Date: Wednesday 22 October
Times: 15:00–16:00
Listen in at: Varia Stream

Instead of looking towards the centres of “technological progress” why not look towards the fringes? Through a series of interviews and discussions broadcast over the radio, we want to dive into the meaning of Rural Technology. Whether that be software for food distribution, situated publishing practices or communication infrastructure used by farms, we want to spend some time with technology beyond an urban context.

Our first series will focus on past and present food infrastructures across Europe. We want to try to understand how these people, processes, tools and systems affect the relation and image of the urban and the rural. In which ways have past agricultural systems shaped the landscapes of contemporary rural living? And how do food distribution systems inform our relationship to food?

For the second radio show in this series of broadcasts we’ll be speaking to Robida, a collective situated in the “post-rural” village of Topoló, Italy. Robida explore what it means to live and work in this specific place in a variety of ways from print publications, radio, workshops, lectures and summer schools. We’ll be chatting with them about what the post-rural is, what rural technology means to them and how they do the work they do.

Broadcast: 15:00-16:00 on the 22nd of October 2025.

Recording:

Rural Technology falls within Varia’s Homebrew Seed research thread, and is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL.