La Ràkene, in Ruvo di Puglia, launches a campaign that is indeed a fundraiser, but above all a cultural and political statement about the way we produce and buy food. La Ràkene, in Ruvo di Puglia, launches a campaign that is indeed a fundraiser, but above all a cultural and political statement about the way we produce and buy food.
It is called La Ràkene, it is located in Ruvo di Puglia (Ba) and it is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project: made up of 45 families and 3 farmers, it aims to be an organisational model that radically redefines the relationship between producers and consumers, and has launched the Piantagrane crowdfunding campaign to support its small but significant revolution.
In a CSA, member families actively participate in the agricultural project, contributing financially, sharing cultivation costs, the risks of farming and the benefits of the harvest."With the solidarity auction at the start of the farming year – explains Chiara Magrone of La Ràkene – everyone contributes their financial resources or, alternatively, their knowledge or skills. Some lend a hand in the garden, others write press releases, others make videos and take photos."
The model removes farmers from the logic of the market and the pressure of large-scale distribution, guaranteeing stable crop planning, greater decision-making autonomy and a fair income. Production is based on agroecological practices: crop rotations and companion planting, soil fertility management, reduction of external inputs, promotion of biodiversity and adaptation to climate change. This is not simply about "farming without chemicals", but about designing a resilient agroecosystem capable of regenerating itself and integrating with the surrounding territory.
La Ràkene also, beyond the work in the 4,500 sq m vegetable garden where seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs are grown, organises courses, workshops and educational activities.
The Piantagrane campaign launched by La Ràkene aims to raise funds to strengthen agricultural infrastructure, such as crop protection systems and water management to cope with increasingly frequent heatwaves, to improve working conditions and to ensure the project's economic continuity. The crowdfunding is, however, also an invitation to take a cultural and political stance, to participate in a collective process that "calls into question" the current agricultural model and to build, from the ground up, a concrete alternative founded on agroecology and shared responsibility. Supporting the campaign, as the CSA explains, does not just mean contributing financially, but investing in a model that redistributes value, strengthens local economies and builds direct relationships between people and their territory.
"It is by no means unusual for a CSA or a community farming project to launch fundraising campaigns to purchase a tractor, build greenhouses and polytunnels, install irrigation systems or cover extraordinary expenses," explains Magrone. "The difference is that, rather than relying exclusively on bank credit or private investors, these projects can count on the direct support of a community that recognises their social, environmental and territorial value. In fact, from this perspective, the fundraiser is almost a confirmation that the model is working: it means there is a community willing to invest in its continuity and development."
The campaign has the backing of celebrated cartoonist Zerocalcare, who has created an original illustration inspired by the phrase "The means are the end", taken from the novel The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. The meaning of the quote is that in a CSA the methods of producing, organising and distributing food are not neutral instruments, but embody a vision of society that one wishes to build. The idea that "the means are the end" translates here into an organisation of agricultural work based on mutualism, transparency and participation: every production decision – from sowing to distribution – becomes a political act, as well as a technical one.
"CSAs are a concrete model, capable of taking root in local communities and spreading everywhere, adapting to their needs. This is where the beauty and strength of this model lies," declare the project's founders. "Supporting La Ràkene means supporting a real alternative to the current agri-food system: a short supply chain based on agroecology, biodiversity – both plant and human – and mutual support. And demonstrating together that change has already taken root!" In the Mezzogiorno, where the climate crisis and socio-economic inequalities intertwine in particularly visible ways, experiences like La Ràkene represent concrete spaces for transformation. "Piantare grane" – stirring up trouble – then becomes a necessary act: creating friction against an unsustainable system, in order to open up new possibilities.