“Kuifje in India” (4)- International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD)

The Hindu (“India’s National Newspaper since 1878”) opened yesterday’s edition with agricultural news on the front-page. “Skyrocketing fertilizer prices floor farmers” was the title of the story about increasing costs of inputs. Small and marginal farmers, who constitute almost 80 per cent of the total of farmers in the State of Karnataka, has been hit [...]

“Kuifje in India” (3) – International Master of Science in Rural Development (IMRD)

In ‘part 2’ I promised to tell more about ‘farming and rural life in India’. I have to break these promises. Like with so many other things in India, it is impossible to get a good idea about what’s really at stake. Remember the figures I gave you about the average spending in rural and [...]

Thesis assignment commissioned by Foundation Social Workplace Saba (FSWS) on Food Sovereignty in Saba

The assignment is a participatory scenario development on the different possibilities to achieve a local food supply at Saba. Saba is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. At the moment most food is imported which makes food expensive for the inhabitants of Saba. At the same time agriculture fields aren’t [...]

Learning about the role of agriculture and natural resources in sustainable rural development

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 this post I would like to reflect on this interesting experience and share some of the activities, impressions and outcomes.    Intensive programme? An ‘Intensive Programme’ [...]

Request for a master student in the ‘Reestdal’ (Drenthe)- new call

The PeerGrouP is a location-art group that specializes in site-specific theatre and visual arts in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. The PeerGrouP consists of a lively mix of theatre makers and artists who are inspired by the landscape, the location and the local inhabitants. The quality of food, ecology, practical knowledge of the landscape, [...]

Afstudeerproject Kloosterburen: student(en) gevraagd

Stichting SintJan is een bijzonder particulier initiatief uit Kloosterburen, gemeente De Marne, in de provincie Groningen. Het initiatief SintJan Kloosterburen is voortgekomen uit het traject ‘Korensantoverleg’ (1997-2000) en het ontwikkelen van de dorpsvisie Kloosterburen 2003. In dit traject zijn burgers met kennis, inzicht en een grote maatschappelijke betrokkenheid bezig hun eigen leefomgeving vorm te geven. [...]

Guest lecture on Migration

Open Guest Lecture Professor David Brown, Professor of Development Sociology (Cornell University, USA) on Friday March 3oth  Title: “Challenges in researching migration” Time: 13.30-15.00 Place: Leeuwenborch building, room: C78 David L. Brown is professor and chair of Development Sociology, co-director of the Community & Regional Development Institute, and associate director of the Population Research and [...]

Science Shop project Participand- Meetings for people involved in international development cooperation

In December we announced the kick-off meeting of the Participand project. Participand is for people who live in the Wageningen area and are involved or interested in international development cooperation. Together with these people (You?) we would like to build a network platform where you can exchange knowledge and experiences, get involved, find partners to [...]

Next period the course Understanding Rural Development starts again!

On March 12th 2012 the Rural Sociology Course Understanding Rural Development starts. There is still room for new students to attend this course. The course aims to provide a theoretical, empirical and methodological understanding of rural and regional development processes in Europe, with emphasis on agro-food, rural and regional dynamics in metropolitan landscapes. It builds [...]

Traditional foods at IP in Romania (4)

As argued in previous blogs on the IP in Romania, the category ’traditional’ is socially constructed by social relations based on current perceptions of ‘tradition’. Foods celebrated and successfully marketed now as traditional, a positive category which offsets itself against placeless, mass-produced, standardised foods, can have a troubled social history. Some of these foods came into being as [...]