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Remembered resilience: oral history narratives and community resilience in agroforestry systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2018

Sarah Osterhoudt
Sarah Osterhoudt*
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Sarah Osterhoudt, E-mail: srosterh@indiana.edu
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Abstract

In this article, I consider how local oral history narratives provide smallholder farmers with both material and symbolic resources in adapting to climate change. I draw from the case study of an agrarian village in Madagascar that was struck by a destructive category 3 cyclone. In the weeks following the storm, oral history knowledge occupied an increasingly visible role within the community, as younger farmers interacted with elders to hear tales of past storms. Through these shared accounts, people discussed specific techniques on how to cope with environmental uncertainty. They also created a sense of shared history, which provided individuals across generations an entry point into the local historical record. Overall, the process of sharing oral history accounts can contribute to community resilience, with resiliency encompassing not only technical or ecological factors, but also the more affective realms of shared legacies, hope and belonging.

Keywords

Agroforestryclimate changecollective memoryoral historyresilience
Type
Commentary
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 33 , Special Issue 3: Themed Content: Ag/Food Systems and Climate Change , June 2018 , pp. 252 - 255
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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