In The Land Of Orpheus: Rural Livelihoods And Nature Conservation In Postsocialist Bulgaria

Book Description
In the Land of Orpheus provides a rich ethnographic description of village life and conservation efforts in an ecologically important region of one of the most biologically diverse countries in Europe. Barbara Cellarius describes natural resource use and economic survival strategies in a rural Rhodope Mountain village and the ways in which the lives of residents of a rural community are affected by outside forces, particularly the economic and political uncertainties that have plagued Bulgaria since the collapse of communism. She examines larger forces, including environmental nongovernmental organizations, interested in linking global conservation priorities with local communities.

About the Author
Barbara A. Cellarius is a cultural anthropologist and subsistence specialist in the Division of Natural and Cultural Resources, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Copper Center, Alaska.


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"This book tells the tale of two communities interested in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains - rural villagers and conservation advocates - and seeks to understand how the everyday realities of rural residents relate to global concerns about the conservation of biological diversity." This detailed and colorful ethnographic account provides important micro-level insights into postsocialist conditions in Bulgaria, insights that come from the author's long-term fieldwork conducted in the local language. It is one of the first anthropological case studies to focus on the intersection of rural communities, nature conservation efforts, and nature conservation organizations in the former socialist bloc.


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