A Soil Dialogue

Abstract

ANTON’S SOIL SAMPLE I have selected a soil sample taken from the lawn of an urban farm in Tantolunden in Stockholm, Sweden. The soil was compact, muddy, and pale, which indicates that growing conditions for food crops are not optimal. Figure 1 depicts the sample in its soil form and Figure 2 depicts it as a chromatogram developed in a chemical test. In this dialogue about, through, and with soil, we use soil samples from Sweden and India to discuss the mutual interdependence of soil health and just sustainability transitions from a feminist perspective. We describe how we have come to know our soil and what role information technologies play in this process. We also reflect on how the livelihood of people living in vulnerable conditions and extreme climates can be improved with soilcentered technology. In our dialogue, we approach soil as existential, political, physical, chemical, biological, archaeological, and transformative. This is reflected in how people depend on healthy soils for sustenance, and how soils connect us to the cycles of A Soil Dialogue