Travailler à s’organiser. Le quotidien de Maïa, cueilleuse et mère célibataire

Abstract

The present study involves an ethnographic description of a September 2018 working day spent with 42-year-old Maïa, a picker of aromatic and medicinal perfume plants as well as single mother of four children, living in France’s Drôme region. A life slices approach - showing the subject in the marketplace, picking wild flowers, doing domestic chores and being with her children – unveils a large quantum of heretofore un-recognised work involving all the organisational and anticipatory actions needed to articulate the separate but intertwined spheres of her life. Despite growing recognition of female farm workers, there is still a gendered vision of how this activity interacts with women’s domestic and reproductive spheres, with Maïa – produce picker, single mother and incarnating what some might call an alternative lifestyle – offering a singular case in point.

Keywords

• Produce picking
• ethnography
• work
• care
• mental load