Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2023·Portugal

Work in progress: power in transformation to postcapitalist work relations in community–supported agriculture

Guilherme Raj, Giuseppe Feola, Hens Runhaar

Agriculture and Human Values

Urban Farm DB summary

This comparative case study of three Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives in Portugal analyzed how power shapes transformations to postcapitalist work relations. Results showed that while CSA creates non-alienated, non-monetized, and care-filled postcapitalist work relations, they insufficiently unmake unbalanced power relations established in capitalist work relations. The selected CSA initiatives could benefit from actively deconstructing internal hierarchies, decentralizing decision-making power from farm owners, and addressing oppressive power relations ossified in their local and cultural context when establishing postcapitalist work relations.