El Salvador 2007

From April 30 to May 16, I traveled to El Salvador as part of a food study program. The trip was amazing in all regards and I learned a lot not only about the country, but about the global situation in general and about myself. Thank you to everyone who supported my travels. Pictures are available in the Gallery and in the .zip file below. Please visit the El Salvador category of my archive to view posts about my trip. Videos will be released shortly.

Download:

Excerpt from Information Package:

Food is an everyday element of our lives. We need it to survive, we enjoy it, and it is often at the centre of our gatherings. In the culture of multinational corporate capitalism, we are not encouraged to reflect much on where our food comes from. Rarely, unless we are poor, do we worry about the security of our food supply. Indeed, most of us no longer recognize how integral our food security is to our economic, ecological and social wellbeing.

Food security refers to the right of people and communities to safe, culturally appropriate, and nutritious food through a food system that is ecologically sustainable and socially just. Food security also often includes the notion of food sovereignty, that is, the idea that communities are entitled to self-reliance and control over their food-producing resources. While for many the lack of food security is acute -– the world’s poorest feel its affects daily—in the contemporary context of economic dominance by global institutions such as the IMF and by globally integrated agro-businesses, the lack of food security and sovereignty is a problem ordinary citizens across the globe need to understand.

On this intensive two-week study trip to El Salvador in May 2007, we will have an opportunity to explore in depth these connections. Using food as a lens that magnifies global relations of power, we will explore the many factors threatening food security and sovereignty in the region, and learn how these challenges are being met. Participants will combine intensive study and discussion with on-the-ground learning in El Salvador . We will visit community development projects, meeting with and learning from rural Salvadorans first hand about the challenges of cultivating food sovereignty and income security in the context of neo-liberal expansion and “globalization from above.”

Cost

The total cost of the trip, including airfare, on-the-ground travel, accomodations, and food for the duration of the trip is $1800. Since I am a broke student, I am hoping most of these funds will come from donations. If you would like to help me out, you can donate on the left side of this page. Any contribution helps and is greatly appreciated!

More Details

Who is organizing it?

The study trip is made possible by collaboration between Dr. Joan Mason-Grant of King’s University College , Alfredo Marroquin of SalvAide, and representatives of CORDES (The Foundation for Cooperation and Community Development of El Salvador) and CRIPDES (the Association of Rural Communities for the Development of El Salvador). SalvAide is a nationally registered Canadian charitable organization working with citizens of El Salvador on projects that foster bottom-up rural development to achieve social and economic justice, democracy and dignity for their people. CORDES and CRIPDES are SalvAide’s primary partners in El Salvador , and have worked mutually to design and deliver development programs in communities that strive to be the protagonists of their own development.

Where are we going?

The study trip will focus on (at least) two regions in El Salvador: the Lower Lempa region and Chalatenango. In the Lower Lempa region, we will visit communities building a “solidarity economy” in which the quality of life of people is at the centre of concern, and the emphasis is on creating regional self-management. We will meet with youth, seniors and women and will visit projects such as the production and sale of organic fresh vegetables, organic sugar, and organic cashews. In Chalatenango, we will visit a CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)-funded “Integrated Family Farm Plan,” the focus of which is to address the challenges of food and income security and gender inequality in the region. We will also meet with artisan and marketing cooperatives, and visit a coffee processing plant.

Even More Info:

Itinerary: -Download-

Some Reading:
Foley, Michael, with George Vickers and Geoff Thale. 1997. Land, Peace, and participation: The Development of Post-War Agricultural Policy in El Salvador and the Role of the World Bank. Washington Office on latin America Occasional Papers Series. -Download-

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