Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
8 results
On-farm crop diversity, conservation, importance and value: a case study of landraces from Western Ghats of Karnataka, India
2024Puneeth G. M., Gowthami R., Katral A., Laxmisha K. M., Vasudeva R., Singh G. P., Archak S. · Scientific Reports 14:10712 · India
Documents 671 landraces of 60 crops across 24 sites in the Western Ghats, identifying suitability, cuisine, medicinal use, cultural significance and economic value as determinants of on-farm conservation by custodian farmers.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityFood education‘Growing deliciously’ (맛있는 농사): Korean urban food cultivation as a form of cultural inheritance
2024Natalia Gerodetti · Emotions and Society · South Korea (Seoul)
This article examines contemporary urban food cultivation practices in Seoul, South Korea, as a form of cultural heritage making through familial activities. It explores how widespread urban food growing connects to family and heritage, arguing that these practices are part of a Korean sensibility towards food and its cultivation. The article posits that growing edible plants in urban settings is a "doing family" activity, linking generations, evoking nostalgia, and transmitting values within the context of "compressed modernity."
CommunityFood educationHeirloom & landraceLand Suitability of Wani Fruit (Mangifera caesia) for Fruit Development in Mount Batur, Kintamani, Bali
2024I Gusti Ayu Diah Yuniti, Nanang Sasmita, Jhon Hardy Purba, Liris Lis Komara · Journal of Applied Agricultural Science and Technology · Indonesia
This study evaluated the land suitability for Wani fruit (Mangifera caesia) plants on the slopes of Mount Batur, Kintamani, Bali. Using composite sampling and descriptive and comparative analysis, the results showed three land suitability classes: moderately suitable, marginally suitable, and not suitable, with slope, texture, temperature, effective depth, and rainfall identified as main limiting factors. Zones I, II, and III of the Kintamani area, covering 21,476 hectares, were found suitable for the development of Wani fruit for horticultural and conservation purposes.
CommunityHeirloom & landraceBiodiversityIn situ conservation of traditional vegetable diversity in Wa homegardens in southwestern Yunnan, China
2021Shao H., Hill R., Xue D., Yang J. · Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 17: Article 56 · China
Documents how Wa ethnic homegardens in Yunnan harbor traditional vegetable germplasm diversity through local culture, traditional knowledge, and seed conservation and sharing systems that maintain in situ agrobiodiversity.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityUrbanization level and its effect on the structure and function of homegarden (pekarangan) vegetation in West Java, Indonesia
2021Ali M.S., Arifin H.S., Nurhayati N. · Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity · Indonesia (West Java)
This study finds that increasing urbanisation across West Java significantly reduces the area, species diversity, and ecological functions of traditional pekarangan homegardens, threatening both biodiversity and the cultural practice of subsistence home gardening. Sites across Bogor District, Bogor City, and Cianjur District were compared along an urban–rural gradient.
BiodiversityCommunityHeirloom & landraceIntergenerational transfer of knowledge and mindset change through school gardens among indigenous children in Meghalaya, North East India
2020Melari Shisha Nongrum · · India (Meghalaya)
The North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) facilitated the development of an Indigenous Food System Curriculum to enhance students' knowledge of their environment and food system in Meghalaya, India. Following the implementation of school gardens, schools began harvesting produce. NESFAS aimed to assess students' knowledge of indigenous foods in connection with the impact of these school gardens.
Food educationCommunityHeirloom & landraceFood sovereignty & justiceAn Exploration of Crops Listed in Gwanhyuji, an Agricultural Book in the Joseon Dynasty for the Promotion of the Diversity of Urban Gardens
2019In-Kyoung Hong, Young Chae, Sang-Mi Lee, Young-Bin Jung · Journal of people, plants, and environment · South Korea
This study aimed to improve the diversity of urban gardens by identifying suitable crops from "Gwanhyuji," an agricultural book from the Joseon Dynasty. Fifty-three crops were selected based on traditionality, historicity, health functionality, and popularity, and their properties were evenly distributed. The study suggests that applying traditional knowledge to urban agriculture can transform urban gardens into resources offering educational and traditional values, thereby enhancing their diversity and utility.
Heirloom & landraceCommunityHealthWelfareElderlyDiversity, knowledge and use of leafy vegetables in northern Thailand: maintenance and transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge during urbanisation
2017Turreira-García N., Vilkamaa A. M., Byg A. · Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society · Thailand
Documents 55 leafy vegetable species (32 families) in Chiang Mai fresh markets and assesses, via interviews with sellers, residents, and traditional practitioners, how diversity, use, and knowledge persist amid urbanisation.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityFood education