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About me
- First name: Nancy
- Last name: Sheppard
- Student ID: i7448991
- Display name: Nan Sheppard
- Town: Bournemouth
- Country: United Kingdom
- Mobile phone: 07872517434
Social media accounts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nan.sheppard
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nansheppard/
Chocolate! Research into Food Security and Sustainable Resistance
My research on sustainable resistance in Trinidad and Tobago is (finally!) available for you to download. Hard copies will be available at Bournemouth University in the library, and I'm happy to chat about this research any time.
British Conference of Undergraduate Research 2017
Excited to have had our ethnographic research accepted at BCUR this year! I will be there on both days, and presenting our poster on changing land use and food security on a housing estate in Dorset on Tuesday 25th April.
Shout out to the incomparable Christy-Anna Errington, Sarah Lambert and Rosy Watts, without whom no research would be nearly as much fun.
Abstract:
A study of changing land use, and ways of producing and exchanging food on a council estate in the south of England. As the reliance on food banks amongst much of the population is an issue of national concern, this research explores how food security had been negotiated in this deprived area in the past, in particular between 1930 and 1980, as compared to now. West Howe is a large council estate near the town of Bournemouth. It was built after World War Two, in an area which previously comprised heathland, small hold farming and some gypsy itinerant populations. From the 1930s, the area’s population rapidly expanded, as new populations settled there. Our research traces how these wider shifts are reflected in local food production, exchange and consumption. We used oral history methods including interviews with long term residents, coupled with archival methods such as historic maps. We also conducted a survey with current residents, to explore food practices and experiences of food security today. Our key finding is that practices and ethics of self-sufficiency around food were remarkably resilient until the 1980s. A variety of crops, livestock and crafts were apparent with good networking, industry and trade between farmers and now-settled gypsy groups. Today, however, a majority of West Howe residents report that their food comes primarily from supermarkets. Many families report feelings of anxiety about their food supply, given the financial insecurity which plagues the area. Only those claiming old gypsy heritage, with the passing down of self-sufficiency skills, reported a sense of connection with the land and feelings of security surrounding food supply.