project from the alternative way of life that has been developed in the ZAD and which is therefore not unanimously supported (Coutant, 2014).
The occupants of the ZAD opposed their own vision of progress and country planning to the state's planning. They promoted an adaptation of human life to nature with a better understanding of it, an empowerment of community life on the territory towards more resilience and the sharing of skills and knowledge (Pruvost, 2017).
For example, the inhabitants made multiple maps of the area, they learned to cultivate, to build with bio-based materials etc.
Notre-Dame-des-Landes is an experiment of collective ownership, but also of non-ownership. The community has operated on a gift economy. This principle is extended to a “wild free shop” made up of uninhabited huts where the occupants had left their belongings. Visitors were responsible for inquiring about the occupancy status of the cabins and could pick up goods from unoccupied cabins. It is a form of collective property or more precisely of individual property based on the use of the good (Pruvost, 2017).
This radically alternative way of living linked to a highly political engagement generated an intense ratio of power with the state but also among local inhabitants. If you want to learn more about what is left of this grassroots initiative nowadays, and hear different opinions about the ZAD you can have a look to the reportage below...
Eco-Swaraj of Mendha-Lekha, India
The short video below explains what a swaraj is and how it could be used as a tool to transform society and progress in terms of ecology and sustainability.
An eco-swaraj or ecological swaraj: “is a framework that respects the limits of the Earth and the rights of other species, while pursuing the core values of social justice and equity” (Kothari, 2014).
"Mendha-Lekha is located 30 km from the district headquarters and is spread over two small and closely situated tolas (hamlets). The total area of the village is estimated at 1900 hectares. Nearly 80 percent of this area is forested. There are approximately 400 people living in the village." (Pathak et al., 2008)
Villagers live from subsistence farming and managing the forest, which provide food, energy as fuel, timber and fodder. The villagers are small land owners with an average of five acres. Their income comes mainly from the collection of non-timber forest produce (NTFP) and daily wages from various labour work.
In Mendha, the movement towards self-rule and protection of the surrounding forests in the late 1980s led to the creation of the "gram sabha" (village council). This council is responsible for all village-level decisions including those related to natural resource use and management:
- Carrying out watershed development in the forest
- Preventing forest fires and soil erosion
- Formulating forest protection rules
- Choosing representatives of the van suraksha samiti (forest protection committee)
- Handling non-timber forest produce extraction and trade-related issues
The gram sabha also carries the role of a self-help group in a way. The members of the village council have to donate ten percent of the revenue they get from being employed in the gram sabha to the gram sabha corpus fund. The gram sabha uses a single account. This spreads both the accountability and responsibility for risks and benefits, withdrawals and expenditures among all villagers. (Pallavi, 2013).
In 2013, residents of village Mendha Lekha donated all their agricultural land to the community, and therefore the gram sabha of the village. The council is now the legal owner of these lands which count 200 ha of land. The original owners of the conceded agricultural lands continued to cultivate them. They just took decisions collectively about them with the intermediary of the gram sabha (Pallavi, 2013).
The gram sabha took several decisions about forest protection since 1987, including:
- The village can exploit the surrounding forests without paying any fee to any authority.
- A set of rules for sustainable extraction.
- The gram sabha gives the permission to any outsider, even the state, for any forest use activty.
- No commercial exploitation of the forests, except for non-timber forest produce, would be allowed.
(Pathak et al., 2008).
Buen Vivir in Ecuador
Buen vivir is a way of living and thinking, found in a lot of indigenous cultures over the world, but often not under the same name. As deductable from the name this term is primarly used in Latin-America. It's meaning is not easy to explain, but a possible defenition could be that for people living with this idea a full life signifies living in harmony with other people and nature. In every case it is the opposite of the western neo-collonialistic way. According to some Spanishspeaking experts it is not possible to translate this concept to English. Sometimes even the idea comes up that westerners will never be able to adopt this kind of living because we no longer have cultural memory of another way of being, like indigenous people have. (Helfrich,2015)
As initiative we chose to give more attention to the Ecuadorian government. While ofcourse a huge institution like this can not bring this concept to live in his purest form, it is a driving force because in 2006 they incoporated it in their constitution. (FDSD,2015)
The rights of nature could be considered as the concretization of Buen vivir . This concept's meaning is that natural objects like trees and rivers get a legal personality and thus rights to be protected. This makes that just as companies they can be defended by a lawyer. Since then, there are also other countries who have taken it into their constitution. Since then, there are also other countries who have implimented Buen vivir into their constitution. (Arsel,2012)
The Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico
Case Study: The Oventic Caracole
In 1983, a group of young indigenous Marxists started to secretly prepare to take back indigenous people’s lands from the Mexican government, thus paving the way to the Zapatista revolution of 1994, and later on to their full autonomy seen today around Zapatistas controlled regions around Mexico (Conant 2010; Nirmal, 2019; Vergara-Camus, 2017).
After starting off in a war state with the Mexican Government, and after being legally recognized, the Zapatistas took a turn towards Civil Resistance and International recognition and support strategies. Multiple indigenous group especially from the Mayan population in the Mexican Stet of Chiapas, as well as Mexicans and international organizations took their side (Conant 2010; Nirmal, 2019; Vergara-Camus, 2017).
--> Their demands are rooted in: proper access to high quality education, land preservation, environmental protection, proper housing, access to food, free healthcare, respecting and preserving culture, independence, access to information, gender equality, freedom, democracy, justice, and peace (Conant 2010; Nirmal, 2019; Vergara-Camus, 2017).
They reject the interference of the Mexican government and international institutions’ authority and governance of trade, investment, and development, and thus fought for adopting a conscious, careful approach to development, resource use, and governance alternatives. The latter took the form of a bottom up approach focusing on multilingual schools, community clinics, seed banks, cooperatives and land collectives, sustainable agriculture, and accessible and affordable water and basic sanitation (Briy, 2020).
Zapatistas on Eco-Socialism
It's a libertarian, socialist ant-capitalist government, that applies of direct democracy. It is not only a political movement but a social one as well, demanding dignity, liberty, and justice (Martel, 2019; Briy, 2020). Their government is based on a commonly agreed structure of decision-making, where power is rotational between the population. It is a three levels structure mirroring (Briy, 2020):
- The state level : 5 Caracoles in Chiapas as good governments councils, they implement justice, oversee radical social change processes in a collaborative, democratic, imaginative, and open way, control education and healthcare, and they ensure the protection of small producers.
- The municipal level: 35+ Autonomous Municipalities: allow people’s voices to be heard and included politically in the economic decision process through their councils.
- The local level: 1000+ Communities organized under the autonomous municipalities, and are represented in all decision making processed.
Zapatistas on Commons
The state level governance works along the line of the Zapatista slogan: “The land belongs to those who work it”, and thus the land of the territories is for the people, worked by the people without granting permissions, protected, and defended from environmental degradation and anthropogenic activities, and thus they are in line with the concept of the commons since it is a community governed land (Conant, 2010).
Zapatistas on Degrowth
On the concept of Degrowth, the Zapatistas reject the mainstream methods of production, international trade, globalization and do not only rely on economy and GDP to measure growth but on social alternatives mainly like education, access to healthcare etc. (Nirmal, 2019; Vergara-Camus, 2017).
Oventic's Case
For more information about the schooling system in the Zapatistas controlled region, please check the link Below.
Thank you!
We want to thank you for accompanying us on this journey.
For any questions don't hesitate to contact us!
Joelle Ayan: joelleayan98@gmail.com
Hugo Vacus: hugo.vacus@gmail.com
Kristof Van den Branden: kristofvdbranden@gmail.com