여성 중심 도시농업의 공동체경제와 지역 돌봄: 서울시 금천구 사례를 중심으로

Abstract

The study is based on the case of women’s urban agricultural community in Keumchon-gu, Seoul to examine the characteristics of the women-centered urban community and to analyze its implications in terms of the community economy and communal care. The Keumchon women’s urban agricultural community started as a job creation project to train small plot farming instructors but in time grew to become an urban agriculture organization which pursue community activities and communal care through women-led activities such as urban farming and food. The study examines their progress and activities from the perspective of community economy based on care ethics and care. The content of study consists of four parts. First, the women in Keumchon started their work as a training center for eco-farming instructors, but they expanded their activities to creating and running community garden, securing spaces where there were not enough plots, and utilizing school gardens. In the process, the activists met and worked with local women, and the increased interaction and cooperation between them led to a creation of network which in turn strengthened the community as whole. Second, Healthy Farmers Social Co-Op(HFSC) became separated from Keumchon Urban Agriculture Network and extended its activities from just urban farming to food project. Women farmers of Keumchon aim to establish a circular local food system that runs a sustainable cycle from producing food at local farm, to running farmer’s market for distribution and common kitchen for consumption, side dish cafe or children’s cafeteria, and finally to decomposing waste to make natural fertilizer. Third, the women’s urban agriculture community is based on the work of women, the purpose of their work is not to gain profits but to meet the needs of their community. Therefore their work and economy is alternative and communal, or rather a regional circulation economy with a focus on ethics of caring for each other and creating sustainable living together. Fourth, as the women activists shifted their focus from training eco-farming instructors to farming some rented weekend farms in Keumchon-gu, they got to meet various members of the community. What became clear was how these residents were in need of help in taking care of their children but were not getting much assistance and thus feeling isolated. The women activists therefore began to be involved in community care. The purpose of the study is to illuminate the functions and roles of urban agriculture, the urban agriculture and food communal economy, communal care based on them, as well as the crucial role women play in pursuing such alternative economy in this era of climate crisis.