Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Next Adventure: Nicaragua




Dear friends,

Greetings!  I’m writing to you from Nicaragua, my home base for the next 2.5 months as I learn about and support the work of the Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo (ATC), the rural agricultural workers association of Nicaragua.

ATC has been actively involved in social movements in Nicaragua since the 1970s revolution.  ATC is one of the founding members of La Via Campesina, the global food sovereignty social movement that has 160+ member organizations in 70+ countries.  ATC operates IALA Mesoamerica (Latin American Institute of Agroecology) in Nicaragua.  This school brings together individuals and groups from around Central America for workshops, where participants teach and learn about specific agroecological techniques, farmworker rights, political organizing, and more.  ATC and IALA Mesoamerica use popular education, prometora, and campesino a campesino methods of training.

I’m here in Nicaragua to study the core concepts of agroecology, food sovereignty, and political organizing, all of which are important components of the work of La Via Campesina, ATC, and IALA Mesoamerica.  I will be studying Spanish language tailored toward agroecologial food systems and social movements, which is something I have wanted to do for some time now.  Hopefully, I will also participate in some of the planning and/or implementation of the many projects that ATC is working on right now.

For now I am staying at ATC's Escuela Campesina in Ticuantepe (near Managua) but I also hope to spend time in Juigalpa, Matagalpa, and other locations where ATC works.  Stay tuned!

PS: My new buddy Kira (University of Toronto international development student) arrived here the same day as me and will be here for 12 months as part of her studies.  You can read her blog here.

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