Ecofeminism in Budapest's 8th District – An Ethnographic Case Study of an Ecofeminist Collective

Abstract

My research explores the possibility and mode of organization of ecofeminism in Hungary through the examination of an ecofeminist community called the Szeszgyár ['Distillery'], after the name of the street where it is located, in District VIII, Budapest. The purpose of my writing is twofold: to present a possible approach to ecofeminist movement research and to uncover the operations, opportunities, and challenges of the Szeszgyár movement. I conducted participant observation and semi-structured interviews to investigate the dynamics, principles, and goals that drive the community. In my study, I delve into the principles of operation, organizational structure, financing, ideological self-definition, and collaboration with other organizations and movements. On the basis of the data analysis, I concluded that the Szeszgyár community meets the established criteria of a movement and faces numerous challenges shared with other Hungarian ecological and feminist movements. However, unlike in the life of many left-wing movements, for the Szeszgyár community access to a garden plays a central role in providing material support and offers an opportunity for building connections with the local residents.