New Ecological Vision in Times of Crisis. Speeches by Permaculturists in Sicily (Italy)

Abstract

The results of a social research conducted in Sicily on neo-rural communities that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as a challenge to the crises of our time are presented. The aim of this qualitative research is to understand the motivations why these neo-rural people have left the “comfort” of the city to move to the countryside, and how they are organising themselves in their new life. The ethnography was developed through fieldwork, participant observation, 10 semi-structured interviews and an open questionnaire. The results show an acceleration of the neo-rural model during the pandemic, with the transformation of the existing permaculture network in Sicily into a social movement in June 2020. Among the participants are professionals in agronomy, biology, informatic or education, who are now actively integrated in communities called “local nodes” (mutual support networks into the movement). This study aims to focus on this type of rurality organised according to specific designs and projects as opposed to other types of neo-rurality. This permaculture movement in Sicily pursues objectives such as ecoregionalism, energy self-sufficiency, fire prevention, seed conservation, environmental education, with the mission to protect and regenerate the island's biodiversity, implement the community circular economy and counteract the growing process of desertification.