Developing transformative capacity in the niche

This section shows how transformative capacity of the seeds has developed over time. The baseline, consisting of results from Björklund (2016) and Markey (2017), is presented in Table 2. The findings reveal three aspects in which change over time could be linked to transformative capacity: ecological processes, social sustainability, and empowerment and agency. Each of these were aligned with Ziervogel et al.’s (2016) framework on transformative capacities and are presented below.

Table 2: Summary of findings from Björklund (2016) and Markey (2017)

Theme Result Study

Reconnecting to the biosphere

Seeds work with nature and activities that strengthen environmental values and contribute to an environmentally aware food culture.

Björklund (2016)

Reconnecting to the biosphere

Niche chefs adapt their practices to ecological conditions based on their systems understanding.

Björklund (2016) Reconnecting to the

biosphere

Seeds want to support environmental and/or ethical values and underline that food needs to taste good to attract customers.

Björklund (2016)

Social cohesion and community engagement

Seeds aim to achieve transformation of the bread industry by scaling out their own production model to bakers in low income areas, leaving the ownership to local communities to increase their food security and develop a sense of community.

Markey (2017)

Agency and innovation Niche-actors handle challenges through different types of social-ecological innovation.

Björklund (2016) Agency and innovation Interaction between the niche and the regime is low.

Engaging with the regime is not an active strategy to achieve transformation in the food system.

Markey (2017)

Agency and innovation Success of innovation depends on sharing of ideas and knowledge, experimentation and creativity.

Markey (2017) Agency and innovation Seeds are actively mobilizing food awareness and

stimulating change through awareness creation about healthy food.

Björklund (2016) Markey (2017) Agency and innovation Niche-actors identify as being part of a larger movement

and networks have evolved.

Björklund (2016) Markey (2017)

5.2.1 Biosphere – reconnecting to life-support systems

The analysis shows how seeds are working with ecological processes and connecting people to life-supporting systems by applying different strategies (see Table 3). Seeds use modern ideas and technology in combination with traditional ways to reconnect to the biosphere, for example by using online applications facilitating for customers to buy food produced using traditional techniques such as no-tilling. Activities to reconnect with the biosphere, learning about social-ecological systems and finding new methods and approaches are important. One participant explains how they work with a researcher to find ways of increasing production while

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enhancing the positive effects on ecosystems. Other participants describe that they improve stewardship through setting up Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), local quality assurance systems certifying producers (IFOAM 2020).

Some seeds are explicitly working with education and connecting to youth and school children through open gardens, outdoor classrooms and by supporting constructions of school gardens.

Creating a reconnection to the life-supporting systems and increasing knowledge about agriculture and food produtcion are often key purposes of these activities.

“The reason why we are doing that is because a 16-year old from the school walked in here one day when we were harvesting carrots and she said “wow I thought carrots grew on trees”. That is at the age of 16. So this farm is actually beautiful as it is going to introduce you to agriculture.” (Ocean View Organic Farmers)

All these processes have developed over time and a temporal comparison also indicates that there is an increasing number of suppliers of organic and regenerative produce, which facilitates for seeds to use their systems understanding to source ecologically and ethically produced food.

Table 3: Reconnecting to the biosphere - examples and evidence

Aim Example Evidence Cape Town Evidence Stockholm

To learn about about soil biology and the soil food web and that really emphasized that the importance of the soil food web, so we started to do a bit more compostee spraying in the third year to try to boost the soil food web in our plants.” (Meuse farm)

“Then we started a collaboration with SLU…

we started to think that we would transition in some way…. and take it further from the organic and make it better in every way.”

(Jannelunds gård) price for the meat and utilize that meat and sell it to the right customer who understands the cycle of regenerative agriculture…

what is very encouraging is when I started it was one person that I could buy from in terms of pig farmers that was doing pasture and things, now I am buying from three and there are two more that I potentially could buy from.“

(Richard Bosman)

“We see results in the volume, that the suppliers find it exciting to work with us and it asks questions about what we are looking for for next year and they change their production because they suddenly see that we can buy...”

