Entre la evasión y la nostalgia. Estrategias de la neoruralidad desde la economía social Between avoidance and nostalgia. Neorural strategies in the context of the Social Economy

This study analyses the strategy developed by neorural families for their integration into the economic and social system through an agrarian society of transformation and the “wwoofers” movement, an international network of volunteers working on organic farms. After a brief theoretical and conceptual review introducing the concepts used in our analysis, we describe the experience itself -a central aspect of this work- as it unfolds in two villages of the District of Brazuelo, near the town of Astorga, in the province of Leon. We discuss organizational and other aspects of the two social elements that have allowed the maintenance and reproduction of the experience, the agrarian societies of transformation and the “wwoofers”. The methodology used in the research is based on observation, in-depth interviews and a series of discussion groups. The analysis of the data shows that, although it is not an important process quantitatively, as documented in other case studies, this way of farming leads to significant changes in the economic and social structure. The initiative, developed through a social-economy configuration, seeks not only economic benefits, but also to share what it is to learn about and transmit an organic lifestyle through organic farms.