The central theme of my doctoral research is the search for an answer how can the self-organisation of people into spontaneous networks of direct distribution and cultivation of local agricultural products be viewed through the prism of the concept of counter-power as described by David Graeber (2007, 2013, 2014). In my dissertation, I provide an answer to this question on the basis of ethnographic fieldwork of self-organised food networks in the area of Maribor city and its surroundings. I investigated the activities of these groups of people involved in unconventional food networks. The focus of my interest were networks of the production, distribution and purchase of locally produced food: urban gardeners, small local producers of agricultural products, buyers of their produce, self-organised intermediaries and informal direct purchase networks.
I have analysed the multilayered complex ways in which the urban food system is organised, as an example of counter-power against dominantly imposed systems of distribution of food commodities. In doing so, the thesis reveals a domestic example of responding to the challenges of economically degraded urban areas. Comparison with similar cases in Slovenia and around the world shows that the practices and ideas of self-organisation of food networks are transferable and adaptable to different environments, changing according to people's needs and desires. Maribor is intertwined with diverse networks (self-organised local and neighbourhood communities, cooperatives, solidarity economy networks, artistic associations) that support people's self-organisation. In this sense, self-organised food networks represent only a fraction of Maribor's self-organisation. They represent a dynamic process in which the formation of relationships within networks is key to organising urban and suburban space and to planning and establishing stable local vital food resources, which to some extent allows urban residents to become more independent from corporate food systems. All aspects are relevant to understanding the overall functioning and relevance of the counter-power of food networks, taking into account their historical, political and economic development.
|