Abstract ID: 3.11839 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

The Swiss Alpine Season became an immaterial UNESCO cultural heritage in December 2023. The value of the specific traditions, rituals and practices associated with the alpine season in Switzerland is thus widely recognized. At the same time, the alpine farms are under pressure to adapt to external challenges such as climate change or water scarcity. Skilled workers are needed to preserve the cultural heritage and to cope with the increasing pressures of climate change. These seasonal workers need in-depth knowledge and a wide range of skills to ensure the survival of the Swiss Alpine Season. However, such workers are in short supply and rarely stay in the alpine economy for long periods of time. We therefore launched a research project to investigate the reasons why seasonal workers do not return to alpine farms, or do so only in the short term. Our study shows that the reasons are manyfold: Conflicts with employers and colleagues or hard and long working hours combined with low wages play a role. However, one of the main reasons why seasonal workers do not return to alpine farms is that they often experience difficulties with the long-term integration of their alpine farm employment into their general life situation. Thus, due to inadequate working and living conditions on the farms as well as a lack of possibilities to combine the “alpine farm life” with the “other life”, there is a shortage of skilled labor on Swiss alpine farms. Discussions are currently taking place with various stakeholders on how to tackle these difficulties.