Carolien Lubberhuizen
(PhD researcher KU Leuven/Utrecht university + RerOOT Project)
Picking fruit, sowing stories
A participatory exhibition unveiling changing rituals of agriculture and migration
In agricultural regions like Haspengouw in Belgium and Westland in the Netherlands, people from different countries have been coming together for decades to work in harvesting, pruning, sorting and packing. For people who come to work in Haspengouw and Westland, this seasonal work has different reasons and purposes. But the uncertainty of weather and marketprices, temporariness, language barriers, long working days and relative isolation on the plantations and in the greenhouses make it difficult to make a secure livelihood out of this work, whether this is in Belgium, the Netherlands or elsewhere in Europe. This exhibition focuses exactly on this coming together of people, customs, labour and agricultural products, precisely from the perspective of these (temporary) newcomers and oldcomers. Photos, stories, audio and objects of agricultural rituals elsewhere, and new agricultural rituals show the inseparable stories of European agriculture and migration.

Carolien Lubberhuizen (Utrecht University & KU Leuven) explored these complex social realities of agricultural migrant- and seasonal workers within the European researchproject ReROOT. Working, picking and harvesting in greenhouses and plantations, she looked at the ways in which these newcomers find their way after their arrival. She also visited towns and rural communities in Romania and Moldova that are undergoing changes due to migration and industrialization of agriculture. The exhibition is not only based on experiences from this year of fieldwork, but is also shaped by and with the people she encountered in these fields. Moreover, all visitors are invited to share their own stories, rituals, and reflections on the social and changing role of agricultural labor. By doing so, we can further shape the living agricultural heritage together, regardless of your background.
new rituals
Every season, every day, people work together in the Belgian and Dutch horticulture sector. Earlier, these were mostly pickers from the local region. From the 1970s onwards, various groups of newcomers and 'oldcomers' offered a solution: temporary pickers from Southern Europe, a growing Sikh community in Belgium, seasonal workers from new European Union member states such as Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. And since a couple of years ago, asylum seekers from the area have also been able to work temporarily in the greenhouses and plantations.
Some came only temporarily, while others have stayed or have been coming back every season for fifteen years in a row. All leave permanent marks in the landscape, but their personal stories about and memories of this work often remain unheard. We asked various migrant workers, seasonal workers, and farm workers to send in a self-made photo of an important, everyday moment, ritual, or memory of their work in the greenhouses and plantations. Some pictures are about the heavy, repetitive work, while others are about the colleagues who make the work bearable, the satisfaction after a long day's work, or the unexpectedly beautiful moments. What new, daily rituals are sown during this shared harvest?
nieuwe rituelen
Ieder seizoen, iedere dag werken er mensen samen in de Belgische en Nederlandse tuinbouw. Eerder waren dit veelal plukkers uit de eigen regio. Vanaf de jaren ‘70 boden verschillende groepen nieuwkomers en ‘oudkomers’ uitkomst; tijdelijke plukkers uit Zuid-Europa, een groeiende Sikh gemeenschap in België, seizoenarbeiders uit nieuwe Europese lidstaten als Polen, Bulgarije en Roemenë en sinds een paar jaar is het ook voor asielzoekers uit de buurt mogelijk tijdelijk in de fruitteelt te werken.
Sommigen kwamen maar tijdelijk, anderen zijn gebleven of komen al vijftien jaar ieder seizoen terug. Allen laten iets permanents achter in het landschap, maar hun persoonlijke verhalen over en herinneringen aan dit werk blijven vaak ongehoord.Aan verschillende arbeidsmigranten, seizoenarbeiders en landarbeiders is gevraagd een zelfgemaakte foto op te sturen van een belangrijk, alledaags moment, ritueel of herinnering van hun werk in de kassen en plantages. Sommigen gaan over het zware, repetitieve werk, anderen over de collega’s die het werk dragelijk maken, de voldoening na een lange dag werk, of de onverwachts mooie momenten. Welke nieuwe, dagelijkse rituelen zitten verweven in dit werk en de gedeelde oogst?
nowe obrzędy
Gdy tylko zaczyna się sezon w belgijskim i holenderskim ogrodnictwie, ludzie przystępują do pracy. Wcześniej byli to głównie zbieracze z regionu. Od lat 70-tych obserwuje się efekty pracy różnych grup przybyszów i „weteranów”: tymczasowi zbieracze z południa Europy, rosnąca społeczność Sikhów w Belgii, pracownicy sezonowi z nowych państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej, takich jak Polska, Bułgaria i Rumunia, a od kilku lat również osoby ubiegające się o azyl z sąsiednich państw mogą pracować tymczasowo w sadownictwie.
Niektórzy przyjechali tylko na chwilę, inni zostali lub wracają co sezon od 15 lat. Wszyscy pozostawiają coś trwałego w krajobrazie, ale ich osobiste historie i wspomnienia związane z tą pracą często pozostają bez echa. Kilku pracowników migracyjnych, sezonowych i robotników rolnych poproszono o przesłanie własnoręcznie wykonanego zdjęcia przedstawiającego ważny, codzienny moment, obrzęd lub wspomnienie związane z ich pracą w szklarniach i na plantacjach. Niektórzy mówią o ciężkiej, powtarzalnej pracy, inni o kolegach, którzy sprawiają, że praca jest znośna, satysfakcji po długim dniu pracy lub niespodziewanie pięknych chwilach. Jakie nowe, codzienne obrzędy są wplecione w tę pracę i wspólne zbiory?
noi ritualuri
În horticultura belgiană și olandeză, oamenii lucrează laolaltă în fiecare sezon, în fiecare zi. Aceștia erau, în trecut, mai cu seamă culegători veniți din regiunea respectivă. Soluția a venit, deja din anii ‘70, din partea diverselor grupuri de lucrători - atât nou-veniți cât și ”consacrați”: culegători veniți la muncă temporară din sudul Europei, o comunitate crescândă de Sikh în Belgia, muncitori sezonieri din noile state membre ale Europei, cum sunt Polonia, Bulgaria și România.
De asemenea, de câțiva ani au și solicitanții de azil aflați în regiune posibilitatea de a munci temporar în domeniul culturii de fructe. Unii veneau doar pentru perioade scurte, alții au rămas sau continuă de cincisprezece ani să se întoarcă în fiecare sezon. Cu toții lasă în urmă un element permanent în peisaj, însă poveștile lor personale și amintirile despre această muncă rămân deseori neascultate. Diferiți lucrători imigranți, sezonieri și muncitori agricoli au fost rugați să trimită o fotografie proprie a unui moment semnificativ dintr-o zi oarecare; un ritual sau o amintire din munca lor în sere și plantații. Unele au ca temă munca grea și repetitivă; altele - colegii care fac ca munca să fie suportabilă, satisfacția care urmează unei zile lungi de muncă sau instantanee de o frumusețe neașteptată. Ce fel de ritualuri noi se împletesc zilnic cu munca aceasta și cu recolta comună?

