ABSTRACT
For over half a century, industrial agricultural and food systems have developed to the detriment of rural spaces. Alongside modernization and growth, many local communities have experienced not only economic loss, but a loss of purpose and identity as well. This chapter explores the hybrid governance scheme developed between the state, market, and civil society to breathe life back into the small rural community of Correns, France’s “first organic village”. In particular, I consider the role of local farmers and civil society in the design and implementation of local governance strategies, and specifically, how strong overlap in the roles held by these two sets of actors and the institutional sphere allowed for coherent and cohesive community development. Further, the case demonstrates the capacity for market-based approaches (such as organic certification) to serve as a mobilizing framework to adopt broader sustainable community development strategies. The story of Correns provides an insightful example of how a hybrid of market and collaborative governance arrangements, based on new power relations of trust and reciprocity, can provide a much-needed tool for rural revitalization adapted to a community’s specific socio-cultural context.
