Weiler, Workers and Wheat: Feeding Zurich Region Through AgroecologyMai Joseph, Adèle Kremer, and Evangelos Stampelos

A profound sense of emptiness; a silent, monotonous landscape, where no birds, insects or other animals has to be heard. On site, we soon discover that the main function of this landscape is productivity. This perceived emptiness is actually seen by the agricultural stakeholders as an achievement of modern agriculture. The landscape unit situated in the fertile plains between the urban nodes of Zurich and Winterthur provides a promise of abundance for large-scale industrial food harvesting. Here, the synergy between high-quality soil, increased field size, the intensive use of machinery, supported by chemical fertilisers, creates a highly efficient extraction machine. This “productive void” served as a starting point for our inquiry.

This industrial agricultural landscape conceals hidden costs. Homogenization has led to systemic loss of soil’s biomass and nitrogen and a silent crisis for local diversity of flora and fauna. Social costs as well, farmers having difficulties to survive; the number of farms are decreasing, as well as the number of employees in agriculture.

To address this, we propose two parallel interventions reinforcing one another, with the aim of creating an agroecological food region for Zurich, characterised by a landscape shift and a social switch. The landscape strategy focuses on multi-functionality, with a new land-use organisation balancing areas dedicated to food production, allocating a significant part to ecological valued zones whilst maintaining the territory’s core objective of productivity. On the other hand, the idea of social transformation arises from a dual challenge: on the one hand, the global recognition of a profound crisis in the working lives of city dwellers, and on the other, the labour required to implement regeneration practices. To address those two challenges, we propose a new imaginary for the Hamlet structure, small clusters of farms historically found in this region, known as “Weiler”. By framing them as cooperatives, hosting experiments in new forms of housing, social life and farming practices, the Weilers could become a new model of agricultural life. Experimentation with regenerative practices, reduced use of machinery and the transmission of traditional farming methods are at the heart of this vision, to ensure a nutritious food supply for the metropolitan population in a self-sustained ecosystem.