Puur & Eerlijk zonder zegeltjes – Topkoks over voedsel en koken

Door MSc-student Guido Verheul

Koken staat volop in de belangstelling. De afgelopen jaren zijn kookprogramma’s op televisie als paddenstoelen uit de grond geschoten en onlangs is er zelfs een ‘kookkanaal’ opgericht waar men 24 uur per dag terecht kan voor lekkere recepten of documentaires over voedsel. Ook topkoks worden gelauwerd om hun kookkunsten in televisieprogramma’s, boeken, tijdschriften, kranten en andere media, wat hun mening maatschappelijk bezien erg relevant maakt. Ik heb daarom besloten om voor mijn MSc-thesis deze topkoks te interviewen. In ‘Puur en Eerlijk zonder zegeltjes; een analyse van de claim op ‘kwaliteitsvoedel’ van Nederlandse topkoks‘ doe ik verslag van mijn bevindingen.

Re-making of place in Maramures, Romania – MSc-thesis reserach

By Anthonet Baijense, MSc-student International Development Studies (Research Master Variant).

Currently, I stay in Romania were I will spend my summer to learn the language, visit friends, do some traveling and last, but most importantly: to gather data for my master thesis. I am pleased to write once and a while about my experiences and research here and I hope you enjoy to read it!

Some students visited Romania last February as part of the Intensive Programme, and wrote some blogs with their reflections: e.g. on Traditional food. It was very nice to read about your experiences! Indeed, the Romanian saying goes that ‘my favorite vegetable is meat’ and for a vegetable freak as me, it was a change of diet! Amazing what people here eat for breakfast! It took me some time to get adapted! I stay in the North of Romania, in the district called the Maramureş, which is on the border with Ukraine. Because traveling around here is –let’s just say- complicated, my research focuses mainly on one village: Poienile Izei (see photo’s).

Let me now introduce you to my research as well. If you go on Google to find some pictures of the area where I stay, you will gain the impression that the Maramureş is indeed –as often described- a rural area overflowing of traditions and with a traditional style of life and architecture.

Learning about the role of agriculture and natural resources in sustainable rural development – student’s reflection (3)

Together with four students of Wageningen University, I spend two weeks in Kaunas, Lithuania to represent Wageningen University, and the Rural Sociology Group, at this years’ ‘Intensive Programme’ on rural development. In a series of posts, the participating students reflect on the programme and share their experiences.

By Tikva Kooima (student Regional Development and Innovation at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences (part of Wageningen UR):

In April, we went with a group of five people of Wageningen University to Lithuania to participate in an intensive international conference about rural development, hosted by the Aleksandro Stulginskio University of Kaunas. Without knowing the details, I went quite open-minded to this conference, and filled with lots of ideas, experiences and impressions, I went home.

The first days

The first two days  were filled with lectures which were more or less associated with rural development in Lithuania. It was exciting to follow classes with about 50 international students from all over Europe with totally different backgrounds. In the evening we were introduced to the countries. The different countries presented themselves with a presentation followed by delicious national food specialties.

The trip

Learning about the role of agriculture and natural resources in sustainable rural development – student’s reflection (2)

Together with four students of Wageningen University, I spend two weeks in Kaunas, Lithuania to represent Wageningen University, and the Rural Sociology Group, at this years’ ‘Intensive Programme’ on rural development. In a series of posts, the participating students reflect on the programme and share their experiences.

By Woutine Pauw (student Master Agricultural & Bioresource Engineering):

On forehand, I did not have the objectives of the Intensive Programme (IP) clear in mind. What would be the program, the methods and the results? What people and cultures will we meet and work together with? What are we going to learn about rural development? I did not know what to expect, but I did know: whatever I would expect was not going to happen – and the other way around. I decided to pretend my brains to be a sponge and let them soak everything I saw around me. So here it is:

Learning about the role of agriculture and natural resources in sustainable rural development – student’s reflection (1)

Together with four students of Wageningen University, I recently spend two weeks in Kaunas, Lithuania to represent Wageningen University, and the Rural Sociology Group, at this years’ ‘Intensive Programme’ on rural development. In the following series of posts, the participating students reflect on the programme and share their experiences.

