HRM and engineering staff and students link with Brazil to explore work, food and energy production

Adriano Oliveira, Marcelo Mendonca of Federal University of Goias with Brian Garvey, Department HRM and Camille Dressler, author of 'Eigg: the story of an island' beside Eigg's hydro electricity scheme.

Students and staff from the Departments of Human Resource Management (HRM), Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Energy Systems Research Unit (ESRU) recently joined with Brazilian partners to explore social, environmental and technical challenges linked to contemporary and future food and energy production. The interdisciplinary field visits and three day workshop were part of the Newton Fund RCUK-CONFAP research project, 'Challenges and Futures for new technologies: finding (e)quality in work, water and food in the energy frontiers'.

With further support from University of Strathclyde's Knowledge Exchange Development Fund, an intense two weeks of activities involved socio-environmental scientists, energy and food engineers from Federal University of Goias, UNICAMP and University of São Paulo respectively, trade unionists from oil platforms in Holland (FNV Mondiaal), agro energy plantations in Brazil (FERAESP) and advocates of sustainable food systems in Scotland (Nourish, Young Crofters, Lateral North) and Greece (Solidarity Network).

On the Isle of Eigg a team of 15 were introduced to the residents and crofters behind the community's successful takeover of the island in 1997 from which emerged the world's first island to be self-sufficient in integrated, renewable energy. The harnessing of wind, water and sun to power remote communities was also the focus of the Findhorn visit, where Paul Tuohy and colleagues lead the ORIGIN project. Diverse experiences from the UK, Brazil and Greece informed the three day workshop that hosted excellent presentations from Grace Seyi-Ogedengbe, Sakshi Pandey and Prayag Sharma of the Masters in International Human Resource Management on trade union responses to economic and environmental 'crises', and from research students of co-applicants Elsa João and Paul Tuohy of the Engineering School. These contributions sat alongside key presentations from Ursula Huws of Hertfordshire University’s Business School, David Howard of the Lancaster University's Ecology and Hydrology Centre and Marcelo Mendonça of the Institute of Socio-Environmental Studies at Federal University of Goiás, leaders in work organisation, ecosystem change and agroecology. The visitors' earlier introduction to ceilidh music on the Scottish Isles was followed by an impromptu music session to close the workshop with HRM students who have founded the Work, Labour and Globalisation action research group among those bringing the ‘Sounds and Scenes of Work and Migration’ to the Lord Hope Building.

A recognition of distinct power inequalities in incumbent forms of energy and food production, particularly for rural communities and workers, was a key theme across the activities as was the challenges of 'scaling up' viable and existing alternatives that prioritise rural livelihoods and longer term ecological commitment. The involvement of these dwellers and workers in the co-production of knowledge and technical advancement to complement often very inspiring social innovation is a theme that will be continued into the sugar cane fields and agrarian reform settlements of Sao Paulo and Brazil’s Cerrado biome in Goiás when project leader Paul Stewart of HRM, Brian Garvey, Paul Tuohy and Cristina Silva Plata visit Brazil in August. The partners are working towards a three year project to pilot socially committed, integrated food and energy production in four locales in Scotland and Brazil. In keeping with a shared desire to creatively share the learning from this work across frontiers, a website and a film by Cristina Ertze and Ian Dodds is being produced alongside the activities. Further information is available at www.changingemployment.eu or by contacting brian.garvey@strath.ac.uk