Marinella Ferrari Paolo Barberis
A water carrier at the service of his territory
Paolo Barberis was born in 1976 in Vercelli and lives in Rive. He has always worked at the Consorzio Ovest Sesia, an organization that manages water used primarily for rice cultivation. He started as a seasonal worker, then became a permanent employee, and is now an assistant in the Villanova Monferrato department.
His job involves maintaining canals, ensuring the proper flow of water to the rice fields, and responding to emergencies, such as floods or broken banks. He uses manual and mechanical tools and learned the trade from older colleagues. He emphasizes the importance of passing on practical knowledge between generations.
Barberis is deeply connected to the land and proud of his role, which he considers fundamental. He talks about the difficulties associated with the 2022 drought, which highlighted the preciousness of water. He also discusses water management among farmers, always striving to mediate conflicts and equitably distribute the available resource.
He explains how the irrigation system has changed over time: it is now more modern and mechanized, but problems such as damage caused by coypus remain. He also describes teamwork during emergencies and the importance of daily monitoring of irrigation systems.
Finally, he emphasizes that their presence in the area is essential to prevent damage and ensure irrigation continuity, especially in a delicate agricultural environment like that of Vercelli.
Video table of contents
- I've always been a water carrier
- The pride of being part of West Sesia
- I already knew the area
- Learn the trade, cut the grass at the bottom of the canals with the "ranza" (sickle)
- The importance of water
- Canals and water are an important presence in the area
- The sensitivity of those who observe water every day
- When there's a lot of water: happy, yes, but beware of damage
- The relationship with farmers
- My area of expertise is Trino
- Supply water using the "free light" method
- The relationship between Departments and Irrigation Districts
- Wash the canals and make dams to fill the canals
- Hand/manual work and machinery/mechanization
- Damage caused by coypu to canals
- Teaming up with colleagues, being a community
- When water scares you
Interview information
Paolo Barberis
Date of birth: 11-13-1973
City: Vercelli
School: Professional qualification
Profession: Other
Languages: italiano
Document by: Luca Ghiardo
Video by: Luca Ghiardo, Davide Porporato
Created: 31-03-2025
Questo video fa parte del seguente archivio
Rice stories
Rice stories
Food is a fundamental resource for man and his health, both through the supply of nutrients and the ability to embody traits of human culture that play a leading role in our well-being.
Over time, each territory has built original ways in which to relate to the fruits of its land, enriching them with rituals, symbolic meanings and culinary customs. Much of these relationships have been lost following the years of the economic boom, with the exodus from the countryside to urban centers, with the advent of agriculture for mass production and ultimately with the globalization of markets and the consequent impoverishment of the heritage of biodiversity and ethnodiversity.
The purpose of this archive is to collect evidence relating to the main rice production area in Europe, that is the Po Valley, and to investigate, through the analysis of textual sources and testimonies collected in the field, both what survives of this heritage, and the ways in which which has evolved and reached us, paying particular attention to the explicit and implicit links that bind food and health.
