Abstract

Socio-ecological infrastructures: rural communities and habitability in Southern Puglia. – This article examines traditional living places and socio-ecological reproduction as infrastructure among farmers practicing natural and regenerative agriculture in Southern Puglia. Exploring intergenerational knowledge, it shows how farmers enhance socio-ecological systems through cooperation with natural laws and refusal of extractivism. Case studies include “Torre dei Mastro” (Castellana Grotte), “Amadeco” (Salento), and neo-farmers in and around the Itria Valley. Findings show how neoliberal threats affect farmers’ capacity to sustain their systems, while double movement, self-governance and self-sustainability emerge, rooted in place-consciousness and autopoiesi. These practices embody restanza, stressing the potential of traditional farming for socio-ecological reproduction and their medium-long term potential socio-territorial change.

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Keywords

• Socio-ecological reproduction
• Rural communities
• Territorialization