Alternative food networks in West Cork (Ireland)

Following the increasing industrialization and standardization of the agri-food system, a wide range of realities and networks, very different from each other, denominated Alternative Food Networks, started to develop worldwide. They propose alternative production and distribution processes where the focus is on local dimension, territorial embeddedness, quality and the development of community relations. This paper offers an analysis of these realities in West Cork region, in the southwest of Ireland, area interested by a phenomenon of counter-urbanization since the 60s and 70s that brought a large number of people looking for an alternative life style, in contrast to the dominant economic model. In order to characterize the migration phenomenon in West Cork, it was chosen to use the qualitative method of life stories, unstructured interviews that allow to investigate various issues of social nature through the reconstruction of the life of the interviewed. In addition to the interviews it was realized a database, relating to small-scale agri-food activities in the area with characteristics appropriate for inclusion in the definition of Alternative Food Networks. With these information and the use of software Qgis, some maps were realized which were compared to those relating to the nationality of the present population in the area, in order to study the correlation between the migration phenomenon and the development of productive activities. Thanks to a collection of interviews and information related to the small and medium production activities in the area, this paper describes how the phenomenon of migration has influenced the area and in particular the development of Alternative Food Networks that are rooted in the territory and in the community. It was also observed that the multiculturalism developed in this area enabled the local community to understand the potential of this region and to participate in these realities, by promoting the development of the territory that is characterized by a greater environmental and social sustainability.