Agripunk is "uncomfortably" in the Tuscan landscape: made up of six
industrial warehouses nestled in the hills a short distance from thetown, it was a farm, the headquarters of German troops during the Second
World War and an intensive turkey farm. Today it is a one-of-a-kind
place, where anti-speciesism, trans-feminism, militant anti-fascism and
hardcore punk meet in practice and daily struggle. ---- When David (who
already lived in the area) and Desirée (arriving from Veneto) began to
approach the place, it was an intensive turkey farm, where thousands of
individuals passed through for large-scale distribution through the
Amadori brand, which also supplies MacDonalds. The smell of stale guano
and rotting bodies left to rot was unbreathable and flooded the entire
valley and the nearby town of Ambra, making life impossible for *
residents. Dez and David launched a pressure campaign by making videos
about the conditions inside the farm, stalls and other activities that
led to the closure of the business, closing a story of animal
exploitation that had lasted for decades and opening a new chapter that
continues today.
Agripunk "takes" the farm: to guarantee the safety of the non-human
people who are in the shelter, they must satisfy the state bureaucracy,
which does not recognize the concept of "shelter", but only that of
agri-business. Agripunk managed to obtain a "stable code" just as if it
were a "normal" farm. The legal status of non-human people in Italy is
characterized by speciesist hypocrisy and a system that divides animals
into DPA and non-DPA (i.e. Intended for Food Production or not). With
various difficulties, Agripunk managed to obtain that the individuals
who come to live there have "non-DPA" status, so even for the
bureaucracy they definitively exit the food supply chain. A good
precedent, which has also been useful to other shelters and which
anticipated the decree that from March 2023 partially recognized the
legal status of shelters. And so, with DYI attitude and a lot of
patience, Dez and David learned to do all the necessary jobs in the
countryside, continuing the practices that make Agripunk different from
many other shelters. For example, Agripunk does not define itself as a
"sanctuary", a word used in more spiritual contexts, preferring the word
"refuge" precisely because in harmony with the history of the place it
recalls the political idea of refugees, who escape, go out, break free,
rebel and find for all or part of their lives somewhere else to live.
The anti-speciesist struggle and the constant care of non-human people
constitute a good part of the activity at Agripunk, but it is not the
only one: the space is physically divided into various indoor areas
where the initiatives take place (concerts, workshops, debates, screen
printing...) and then the pastures, the sheds, the areas dedicated to
non-human people. They are divided but continuous spaces, which form "an
ecological corridor" that also physically unites the various struggles.
The initiatives are "separated" but in the presence of the animals. The
struggle against oppression holds everything together in a very
spontaneous and natural way, oppressions not thought individually, but
linked to each other, because they can hit and be acted out by anyone.
The submission of living beings is functional to profit, so
anti-capitalism without opposition to livestock farming is incomplete.
At Agripunk the intersection of struggles comes out by itself: events on
Rojava, or on transfeminist themes and concerts of independent bands
coexist alongside free subjectivities. Over the years Agripunk has
received solidarity from dozens of people, organizations,
anti-speciesist bands, but one of the basic concepts - valid for both
the bands and the volunteers - is that Agripunk is not only open to
anti-speciesist realities or individuals, because we all started
somewhere, and because, says Dez «if you are not[anti-speciesist
vegan]it is because you are not yet».
The liberation of intensive farming has also improved the conditions of
the local population, who appreciated being freed from the terrible
stench that ruined their lives. By now they could not even find buyers
for their homes, if they wanted to go and live elsewhere. Other outdoor
activities in the village, which were previously scarce, have also
restarted. Every now and then some more radical thought can be viewed
with suspicion, but all in all it is welcomed. The culture of meat in
Tuscany is very strong, and unfortunately, the mythology of the
"excellence of meat" also brings with it the illusion of "animal
welfare", according to which non-human people exploited to create the
most luxurious products, such as "Chianina", live in privileged
conditions from which cruelty is perfectly absent. And in fact, although
most humans condemn intensive farming, it is the only way to have meat
at a good price (and participate in what has historically been a
privilege for the rich). Instead of becoming vegan, they delude
themselves by looking for "happy meat". The strength of tradition is
enormous: just think of the Palio di Siena, against which it seems
impossible to say anything, or other similar events elsewhere.
Where we are now: the project immediately had as its objective not only
the closure of the farm, but the creation of a sustainable and lasting
reality. Among a thousand legal vicissitudes, the fight has been going
on for 10 years thanks to the solidarity of many volunteers and
supporters, thanks to self-management and self-financing, with a very
clear idea of a different world. Now Agripunk is a refuge for more than
100 non-human individuals (cows, goats, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats,
various birds, etc.). The situation is evolving and complex, however we
urgently need a sum of money that will allow us to pay off the back rent
and purchase the farm, making it permanently and definitively available
to Agripunk, preventing it from being distorted by setting up other
commercial and certainly speciesist activities. The Agripunk comrades,
together with the dozens of supporters who have crossed paths with them
over the years, have created a free zone where something of what many of
us would like to see in a future society is already practiced today. A
project like this provides the greatest nourishment for change: the
concrete example, a push to create other "islands of freedom", in the
hope that the latter will be able to join together and form ever larger
pockets, giving refuge and a new future to animals - human and otherwise
- of all types, to their desires and their needs. But not only that:
Agripunk is also a permanent garrison that monitors livestock activities
in the area and "annoys" local agribusiness: in fact, there is currently
a project, supported by several residents, to push for the closure of
another farm that discharges harmful wastewater in the area.
On the island of Agripunk, the war between humans, the war on nature,
agribusiness technologies, but also the violence of property and capital
are intertwined in a way that is anything but casual, and encounter
forms of resistance that despite everything are always renewed. From
Giorgina and Lisetta, (the first turkeys to be freed) to Scilla (the cow
saved from the sea), to all the non-human people who live free and happy
in Agripunk now and all the other people who have passed through the
shelter, have left something, and taken something else, mutually
enriching each other. What we do for spaces like Agripunk, we also do
for all of us.
TO DONATE
? www.agripunk.com/donazioni
? 5×1000 TO AGRIPUNK ONLUS_ CF: 90032580517
? IBAN: IT11P0501802800000012165098
in the name of Agripunk onlus - Località L'isola, Ambra (AR)
reason: liberal donation
Link to report:
www.agripunk.com/
bioviolenza.blogspot.com/
www.elettrisonanti.net/2020/01/20/agripunk-volume-01-compilation-della-stalla/
totalliberationrecords.bandcamp.com/album/benefit-compilation-for-agripunk
Julissa
https://umanitanova.org/32541-2/
_________________________________________
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