Local knowledge, wild plant gathering and civil food networks in organic farming in Spain and Portugal.

Local communities on the Iberian Peninsula developed a diversity of sustainable land-use systems based on local knowledge. Ethnobotanical research documented this knowledge from local actors in the last decades and, besides describing traditional land-use systems and homegardening practices, this research especially concentrated on wild plant gathering and use. Recently, the importance of connecting of research results with organic farming was highlighted for developing sustainable strategies for wild plant gathering and use and related value chains. This project aims to systemize the experiences made on wild plant gathering and use to understand the potential and challenges for further development especially in organic farming. The results will be compared to developments in other European countries for highlighting particularities and potential for further development.