By Malou Heidekamp (student Master International Development Studies):

The last two weeks of April I got the opportunity to participate in an Intensive Program (IP) in Lithuania. It is a yearly study program of two weeks to bring students from over whole Europe together to discuss a topic. This year theme was: “Role of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Sustainable Development”. The program consisted of presentations, field excursions in smaller and larger groups, social evenings, group work in international setting and country presentations. In total there were about 40 participants and 20 tutors, a mixed group from different universities, countries and cultures.

A day in researching sense of place in the National Park “Galicica” in Macedonia

By Bojan Rantasa, MSc-student International Master of Rural Devleopment (IMRD)

Earlier I introduced my thesis research regarding the ‘Sense of place in Galicica national park‘. My research is coming to an end, but I am still cautious to speak of results prematurely. So I will share how my research days look like. Embarked on the mission to do a field research in the National Park “Galicica” in Macedonia, I begun packing my backpack: 

• Field audio recorder. I will do open interviews with people, and writing notes whilst doing interviews is out of the question. First, if I write, I will have to pause the conversation and that will take a lot of time, and the person might forget what he or she was talking about, but most important, I am too lazy to write.
• Photo camera. I am researching sense of place, and having visual records of the places is a must. At least this is how I see it.
• Video camera. Photography is beautiful and my favourite art, but sometimes it does not say enough. Image and sound is compelling to more senses than just image.
• Handheld GPS. I should not get lost, but it will also come handy in marking those places that people see important, and making a map of what I’ve researched, as places reside in locations.
• Replacement batteries. I do not think that I will bump into a MediaMarkt shop behind that mountain peak.
• Walking stick. It is a mountain, dogs wondering around, thorny bushes, and my left knee is not really in a good shape. Besides, this one has a ¼” screw on the top, so I can use it as a monopod for the camera.
• Some snacks. I will spend a full day out.
• Sun tan cream. I hope that there will be some sun today.
• Toilet paper. No need to stress this importance.

Well, if people are not scared from my looks, I figure that means that they are open for a conversation on their sense of place. So I’m off on the first bus to the next village on my list. I arrive there around mid day. At this time only retired people are in the village. I walk around and I meet an old granny. But she refuses to speak with the recorder on. She says that afterwards someone might come to look for her. I, on the other hand, refuse to talk to her without the recorder. It is not only the issue of not noting all the detail of the conversation, but it is the issue that at a later stage of my research I will see some interesting correlation, something I might use to build a theory on. Now if I have only my written notes, I will not have this new thing noted. But if I have an audio recording of the conversation, I can check if there is really a pattern or something to relate to my new discovery in the interviews I’ve did in the past. Additionally, people that refuse to talk with the recorder on are people that have something to hide. So those people will tell me less or even lies, thus I can consider them as a misleading factor, or simply a waste of time. So I go my way. The granny did give me a boiled egg, as it was Eastern just yesterday, it will come in handy for my lunch later.

Factoren die beleving van maaltijd bereid uit lokale producten beïnvloeden – MSc-thesis onderzoek

Door Marina van Maanen,  MSc-studente Gezondheid en Maatschappij

Lokaal betrokken en streekproducten staan steeds vaker op het menu van zorginstellingen. Waar eerder een trend was van steeds meer geïndustrialiseerde maaltijden als gevolg van kostenbesparingen, lijkt nu de ambachtelijke maaltijd terrein te winnen. Er zijn veronderstellingen dat een maaltijd op basis van lokaal betrokken en streekproducten een toegevoegde waarde kan hebben op de maaltijdbeleving en gezondheid van ouderen in zorginstellingen. Hier is echter (nog) geen wetenschappelijk bewijs voor.

