Alys Cretier

Alys Cretier is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne. She holds a Master's degree in Social Anthropology from the University Jean Jaurès in Toulouse, where she conducted research on three historical systems of collective land ownership in the Western Alps (Italy, France, Switzerland). Her PhD thesis examines the use and management of pastoral commons in Xiberoa (Soule), a province of the Northern Basque Country. Her research offers an ethnographic analysis of this commons system, focusing on the cooperative mechanisms that emerge from collective access to grazing resources, as well as the forms of dwelling shaped by this mode of territorial appropriation. This research explores the intergenerational transmission of both ecological knowledge and technical know-how related to the use of land and collective resources, with the aim of deepening our understanding of the system's socio-ecological resilience. It is part of a broader comparative project that seeks to document and analyze contemporary configurations of historical commons across Europe.

Alys Cretier is part of the project Rural Commons and Ecological Transition: From the Mountains to the Sea and collaborates with the VALCOM Partnership Chair which aims to redefine collective land commons as active instruments for territorial resilience, social cohesion, and participatory governance.