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Abstract

This article explores the ethical and political dimensions of dwelling through an anthropological and philosophical inquiry in the Simeto River Valley, Eastern Sicily. Drawing on Ingold’s dwelling perspective and other relational approaches, the authors inquire into the potential of a “light” form of dwelling to sustain and foster regenerative processes within the current socio-ecological crisis. Following Heidegger’s critique of “modern technique” and Krenak’s distinction between “heavy” and “light” ways of inhabiting the Earth, the authors look at one particular activity that involves liberating the land from plastic irrigation pipes and creating a small wetland. By allowing water to circulate within the wider environment, such an activity represents an innovative practice of water management that resists the socioecological crisis from the margins of a landscape heavily dominated by agroindustry and its “heavy” forms of dwelling. The resulting wetland supports biodiversity thus demonstrating concrete alternatives to extractive forms of agriculture. These practices are not universal models to be replicated; they rather unveil the possibilities and the potential of the margins in resisting the “traditional” extractive practices that characterize the Anthropocene.