(Kalf&Hansen)

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5.2.2 Social cohesion and community engagement

Social cohesion and community engagement, and the notion that food is part of our culture and social life, are highlighted as important aspects of the seeds’ work. While mobilization and engagement are nothing new, the findings reveal that seeds deliberately improve on this over time and strive to be a positive social actor in their local context (see Table 4). The baseline shows that this has been, and continuous to be, an important aspect in the South African context in particular. In Cape Town, several NGOs implement activities involving the local community, such as having Opens Days at the farm, selling produce locally and engaging with local community networks. In addition to that, businesses contribute to social cohesion by building a community of followers, or by employing local staff. In Stockholm several seeds are building social cohesion indirectly through their shops and cafés which become meeting places, and they find that their activity creates a sense of pride among the local community.

“I think the direct contact to the customers in the farm shop is important, it feels like a lot of people appreciate that it's a local context. It feels like it has been valuable for people especially in the last year when you have not been able to do much else so many people have appreciated coming to the store every week, chatting with us, and I think that will stay the same afterwards, that you understand or value it more.” (Jannelunds gård)

Participants describe how they see an increasing interest and willingness to act among individuals and other actors. Their organisation or business is attracting people who share the same interests and values, and who want to belong to a like-minded community.

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Table 4: Social cohesion and community engagement - examples and evidence

Aim Example Evidence Cape Town Evidence Stockholm

To provide a important thing that has come out of the year here is that there is now a hub of activity where likeminded people are meeting more and more to have discussion on how do we move everything to something more sustainable, not just food. Second, that there is a place for these grower groups to come and get advice, seedlings, and compost.” find that people want to be proud that we are

there…It's really nice and important and fun to feel that you're also giving close to the township area because the bulk of our staff, our working staff, are people from the townships, lower income, so I train those people from scratch and if they have a good attitude and take my rigorous methods, they build just such beautiful careers with us. The people we have seen coming form the street and who are now proper trained artisan baker, pastry chefs, cooks, chefs.”

(Artisanal baker)

“And we harvest all year round which also makes people wanting to work on this because we can offer permanent jobs all year

5.2.3 Agency and innovation

Seeds are active agents trying to change the system in which they operate (see Table 5). They encourage agency by facilitating opportunities for people to influence the local food system through their consumption and behavior, for example by providing knowledge and helping consumers make informed decisions. Agency is enabled in activities as seeds, staff, members, and partners are strengthened in their ability to act. All seeds interact with other actors to work efficiently and qualitatively towards their aim as well as influencing the system, and collaborative patterns are emerging with an increasing number of actors involved.

“I sit in Matklustret.se which is an economic association in Sörmland, covering both producers, processors, restaurants, those who want to work with good food, and there we work to strengthen each other and not necessarily to connect with the

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big systems, but to find other solutions… And there you have joined forces, it started with ten but now it is up to 15 different producers I think.” (Högtorp gård)

Trust and shared values are key factors for seeds to connect and collaborate. Networks and collaborations allow for knowledge exchange and sharing of experiences which are used for developing and improving the seeds. Despite increasing partnerships, the interaction between the niche and the regime remains limited, and there are no clear indications that the niches destabilize the regime. However, some seeds do work with medium-large corporations and participants experience an increasing interest and demand for their work.

Innovation within the seeds encompasses doing things in new ways to take better care of ecosystems, for example developing better fishing tackle, or doing new actions ain the local context such as cover cropping. Both agency and innovation are aspects of transformative capacity identified in the baseline where networking, experimentation, exchange of knowledge, and increasing food awareness are highlighted.

Table 5: Agency and innovation - examples and evidence

Aim Example Evidence Cape Town Evidence Stockholm

To

Agency within the niche is increased when seeds collaborate with other actors and strengthen each other, increase their impact and find new solutions.

“I think that is another thing that has come out during Covid that partnerships are just sprouting up all over the place…cause we are all stretched for resources and everyone is like right what do I do best and what do you do best and I am not going to try to do two things but rather partner and do it together... And yeah I think that is something that is kind of happening which is amazing.”

(UCOOK)

“Every summer for the last 10 years we have had a large Nordic conference and the latest was the one for the whole of Europe where researchers, producers, farmers and chefs meet and have seminars and

exhibitions. It's really interesting. A lot of research that you learn there. It's grown a lot in the last 15 increased when seeds work to empower people within their organisation through support and education.

“So we continue to provide support to the farmers, we are trying to get it there, we handed over our clients to the farmers so that they can service them directly. So where we were a middleman, now the farmers are starting to take orders directly from the interns a year to the park...

people who want training or who want an education and need experience… We've gotten a lot better at taking care of interns lately. What we are looking at now is that

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