Doel van mijn thesis onderzoek was daarom een verkenning van de mogelijke relatie tussen een maaltijd op basis van lokaal betrokken producten, maaltijdbeleving en kwaliteit van leven in een zorginstelling. Hier doe ik verslag van in mijn MSc-thesis getiteld:  Beleving van de maaltijd bereid uit lokaal betrokken producten in zorginstelling Joris Zorg.

Om deze vragen te onderzoeken heb ik een casestudy gedaan in zorginstelling Joris Zorg in Oirschot. Binnen Joris zorg worden op dit moment al maaltijden geserveerd op basis van lokaal betrokken en streekproducten. Binnen de casestudy heb ik interviews gedaan met bewoners, gastvrouwen in het restaurant, de koks en met vrijwilligers. Ook heb ik op verschillende dagen meegegeten en geholpen met het afruimen van de tafels. Opvallend was dat bewoners niet of nauwelijks op de hoogte waren van de herkomst van hun maaltijden. Ook waren bewoners niet bekend met termen als lokaal of streek. Dit maakte het doen van ‘gewone interviews’ lastig. Als een ‘verbeterde’ interview methode heb ik een vragenlijst ontwikkeld op basis van een menukaart, waarmee meer waardevolle informatie werd verzameld. Reden hiervoor is waarschijnlijk dat deze vragenlijst beter aansloot bij de belevingswereld van ouderen in zorginstelling Joris Zorg.

Maaltijdbeleving in Joris Zorg: uitkomst na proef met menukaart

Het verband tussen de maaltijd en kwaliteit van leven zoals verondersteld door literatuur, heb ik niet kunnen bevestigen op basis van mijn onderzoek. Kwaliteit van leven binnen Joris Zorg wordt voornamelijk geassocieerd met verzorging, rust en georganiseerde activiteiten. Wat de maaltijd aangenaam maakt en wat factoren zijn die bijdragen aan de maaltijdbeleving zijn: de juiste bereiding van de maaltijd, sociale factoren van de maaltijd, maaltijdsamenstelling en de versheid van producten. De toegevoegde waarde van het gebruiken van lokaal betrokken producten voor de maaltijd zit nu voornamelijk in de kwaliteit van deze producten en de interesse en het leuk vinden van deze producten in de Week van de Smaak. Wat zeer opvallend is, is dat bewoners buiten de Week van de Smaak niet of nauwelijks op de hoogte zijn van de lokaal betrokken achtergrond van de maaltijd. Uit de menukaartjesproef komt naar voren dat wanneer bewoners wel op de hoogte zijn, dit kan leiden tot goede herinneringen, verhaal en discussie aan tafel en herkenbaarheid. Dit kan een zeker een toegevoegde waarde zijn voor de maaltijdbeleving.

Aanbeveling voor Joris Zorg is dan ook om meer/beter te communiceren naar bewoners over de achtergrond van de maaltijd. Dat kan bijvoorbeeld in de vorm van een nieuwe menukaart (deze heb ik ondertussen samen met het keukenteam ontworpen). Aanbeveling voor vervolgonderzoek is het gebruiken van onderzoeksmethoden welke aansluiten bij de belevingswereld van ouderen. Met als voorbeeld in dit onderzoek de menukaartjesproef.

Sense of place in National Park Galicica – using new media in MSc-thesis research

By Bojan Rantasa, MSc-student International Master of Rural Development

Last Friday, 23 March 2012, I presented my MSc-thesis research proposal for fellow students and researchers of the Rural Sociology Group. My thesis research is titled “The Sense of Place of National Park Galicica” is part of my Msc-study International Master Rural Development (www.imrd.ugent.be). Joost Jongerden of the Rural Sociology Group is my sepervisor. My thesis presentation can be viewed at www.galicica.rantasa.net, a website on my thesis research where I will post research proceedings as well.

