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| Communist era apartment building in Culmea |
Through endless fields of corn, scattered lay the
rudimentary dwelling of abode. Hidden from the eyes of the impulsive consumerism
of the big city, bound to a monotone cycle of physical labor complemented by
social exclusion and stigma, Romania's farming communities are involuntarily
stuck in a post-socialist nostalgia which is the byproduct of their poverty and
moral degradation. The depressive saga of Romania's farming colonies seems to
be far from a coherent ending, rigid constructions, one-dimensional, with few chances
to keep their social nucleus stable in a different liberal environment. One a
symbol of the socialist progress, now just a outdates model of social
organization, the farming colonies are put in front of their incapacity to
fully adapt to a market economy, thus remaining frozen in their own concrete
cage.
Farming communities seem to be culturally sterile places
in the eyes of the general public, their their purpose being that of supplying
urban centers with the needed agricultural products that are used in markets
and in the food industry. An interest for the cultural outlines of a farming
communities is rare to be seen among the actual consumers of their products,
one may ask, what is the relevance of a study on a community that isn't a significant
influence factor for the society? The other one may answer, it is relevant in a
number of different circumstances, those that make correlations between
cultural configuration and development patterns. Rural development and the eradication
of poverty are notions that we hear quite often in the media, in order to fully
understand this two notions we must have a solid knowledge of the
socio-economoc particularities that rural communities have, and by narrowing
the spectrum, those of small isolated communities that centered the social and
economic life exclusively around farming and agriculture. Culmea, an
agricultural community located in the central part of Constanta county, had met
all the criteria that makes it compatible with the social organization mule
that we will be working with.
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| Map of North Culmea |
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| Map of South Culmea |
The analysis will use some of the conventional research
methods used in sociology, the approach that will be used will require the usage
of information, tools and methods that come from outside the field of
sociological study. The result of the study will have two dimensions, one which
will deal with the socio-economic profile of the settlement, the other will
focus on policies and projects that could reintegrate the community within the
borders of the society, thus stimulating the desolation of segregation based on
criteria that are linked to social statuses.
The complex structural aspects of the study derive from its aim to give a
clear answer to the following questions:
·
Which
are the core elements of Culmea's structural nucleus?
·
Is
the nucleus in a state of balance or not? Which are the factors that are the generators
of social instability?
·
Is
Culmea characterized by cultural sterility?
·
Residual
elements, do they have a
structural role within the local culture?
·
Which
are the correlations between the local cultural identity and development
perspectives?
A key-factor that will lead us the drawing of this
community's socio-economic profile is represented by the historical context in
which the community was founded, the conextualisation of its foundation with a
wider national development policy of that time and the political ideologies
that fueled them. The instauration of the socialist state was symmetric with
the construction of the image of the ideal society, a society fueled by the
sweet of the working class, a society that belonged to the labors and not the
theoreticians. The egalitarian view that was promoted aimed at filling the deep
development gaps that were a prominent social reality within the Romanian
society of the between war period.
The new trajectory that the lives of the countryside
dwellers was placed on after the implementation of the socialist agrarian
policies was easily noticeable, the centralization of political power in a
solid but unreachable nucleus was responsible for the communication
deficiencies between the leaders and the working class. An intermix of a number
of social factors and historical contexts lead to the apparition of an agrarian
system that was the product of the vision of the Communist Party and less of
the people who were actually working the land. The lack of an active
collaboration between the two sides that was topped by state's economic
monopole on the market lead to the constitution of a politically dependent agrarian
system which could keep its balance only under a static state regulated
economy. The socio-economic profile of
the colonies from present day Culmea was preset and made in full harmony with
the socialist agrarian ideals of the age.
Culmea represents a good example of how “artificial”, or
more nicely said, planned communities tend to evolve over the course of time,
in this case we are talking specifically about an agrarian colony. Nowadays,
the former colony is facing a phenomena that is somewhat similar to
ghettoization, being the most socially segregated communities from the territory
of the township of Ovidiu. Unlike the town of Ovidiu, which is nearby, Culmea
retained an agrarian-style social structure, with an obsessive interest for
traditionalism and submissive behavior. Agrarianism implies routine and a rigid
structuring of the whole year which needs to respect certain cycles in
agriculture. Nearby Ovidiu managed to develop its economy based on services,
which made possible the penetration of a relative social relaxation and a
relative social restructuring.
The relative sensation of cultural sterility is
maintained by the lack of a relevant material heritage in the community, the
poor architecture and the lack of any kind of local landmark. This is also in
connection with the poor and simplistic housing facilities that are present
both in South and North Culmea. The lack of a well crystalized vernacular
material culture gives the settlement a very dull and flat appearance.
The
demographic issues, this is
quite easy to understand, as a result of the limited option for any type of
career development, the youngsters prefer to leave the village in search for a
better life and employment opportunities in Constanta. This is most common
among those who managed to graduate high school and college, those who didn’t
prefer, or many times are obligated by certain circumstances, to stay in the
village. As a result, this on the long term in the formula for a toxic
demographic profile, one which will be characterized by an aged population
along with a young segment which will be highly unlikely to change the local
economics, thus being passed to the next generation a culture of
traditionalism, opposed to one of innovation.
The
spatial issue, this relates
to the fact that the village resulted from the merge of two former farming
colonies, thus it does not form a unitary physical body, the merge being only
of administrative nature. This can lead to a highly asymmetrical development of
the two sides, creating significant issues when it comes to public policy
design and implementation.
The
built environment, mainly
composed of poorly constructed buildings which are outdated from a modern
functional point of view. Also, the
layout of the two bodies of the village are characterized by a linear structure,
putting the basis for a unflattering future development pattern.
Conclusion
& future perspectives
Given its former status of an agrarian colony, the major
issue that Culmea will face in the future is that of creating a strong local
identity that will prevent the apparition of a cultural void. This local identity
should be the product of the social collaboration and community-building that
should be done by both the elderly and the youngsters, thus creating an
environment friendly for both sides. A change the settlement’s economic profile
can be done through agritourism, which can make a nice transition from an
agrarian profile to one which can also include a service sector. In order for
the settlement to truly develop there needs to be a change in the built environment,
an aim should be that of reducing multifamily household, giving lands to young
couples to build their own homes, making them less dependent and influenced by
their parents and close relatives. This policy needs to be topped with projects
that will aim the creation of local jobs, as mentioned earlier, agritourism can
be a good start.
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