Loss and revival of biocultural heritage: ethno-botanical research on locally-adapted vegetable varieties in the Alps

My PhD research will explore the presence of locally-adapted vegetable varieties in the Alps, and how the production and exchange of these seeds has taken place historically within Alpine communities, and the ways in which these practices continue to survive outside of the seed industry. In this way, I will study both the agricultural practices associated with growing and consuming locally-adapted varieties, and the social connections that supports the production and exchange of seeds. I will work with actors on the ground to examine how seeds have been grown, saved and stored in these places, and in this way develop a form of action-research that will contribute to the promotion of agrobiodiversity of the region, through the sharing traditional ecological knowledge of these local varieties with seed-saving hubs, community seed-banks and grassroots organizations working on these issues. My research will be interdisciplinary, combining ethnobotanical, anthropological and historical methods to sketch out the biographies of these locally-adapted plants.