Getting by at the heart of families in Gard: the Languedoc Social Action and Territories Observatory unveils its first survey

L’anthropologue Yoanna Rubio a mené cette étude pendant huit mois. Midi Libre – Pierre Meuriot

This Thursday morning, in the premises of the Udaf du Gard, the OAST Languedoc published its first study devoted to the consumption habits of families in Gard, Hérault and Lozère.

Welcome to the world of economies of resourcefulness, where the art of “making do” becomes a daily necessity. It is through this prism that the Observatory of Social Action and Territories (OAST) Languedoc conducted its first survey, unveiled this Thursday, December 12 in the premises of the Udaf du Gard.

This new regional structure, born from a collaboration between five institutions, sheds light with an anthropological approach on the practices of families in the region in the face of the general decline in purchasing power.

A new tool for understanding our regions

The first to speak this morning, Lucien Bernard, president of the Udaf du Gard, does not hide his pride in the creation of this multi-partner observatory. “This is the culmination of several years of work.” OAST Languedoc, which brings together the Udafs of Gard, Hérault and Lozère, as well as Uraf Occitanie and the MSA of Languedoc, has set itself an ambitious mission: to document local social realities to better meet the needs of families. “Situations are not the same today as they were ten years ago”, recalls Nathalie Boughambouz, deputy director of the MSA. The objective is clear: to provide public and associative actors with practical data to adjust their actions.

This first survey, conducted by Yoanna Rubio, anthropologist and specialist in gypsy populations, delves into the heart of the “getting by” strategies of seven families from Gard, Hérault and Lozère. Between October 2023 and July 2024, she shared their daily lives, capturing their consumption habits and their subtle social arrangements. Far from the clichés of simple “precariousness”, it is a rich and human complexity that has emerged.

Anthropology at the service of families

“Getting by is first and foremost an arrangement”, explains the doctor in social and historical anthropology. In the Lozère countryside, she observes a family of cattle breeders for whom getting by means of production: “We eat what we produce, and we buy the rest.” Here, resourcefulness is not an admission of weakness but a way to maintain social status and family ties.

In an urban setting, in a large city in Hérault, an unemployed tenant experiences another reality: that of material survival. “In her home, the word 'resource' is central”, she notes. This individual resourcefulness contrasts with the collaborative practices of a couple in their forties from Gard, where sharing and home-made produce weave a network of interdependence. “It's a way to avoid defining oneself as precarious.”

A basis for reflection for tomorrow

The economies of resourcefulness are not limited to constrained choices. They also reveal a reflection on production and consumption: why and for whom do we produce ? The families interviewed demonstrate that, although flexible and changeable, resourcefulness is a lever for adapting to an increasingly difficult context. But it also highlights a more bitter reality: these practices, far from erasing social inequalities, maintain them, or even worsen them.

For Dominique Prevot, director of Udaf Lozère, this study is a valuable opportunity: “In Lozère, we lack scientific data. This work enriches our understanding of the field.” As for Jean-Jacques Faucet, president of Udaf Hérault, he insists on the observatory's vocation: “Observing to better help is at the heart of our DNA.” And after ? With this first survey in its pocket, the Regional Observatory intends to continue to give families a voice, disseminate its work and invite citizens, associations and institutions to get involved.

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