In my research I will use new media as tools for communication with the public but also as research method. I developed a website at the proposal stage of the research (www.galicica.rantasa.net). It enables dedicated communication with stakeholders and public, by offering updates on the research and a contact form. The web page also hosts the questionnaire on the sense of place of “Galicica”, thus becoming an important and integrated tool to the research. The information on the research currently presented on the web page is limited. This is not to lead the visitors of the web page, thus creating biased answers in the questionnaire.

To spread the questionnaire, I will use Facebook and targeted e-mail messages that are disseminated by the participants, causing a domino effect. This approach resulted in more than 50 completed questionnaires in the first week.

Politics of place making in urban farming – an essay

By Anke de Vrieze

Last trimester, I had the opportunity to join the Capita Selecta course `A Global Sense of Place´, taught by Joost Jongerden and Dirk Roep. From my current working experience in the field of urban agriculture, the subject of the course – place-based approaches for sustainable development- interested me and proved valuable. In the course, different approaches to ‘place’ were discussed and related to culture, politics, economics and leadership. As we were a small group of students, we met in a weekly reading group, to discuss the literature and our written assignments.

Personally, I was most inspired by the work of Doreen Massey. Her perspective on place and space is a relational one, as she describes places as ‘temporary constellations’ or ‘bundles of space-time trajectories’. In one of her articles, she connects this relational perspective to ‘geographies of responsibility’ and shows how the ‘global’ is embedded locally as well. Taking the example of the City of London, i.e. it’s financial district, she argues against generalised understandings of the local as a product of the global, and demonstrates that indeed much of what we call ‘the global’ stems from local areas, such as the City of London. This leads her to plea for alternative globalisations, based on ‘a challenge of place’. I think, Massey’s perspective can prove meaningful for anyone studying ‘place’, whether it be in urban or rural settings.

For the final essay, ‘Growing community? Urban agriculture in the context of place-based urban development’ of the course, I discussed the ‘politics of place-making’ in a case of urban farming. By drawing on the example of an neighbourhood-based urban agriculture project, I showed how the different perspectives on place, as employed by various actors involved, creates a dynamic fields of interests regarding the ability of UA to address urban issues, and to achieve sustainable community development. Based on this short analysis, I argued for the need of a relational perspective on place, taking into account place-frames and positionality of actors, in (future) cases of neighbourhood-based urban farming.

Anke de Vrieze, anthropologist and project coordinator of FARMING THE CITY (www.farmingthecity.net), contact: ftc@citiesthemagazine.com

Excursion Biodiversity in Brabant

By Elisa de Lijster

After I completed my MSc-thesis for International Development Studies (see earlier post in Dutch) I’m now working at the Centre for Agriculture and Environment (Centrum for Landbouw en Milieu or CLM) on my second MSc thesis project about the current turmoil in Dutch Nature Policy.

I will explore and hopefully find new and creative ways of managing and realizing nature in combination with agricultural and other – out of the box – practices. For this, I will undertake interviews with actors from State Forestry Service, Agricultural Environmental Cooperatives, Nature Organisations, Farmers’ Union and Governmental Administrators. Apart from the interviews, I will go as participant observer to symposia and meetings organised by several nature organisations which have the aim to discuss the future course of nature policy in the Netherlands.

CLM under the header of the Netherlands Rural Network (Netwerk Platteland) is also organising a field excursion focusing on nature & biodiversity and cooperation between different parties in the Province of Brabant (see the announcement, in Dutch, and the site biodiversiteit in Brabant). We will visit several sites and projects such as the Association of Dune Farmers, the Nature Museum, the project Nature Gate and the project Biodiverse Farm Yards.

The purpose is to exchange knowledge and learn from each others’ experiences and bottle necks. Of course, from an academic and scientific perspective, such a day is an excellent opportunity for participant observation: to meet relevant actors and in my case to see how they perceive the changes in Nature Policy which could affect their livelihoods and planning projects. If you have an interest, see the announcement. 

Elisa de Lijster (elisa.delijster@wur.nl) 

MSc International Development &  MSc Forest and Nature Conservation