The role of narratives of care in sustainability

Abstract

Current dominant narratives about human nature - those that portray humanity as inherently self-centered, extractive, and utilitarian - are incomplete and insufficient to foster transformations towards sustainable scenarios. Since these prioritize transactions and an extractive interaction with the human and more than-human-world, they are instead accelerating environmental degradation and deepening social inequalities. Narratives of care emerge as powerful counter-narratives, by providing holistic, relational, and inclusive solutions. Narratives of care have the potential to reshape relationships in social -ecological system, as these are grounded in empathy, recognition, and interdependence. This dissertation explores the role of narratives of care in sustainability, with a focus on sustainable food consumption. This research explores how narratives of care can challenge dominant transactional paradigms and support the co-creation of alternative, relational-based scenarios, that offer wellbeing for humans and more-than-humans. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives - such as Narrative Psychology, Narrative Therapy, the Ethics of Care, and Complex Adaptive Systems theory - this dissertation proposes a framework for narrative transformation that is applied to individual and community narratives around food. The first manuscript introduces a theoretical framework based on narrative therapy for tilting dominant self-centered narratives toward narratives of care and interdependence. The framework includes three main phases 1) identifying the dominant narrative and the assumptions that sustain it; 2) finding unique outcomes or events and experiences that contradict this dominant narrative, and creating alternative narratives of care based on these; and 3) reinforcing care-oriented scenarios. This framework is applied to the topic of consumption and proposes reframing sustainable consumption as an act of care rather than a sacrifice. The proposed shift allows for a deeper engagement with sustainable behaviors, by reframing them in moral and relational terms, as well as by appealing to our human capacity for empathy and responsibility. In the second manuscript, the framework is applied to the individual food narratives of 22 Colombian adults to understand how the meaning of care linked to food can be expanded to foster sustainable food consumption. Narratives are approached through a qualitative methodology by using life story interviews and participant-created storybooks. This study revealed three alternative stories that question the transactional narratives that see food as a commodity and can aid in expanding the meaning of care to move towards sustainable food systems. These alternative narratives encompass reconnecting with emotions, finding commonalities, and stopping the transmission of suffering. The third manuscript focuses on the communal level, exploring how care-based narratives are lived, negotiated and transmitted within Nashira, a female-led ecovillage in Colombia. A qualitative methodology - based on ethnography, interviews, and a communal narrative session – is employed to understand how previous narratives are questioned and transformed within a sustainable setting. This study reveals how the community shifts from individual narratives of exclusivity, privatization, and patriarchal hierarchies, to communal narratives of inclusion, sharing, and mutual empowerment. It also reveals the importance of embracing tensions as an essential part of community life and a source of creativity in problem solving. Together, these three studies demonstrate that - while care can start by conversations questioning the status quo – it is mostly relational, practical, and must be enacted. Everyday acts of care – such as those surrounding food practices – materialize and visualize concerns, playing an essential role in nurturing alternative narratives. These findings contribute to the academic discussion around the role of narratives in sociocultural transformations towards sustainability. This research also offers a framework that can be applied both in academic and non-academic settings, to understand and promote socio-ecological transformations. At the policy level, this work suggests that supporting narratives and acts of care at the individual and community level, can be a vital complement to wider technical and economic sustainability strategies. By transforming the way in which we tell stories about ourselves, our food, and our communities, and by acting on our immediate context, we can shape more caring and sustainable futures.