Without her, this fundamental work would burden others or simply not be done—yet her contribution remains unrecognised, like that of so many women in agriculture.
In a corner of the Italian countryside, in Lavorate (Sarno), the women of Masseria Pigliuocco represent the invisible backbone of an agricultural system that could not exist without their work. They are guardians of biodiversity, transmitters of knowledge, and social pillars of their communities. Yet their contribution too often remains in the shadows, undervalued and unrecognised.
The women of Masseria Pigliuocco carry out most of the reproductive work that sustains the area's agricultural production: they wash clothes for the men who work in the fields, clean the herbs to be sold, organise meals, and raise children. These tasks are also linked to important community processes: cleaning herbs, for example, takes place in the neighbourhood's common spaces—the courtyards—and is a true moment of socialising and transmission of rural traditions and legends.
Nonna Carmela, for instance, prepares coffee every morning at 5 to bring to the farm and every evening washes the mud-stained clothes of the workers. Without her, this fundamental regenerative work would burden others or simply not be done, causing enormous disruption. Despite this, her work and that of many other women is often considered secondary to men's work and consequently not properly recognised. Agricultural systems are organised around men's needs and habits, generating work overload for women, and the challenges unfortunately remain significant.
Nonna Corona often joins the women's circle, a biblical figure at Masseria Pigliuocco. Many know her as the wife of Zí Peppe, the poet-farmer in love with the Santa Marina river flowing through those lands. Yet many are unaware of her key role in transmitting traditions and preserving the biodiversity of those same lands. Besides helping the farm, she dedicates herself to cultivating her garden and tending the vines near the riverbanks.
Like so many other women, Corona has always worked a double shift: as a salaried farmworker and as a domestic worker at home. About 40 years ago, after discovering her husband's depression, she had to work doubly hard. With three dependent children, she began working at a farm two hours away by bus. Every morning she left at 4 a.m., and came back home at 3 p.m. After eating, she would go to her garden, and in the evening tidy the house, prepare dinner and lunch to be reheated the next day. A very hard routine that is still the fate of many women who, in addition to fieldwork, perform most of the domestic work and childcare.
Then there's Nannina, another iconic figure of the Masseria: thanks to her, the entrance to the neighbourhood is always colourful. Her "forest of flowers" welcomes travellers toward the river and, beyond beautifying, gives meaning to the place, tells a story. She also plays a fundamental role in the neighbourhood: passionate about plants, she dedicates herself to harvesting seeds from flowering plants and preserving them correctly to plant them when appropriate.
The stories of Nonna Carmela, Nonna Corona, and Nannina show how the women of Masseria Pigliuocco are much more than agricultural workers: they are guardians of biodiversity and pillars of economic and social cohesion for their families and communities. Their daily work, often invisible, is essential for the resilience of local agrifood systems and for transmitting traditional knowledge that would otherwise be lost.
Recognising and valuing these women's contributions means taking a fundamental step toward gender equality in agriculture. It means guaranteeing them access to resources, representation in decisions affecting agricultural systems, and proper economic and social recognition for their work. Only then can we build truly sustainable agrifood systems that value all who contribute to them, without gender distinctions.