THE RURAL IS NOT REMOTE — THE CASE OF COMPANY DRINKS

Abstract

The article focuses on the undesirable binary between the rural and the urban and uses Company Drinks as an example of a reverse ruralurban relationship, where an inner city population migrates temporarily to the countryside, which is relevant to the hop-picking tradition (“hopping”) practiced by working-class families from London’s East End. In this case, a working-class community has developed its own rural practice, moving between rural and urban settings on a regular basis. Company Drinks is a new model cultural enterprise that uses the collective memory of hopping as a starting point to rethink and reintroduce an adaptive collective production cycle into East London everyday life. With various successful activities being held, going picking has been far from an East End tradition and become a universal activity recognized and appreciated across different cultures and landscapes. The author believes that rural-urban link cannot be controlled from a distance. Rural society offers knowledge and resource that can empower urban communities, and can test and provide conditions for alternatives to urban lifestyles.

Keywords

Rural-Urban / Rural Practice / Community / Production

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2019 Higher Education Press