ABSTRACT
The case study is based on interviews carried out by the first author during 2012 and 2013, with peasant women who are part of a network of curadoras de semillas (seed “curators” or “healers,” hereafter curadoras) in southern Chile. The interviews are part of a larger research project that also examines two other sites of alternative agriculture in the region, namely, community-based urban agriculture and export-oriented certified organic farming. Research with the curadoras was carried out as part of a long-standing collaboration with Chile’s National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women (ANAMURI by the Spanish acronym), although not all members of the curadora network (nor all those interviewed) are part of ANAMURI. A snowball sampling approach was taken to the study, beginning with movement leaders and requesting referrals from interviewees. Twenty-three in-depth ethnographic interviews were conducted, eight with movement leaders and fifteen with curadoras. The average length of interviews was two hours, although in some cases more than one meeting took place. Mostly conducted in the homes of the research participants, interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using NVivo software (NVivo 10 2012). The analysis is also informed by participant observation at seed exchange events, as well as past experiences of several political and technical collaborations with ANAMURI between 2010 and 2013.
