scholarly journals Gathering “tea” – from necessity to connectedness with nature. Local knowledge about wild plant gathering in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria)

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Grasser ◽  
Christoph Schunko ◽  
Christian R Vogl
2019 ◽  
pp. 241-253
Author(s):  
Marc Hockings ◽  
Ian Lilley ◽  
Diane A. Matar ◽  
Nigel Dudley ◽  
Robert Markham

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Schunko ◽  
Sarah Lechthaler ◽  
Christian Vogl

The gathering and commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFP) in Europe has repeatedly been praised for its potential to support rural development. However, political support mechanisms explicitly targeting NTFP remain underdeveloped. In this study, we aimed to contribute to the design of support mechanisms by understanding the factors that influence the commercialisation of wild plants by organic farmers. We first developed a conceptual framework based on fifteen factors and then applied the framework to a case study in South Tyrol (Alto Adige), Italy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all fourteen members of the Vereinigung Südtiroler Kräuteranbauer (Associazione Coltivatori Sudtirolesi Piante Officinali), who commercialised wild plant species, and the data were then analysed using qualitative content analysis. Agricultural intensification, pesticide drift, limited access to gathering sites suitable for organic certification, legal restrictions, lack of consumer awareness about the additional value of organic wild plant certification, and limited product diversity were perceived as limiting factors; management techniques in organic farming, organic certification, a trend for wild, regional and healthy foods, the availability of training, and favourable cultural values and attitudes towards wild plant gathering were perceived as supportive. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of the many diverse factors that may influence wild plant commercialisation in Europe and beyond and provides guidance on how political support mechanisms could unlock the much heralded potential of wild plant commercialisation for rural development.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Arranz-Otaegui ◽  
Sue Colledge ◽  
Juan José Ibañez ◽  
Lydia Zapata

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Van Amerongen

Wild plant gathering and consumption has previously been described as being unimportant during the Bronze Age in the western Netherlands. It was believed that the people were full-time farmers and that the food produced on the settlement was enough for people to be self-sufficient. However, the analysis performed here to re-evaluate this statement has shown that wild plants were also essential to life in the Bronze Age. The combined information obtained from ethnography, ethnobotany, archaeology, ecology, nutritional studies, and physical anthropology has indeed indicated that wild plants, and especially their vegetative parts, would have had to have been gathered yearround in order for people to remain healthy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Schunko ◽  
Christian Vogl

European countries are split over the appreciation of wild berries, fruits, mushrooms, and herbs. While some countries provide public statistics on wild plants, others seem to neglect wild plant gathering and commercialization. In this study, we aimed to understand if wild plant commercialization is neglected or irrelevant in Austria, a country that does not provide statistics. We focus on organic producers, because organic certification of wild plant gathering might have potential for countering frequent concerns about commercial gathering, including destructive gathering and overharvesting. Using a mixed-methods approach with a concurrent triangulation design, databases of six organic certification bodies were analysed concurrently with semi-structured expert interviews of their representatives. We found that organic certification for gathering was issued to 1.5% of organic producers in the year 2016 in Austria and is relevant for three distinct gatherer types: regular, diversified, and single-plant gatherers. Organic gathering is most frequently part of agricultural or horticultural farms and rarely an isolated commercial activity. It is related to mixed farming, deepening on-farm diversification, and contributes to maintaining traditions, as well as the local socio-ecological memory of wild plant products. Organic wild plants are directly marketed to consumers as traditional and innovative products, but also supplied to mass markets. We conclude that from a socio-cultural perspective and a focus on regional economies, organic gathering is neglected in Austria, whereas from an income perspective, wild plant gathering seems to be indeed relevant for few organic producers, although exhibiting potential.


2016 ◽  
Vol 404 ◽  
pp. 43-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santeri Vanhanen ◽  
Petro Pesonen

Author(s):  
Logan Strenchok ◽  
Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos ◽  
Thanasis Kizos ◽  
Taxiarchoula-Maria Pitta

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