Outside the State: Our relationship to the land

This photo-documentary book delves us into the history of private property, takes us through the struggles for the defence of monopolised lands, introduces us to agricultural practices that respect living beings and strive for autonomy. It invites us to rethink the land as a common asset. 16,5x21 cm / 200 pages / bilingual : FR-EN The book was initiated from few questions formulated in a opencall distributed in the fall of 2023: → Guided by these principles of mutual aid, how can we consider our relationship with the earth on a different scale? → A scale that would benefit all species, outside of mercantile logic, the State or the principle of nation? → How can we find the measure that each being needs to live, and live well? Talking about our relationship to the land means first of all - as Terraqué will show us in her text And everywhere collective plots - addressing questions of property (specific to humans) and exploring their contours and margins. When was private property born and why? What does ownership change (or has changed) in our relationship to the land? What could land be without an owner? Talking about our relationship to the earth also means looking at the symbolic and sensitive significance it has. It is the land that connects us to our origins, to a history, which carries the collective memory of a family, or a people. It is a land for which we fight so as not to lose our roots. How do struggles redefine our relationship to the land, and help us reshape our sense of belonging to places in and from the diaspora? This is one of the questions that Khalda El Jack and Sebastian Oviedo ask each other -both architect-researchers and expatriates from their countries of origin, Sudan and Ecuador respectively. They thus raise the idea that we can maintain a particular relationship with the land in exile. This idea is explored by Gaëtan Soerensen in other geographies through his project, Waqf. Over a discussion he had with a Palestinian family separated between Amman (Jordan) and Nablus (Palestine), they considered the symbolic significance of the Waqf tradition, which becomes «a proof of an origin so often undermined by the non-existence of a State». A proof of legitimacy, proof of resistance. Talking about our relationship to the earth is also and obviously talking about the nourishing land. The one for which we fight with the aim of preserving and respecting living things, far from the logic of agro-industry and a growth economy. A land that we cultivate for our subsistence and not to enrich ourselves. Each on their own, Cloé Harent and Yann Haeberlin set out to meet farms which have chosen to produce differently than according to the logic laid down by agro-industrial standards. Between France and Switzerland, they paint a broad portrait of an alternative peasantry to a quest for autonomy. Talking about our relationship with the earth finally means addressing the notions of resource use and sharing. Before private property galloped into our lives, before it became the norm, the village communes of the Middle Ages set about developing what we call today “the commons”. In the Swiss Alps, although having evolved over time, the commons still exist and are managed by the Korporationen. By analyzing a particular case - the Uri Korporation - Salome Erni explores the principle of the Commons, while warning us against utopian and romantic projections. - → Terraqué (FR) Terraqué is an informal group formed for the writing of this text, by people who have been involved in some land occupation struggles and who work theoretically and practically on the question of property. → Khalda El Jack (SD/BE) Khalda El Jack is a doctoral researcher in urbanism and architecture. Her research focuses on the intersection of land(scape), displacement and resistance practices that breed a continuum of coexistence strategies in the contested peri-urban spaces of Khartoum, Sudan. → Sebastian Oviedo (EC/BE) Trained as an architect and urbanist, Sebastian Oviedo is co-founder and partner of Atarraya, a critical practice and action-research studio rooted in Quito, Ecuador. His ongoing collaboration with Pueblo Kitu Kara, part of the broader Indigenous Movement of Ecuador, investigates the contested interactions between communal territories and relational resistance practices on the one hand, and urbanization processes on the other. → Gaëtan Soerensen (FR) Photographer. In May 2023, with the support of the French Institute of Jordan, he was invited to exhibit his documentary project at the Image Festival Amman (Jordan). Finally, in September 2023, the “Waqf” project was presented at the Nice Contemporary Photography Festival. Currently, he continues his research on the Palestinian territories; and another documentary work on the place of biodiversity in territorial redevelopment projects. https://www.gaetansoerensen.com/ / @gaetan.srn → Yann Haeberlin (CH) After a degree in ethnology, Yann continued his training in photography. Since the end of his studies, he has been working on few projects, products of his anthropological and photographic experience. In 2017, he won a grant from the city of Geneva to develop a personal work on peasant agriculture. The TINA(?) series is the result of this work. This series has been selected and shown in a lot of fairs and festivals around the world. https://www.yannh.ch / @yannhaeberlin → Cloe Harent (FR) Photographer. In 2021, she won the photographic mission of the Pyrenean Institute of Photography by documenting the problem of water in the Pyrenees territory. Through an intuitive and sensitive documentary approach, she is interested in the living world through time. Since 2018, she has been working on a photographic series, "Le lien de la terre" for which she traveled across France to document the deployment of peasant practices attached to respect for the environment. https://www.cloeharent.com/ → Salome Erni (CH) After studying Camera Art in Lucerne (CH), Salome continued her studies in the Photography department at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (NL). Also, since 2020 she has been working as a freelance journalist and writer for various Swiss outlets, especially Luzerner Zeitung (CHMedia). Her works evolve around topics such as belonging, historical narratives, shared resources and creating a liveable future. She is convinced that it needs mutual understanding to overcome the current challenges of our society. https://www.salomeerni.com/

ESSARTER [ESAƦTE] meaning to strip clear and liberate a space, re-establish a terrain, to make accessible an unexplored area. ESSARTER Éditions is an association specialised in photo-documentary books. Considering the book as a space for exchange and mediation, our main objective is to bring together personalities who would never have had the opportunity without the collaborative nature of our books, whether they are amateurs or professionals, from different generations, or from all over the world. Our books address some of the major societal, political, and historical issues by looking closely at borders, conflicts, migrations, and cultural belonging. More infos