New Rituals

New sounds and rhythms of fruit horticulture

This soundscape was created in collaboration with Noor van der Vorst, a social geographer. In 2021, she conducted research for her master's thesis at Radboud University on the relationship between labor and migration in Dutch fruit cultivation in the Green Heart. The thesis is titled "Sonic Geographies of Racial Capitalism," and tells the story of this relationship through sounds from the daily lives of Polish pickers in small fruit. Together with sound recordings by Carolien Lubberhuizen during her fieldwork in the Haspengouw plantations in the summer of 2022, they form a new sound of the daily rhythms in fruit cultivation. Immerse yourself while viewing the rest of the exhibition, with the available headphones or QR code.

Nieuwe geluiden en ritmes in de fruitteelt

Deze soundscape is samengesteld in samenwerking met Noor van der Vorst, sociaal geografe. Zij deed in 2021 voor haar masterscriptie aan de Radboud Universiteit onderzoek naar de relatie tussen arbeid en migratie in de Nederlandse fruitteelt in het Groene Hart. De scriptie is genaamd ‘‘Sonic Geographies of Racial Capitalism”, en vertelt het verhaal over deze relatie door middel van geluiden uit het dagelijks leven van Poolse plukkers in het kleinfruit. Samen met geluidsopnames van Carolien Lubberhuizen tijdens haar veldwerk in de Haspengouwse plantages in de zomer van 2022 vormen ze een nieuw geluid van de dagelijkse ritmes in de fruitteelt. Dompel jezelf onder terwijl je de rest van de tentoonstelling bekijkt, met de beschikbare koptelefoon of de QR-code.