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Diana Takacsova

Photographer
www.diatakacsova.com
    
Alentejo
Stories (12)
Location: Ostend, Belgium
Nationality: Slovak
Biography: Diana Takacsova is a photographer and visual storyteller. Bringing together rigorous research and a deep interest in personal narratives, her work revolves around questions of identity, physical and emotional connection to place, migration, and... MORE
Alentejo by Diana Takacsova
Pitch
Alentejo
Current Status
In Production
Type of Story
Visual Story
Short Pitch
In recent years, Portugal's agrarian Alentejo region has been undergoing complex changes in land use, production and migrant labour patterns. This project highlights the role of essential migrant workers who are frequently trapped outside the formal system, juxtaposing it with the intensified land usage and the inadequate living and labour conditions present. It also underlines the complexity of the migrant experience and the realities of the globalised supply chain.
Long Pitch
In recent years, Portugal’s agricultural sector gained significant economic importance. According to OECD data, in order to meet the growing need for manpower and the market’s low prices, the country is increasingly relying on undocumented migrant labour.

The city of Beja - as well as the Alentejo region at large - are the main agricultural regions where predominantly seasonal workers are working long hours for a low pay, often living in subhuman conditions. Labourers from Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe are, therefore, playing a pivotal role in keeping the country’s agricultural sector - let it be olives, grapes, red berries or almonds - afloat. Their precarious conditions are contrasted with the price pressure created by a globalised supply chain - and with intensive agricultural practices. The COVID-19 pandemic has further worsened the situation: seasonal work has decreased, leaving a large number of workers without the already unstable income. 

Through the use of digital and polaroid photography, this project highlights the role of essential migrant workers who are frequently trapped outside the formal system, juxtaposing it with the intensified land usage and the inadequate living and labour conditions present. It also underlines the complexity of the migrant experience, the realities of the globalised supply chain - and what is behind the cheap agricultural produce on European consumers' plates.

The pairing Polaroid photos with digital pictures is only one example of publishing. 

As of now, this project was supported by the National Geographic Society and People in Need Slovakia.
Timeline
Started in March 2021, with a follow up in September 2021. The completion date can be determined.
Budget
Topics
Agriculture Community Documentary Editorial Environment Essays Immigration Personal Projects Photography Portraiture Social Justice
Prizes
National Geographic Society and People in Need Slovakia
Left: An olive branch left behind following the yearly tree pruning in one of the olive fields surrounding Beja in March 2021. Olive oil production is one of the main products of the region's intensive agriculture and land use. Right: Mustafa Diop from Senegal lived and worked in France and Italy prior to coming to Portugal. The pandemic has worsened his situation - and he could only rely on small jobs. He and his colleagues cannot rely on any charity as they live in a village near Ferreira do Alentejo.
Indian seasonal workers trimming olive trees in Alentejo region. This is the only major task available in March - a period considered early season.
Left: Due to intensive and super-intensive agriculture and the increase of the share of olive groves across the Alentejo region, Portugal has gone from being an importer to a significant exporter of olive oil. Right: Pemba Sherpa (right) comes from Nepal, where she did housework. She has been living in São Teotónia with her husband for three years - working in agriculture, focusing on berries. The beginnings were difficult, but she persevered: her motivation is her son and daughter, who are in Nepal.
Living conditions are often precarious: many workers share the living space. Here, Indian seasonal workers created a feeling of home in their shared accommodation in a former café.
An agricultural worker trims olive branches - one of the only early-season activities which is available - in Beja region.
The process of shaking the almonds, during which the trunk of the tree is grasped - and then the whole tree is shaken once.
Left: "We worked in agriculture farming before coming here, in rice fields and some other vegetables and fruits. We came to learn about agriculture - and I want to start my business here," says Guriqbal from India's Punjab region. Right: a view of the Mira river in Odemira - one of the city's popular meeting points.
Agricultural workers are housed in container units in the vicinity of Beja. Such housing is often situated in company premises, and provides very limited facilities and privacy.
Left: The precarious situation of agricultural workers translates into many forms: Amritpal Singh and his colleagues have been struggling to receive all their social security coverage for the past season. Right: Night falls over olive trees in one of the many fields surrounding Beja. Intensive and super-intensive production around olives transformed the landscape of the region.
Thanks to the numerous greenhouses and the sophisticated system of production, berries are grown in the Alentejo region all-year-round.
Maya Tamang in traditional Nepalese clothing in the environment of her home in São Teotonio, in preparation for Friday's meeting with other Nepalese, which provides a space for sharing culture. Maya works in the region's berry industry.
Workers gather at an early morning almond harvest near the civil parish of Baleizão. Water-demanding almond plantations have been on the rise in the region.
Portrait of Sukhjinar, part of a group of agricultural workers from India's Punjab region, now based in Ferreira do Alentejo.
The creation of the Alqueva Dam, which was completed in 2002, significantly altered the region's agricultural landscape. One of the dam's primary functions is to provide the water supply necessary in order to meet the needs of intensive agriculture.