Under the Radar: Shedding Light on Local Land Grabs - Hestia Delibas

Land grabbing is a widely talked-about subject in political debates yet at the same time little understood in the context of Eastern Europe. Seeking to shed light on this complex issue, my research delved into the mechanisms of land grabbing while also uncovering forms of peasant resistance. During the summer of 2023, I did my fieldwork in the nearby villages of Huedin, Romania, where I engaged in participant observations at local peasant markets and I conducted interviews with a diverse array of people, including peasants, advocates for food sovereignty, and municipal authorities. At the heart of my investigation lies the notion of environmental justice. My fieldwork revealed that land grabbing is perceived as a form of injustice, with many of the interviews pointing to abuses of power, and elusive forms of violence that facilitate land grabbing. Another important insight of my fieldwork pertains to the role of traditional commons in resisting land grabbing, alongside the emergence of innovative initiatives like ALPA – Access to Land, which employs the concept of land banks to secure access to land for the next generation of young peasants.Article by Hestia Delibas, illustrated by Diana Branzanhttps://theanthro.art/under-the-radar-shedding-light-on-local-land-grabs/