The Spiritual Dimension of Biodynamics: An Alternative Source of Capital in the Rural Context

Abstract

Purpose

Biodynamics is a specific form of organic production with spiritual underpinnings. This chapter explores it as a form of rural entrepreneurship using the capitals framework of Bourdieu as a conceptual tool.

Methodology

The chapter draws upon 11 qualitative case studies of New Zealand firms engaged in biodynamic growing methods. Data collected via in-depth narratively oriented interviews inform the chapter, along with other relevant secondary material.

Findings

The chapter suggests that the spiritual underpinning of the biodynamic approach imbues the experience with a form of spiritual capital that is not captured within traditional interpretations of capital. We conceive of this as a form of alternative capital and offer a conceptualisation as an attempt to capture that difference.

Research limitations

This is a niche, small scale, exploratory study limited to one geographic context (New Zealand) at one particular point in time.

Originality/value

This chapter offers a modest expansion to previous conceptualisations of capital in the rural context.

Citation

Lewis, K. and Cassells, S. (2014), "The Spiritual Dimension of Biodynamics: An Alternative Source of Capital in the Rural Context", Exploring Rural Enterprise: New Perspectives On Research, Policy & Practice (Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 175-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-724620140000004008