In relation to the land. Three generations of Catalan peasants in Central Catalonia

This article explores how three generations of families dedicated to peasantry and the primary sector in Central Catalonia live, work, and relate to the land. Using qualitative methods such as life stories and in-depth interviews, and ensuring confidentiality due to the small size of these municipalities, we trace continuity and transformations in labour practices, and relations with cattle, clients, suppliers, and institutions. The trajectories reveal three key milestones. First, increasing technification and mass production aimed at standardizing processes and lowering margins. Second, a shift back towards a new form of localized production (last mile) based on direct trust and product quality, despite regulatory challenges. Third, diversification into the service sector, providing “authentic experiences” and supplementary activities to support the family economy. The generational perspective helps us understand how trades and lifestyles are inherited, how technification policies, regulations, and processes are shaped and work is redefined, and the uncertainties that arise when the continuity of family farms is uncertain. The paper concludes that the challenge of sustaining livelihoods solely through land work leads to hybrid strategies combining production, proximity, and services – within a context marked by strict regulations and market pressures that tend to concentrate food production in the hands of a few very large companies.