‘Workable utopias’ for social change through inclusion and empowerment? Community supported agriculture (CSA) in Wales as social innovation

• DOI: 10.1007/s10460-020-10141-6
• Publication Date: 2020-08-18T14:02:47Z
• Authors: Tezcan Mert-Cakal; Mara Miele
• Keywords: Transformative Learning; Welsh

The focus of this article is community supported agriculture (CSA) as an alternative food movement and a bottom-up response to the problems dominant systems. By utilizing social innovation approach that explores relationship between causes for human needs emergence socially innovative initiatives, examines how CSA projects emerge why, what their role part economy transformative potential. Based on qualitative data from four different models case studies in regions Wales, UK, by using concepts model (ALMOLIN) analytical tool, demonstrates Welsh cases play distinctive roles economy. They satisfy ecologically sound ethically produced food, grown within communities like-minded people they empower individuals at micro level, while same time experiment with be economically sustainable resilient small scale. paper argues order become 'workable utopias', initiatives need overcome barriers prevent them replicating, participating policies decision-making macro scaling up.