Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 PhD Student, Department of Geography and Rural Planning, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Rural Planning, University of Isfahan, Isfahan. Iran.
Abstract
This study seeks to illuminate the historical trajectory of greenhouse agriculture in the Yazdabad region, and by extension, the rural-urban settlement of Abrisham. The research traces the evolution of local farming patterns and techniques alongside the corresponding shifts in the area’s agricultural social structures. By focusing intensively on a single village, this work reflects broader socio-economic trends observed across Iran’s rural areas over the past six decades. A core premise of this research is that the narratives generated by local practitioners are meaningful and accessible, offering unique insights into place-based identity, greenhouse cultivation, and the associated activities during the critical stages of planting, crop protection, and harvesting-experiences that inherently function as forms of place-based learning. These narratives foster rich learning experiences for the narrator, the compiler, and the reader alike. To this end, semi-structured and unstructured interviews were conducted with 20 key practitioners within the region’s greenhouse sector. The collected data, supplemented by documentary studies, were analyzed using textual and document analysis techniques, common approaches in qualitative research. The findings reveal that the studied region pioneered the widespread adoption of greenhouse cultivation in the country. Key drivers for this adoption included the demand for early-season production, escalating market competition, issues of land fragmentation, imperatives of food security, and increasing regional water scarcity. In conclusion, the researchers strongly recommend that the traditional wooden greenhouse structures and cultivation methods employed in this area be formally registered as a protected agricultural heritage system by the relevant authorities.
Keywords
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