Everyday Experts: How People's Knowledge Can Transform the Food
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system The People’s Knowledge Editorial Collective Reclaiming Diversi T Y & CiT izens H ip Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system Cover photos: (left): Field teaching by Farmer Research Team members about planting methods, Lobi area. Photo taken by C. Hickey, December 2014. Used with the permission of project participants. (right): The Coventry Men’s Shed participatory video project exploring “What’s Eating Coventry’ and unpacks social justice issues related to food in the city of Coventry. More information at www.peoplesknowledge.org Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system The People’s Knowledge Editorial Collective*: Colin Anderson Christabel Buchanan Marina Chang Javier Sanchez Rodriguez Tom Wakeford *Listed in alphabetical order. This book was a collective endeavour and work and responsibility was shared evenly amongst the editorial team. All chapters have been peer reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers and revised accordingly as a part of a non-blind open peer review process. Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system Published by the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry University The Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) is driving innovative, transdisciplinary research on the understanding and development of socially just and resilient food and water systems internationally. Unique to this University Research Centre is the incorporation of citizen-generated knowledge - the participation of farmers, water users and other citizens in transdisciplinary research, using holistic approaches which cross many disciplinary boundaries among the humanities as well as the natural and social sciences. The Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) Coventry University Ryton Gardens, Wolston Lane Coventry, CV8 3LG United Kingdom E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 2477 651 601 Web: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/areas-of-research/agroecology-water- resilience/ To cite this publication: People’s Knowledge Editorial Collective (Eds). (2017). Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system. Reclaiming Diversity and Citizenship Series. Coventry: Coventry University. Available at: www.coventry.ac.uk/everyday-experts. The Reclaiming Diversity and Citizenship Series seeks to encourage debate outside mainstream policy and conceptual frameworks on the future of food, farming, land use and human well-being. The opportunities and constraints to regenerating local food systems and economies based on social and ecological diversity, justice, human rights, inclusive democracy, and active forms of citizenship are explored in this Series. Contributors to the Reclaiming Diversity and Citizenship Series are encouraged to reflect deeply on their ways of working and outcomes of their research, highlighting implications for policy, knowledge, organisations, and practice. The Reclaiming Diversity and Citizenship Series was published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) between 2006 and 2013. The Series is now published by the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, at Coventry University. Professor Michel Pimbert is the coordinator and editor in chief of the Reclaiming Diversity and Citizenship Series. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this volume are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, its partners and donors. iv Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system Contents Acknowledgements viii Contributor biographies x Introduction xix Theme 1 – Participatory research - practitioner reflections 1 Looking inwards, looking outwards: reflecting on an Indigenous research approach 1 Tabitha Martens 2 Reflecting on a participatory process on biofuels challenges 15 Jasber Singh 3. Earth Mother: participatory theatre with indigenous peoples 23 N. Madhusudhan 4. CAIS Maloka: Researching our Campesino reality through critical reflection, participation, action and learning 33 Javier Sanchez Rodríguez and Maria Pastora de la Pava 5. Participatory workers: from tyrants to critical thinkers 55 Tom Wakeford 6. Recovering Andean food wisdom: participatory methods and food sovereignty in the Peruvian Andes 75 Maruja Salas and Timmi Tillmann 7. Participatory action research transforming local food systems in India, Iran and Peru 99 Michel P. Pimbert, Periyapatna V. Satheesh, Alejandro Argumedo, and Taghi M. Farvar 8. A farmer-to-farmer agroecological approach to addressing food security in Malawi 121 Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Catherine Hickey, Esther Lupafya, Laifolo Dakishoni, Rachel Bezner Kerr, Isaac Luginaah and Mangani Katundu v Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system Theme 2 – Knowledge process in social movement organizations and non- government organizations 9. La Vía Campesina and academia: a snapshot 139 Josh Brem-Wilson and Paul Nicholson 10. The role of trust in building alliances of social movements: organising the International Forum on Agroecology 153 Maryam Rahmanian and Thierry Kesteloot 11. Community organisations for food systems change: reflecting on food movement dynamics in Manitoba 169 Colin Anderson, Jeanette Sivilay and Kenton Lobe 12. Canadian women farmers: developing a gender-inclusive vision for agricultural policy 189 Carla Roppel and Annette Aurélie Desmarais Theme 3 – Education and critical learning processes 13. Engaging with Cuba’s permaculture movement through transformative learning 203 Mary Beckie and Ron Berezan 14. Reclaiming the yam: a critical journey into the origin and transformation of our food 219 Mama D 15. Soil and me 235 Ma’at á Nkemi 16. Community first! Engaging user participation in A Community Guide to Environmental Health 251 Jeff Conant 17. Collective learning as a core dynamic of social movement challenging the dominant food system: the case of the Network in Defence of Maize in Mexico 269 Karol Yañez Soria Theme 4 – Community-university engagement 18. Solidarity science: reflections, negotiations and experiences with doing research on the ground with Proambiente and Chico Mendes and the rubber tappers’ movement in Acre, Brazil 281 Jacqueline M. Vadjunec vi Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system 19. Community engaged action research and food sovereignty in Canada 293 Lauren Kepkewicz, Rolie Srivastava, Charles Levkoe, Abra Brynne and Cathleen Kneen 20. Involving smallholder farmers in participatory research on pollinators in agroecosystems: a case study from Eastern India 309 Soumik Chatterjee, Barbara Smith and Parthib Basu 21. Reclaiming the plots: struggles and strategies from London’s Community Food Growers Network 327 Christabel Buchanan, Rob Logan and Marina Chang Theme 5 – Autonomous approaches to Action Research: Knowledge processes occurring in different spaces outside of mainstream institutions 22. Urban and rural women building economic solidarity between the city and the countryside: a political agroecological approach to food security 343 Josefina Ayala Aponte and Dora Maria Chamorro 23. Connecting the dots and closing the loops: a living lab for living well 361 Marina Chang 24. Brokering innovation and fostering action learning – towards promoting ‘agroecological entrepreneurship’ in the new Cuban economic model 373 Humberto Ríos Labrada and Juan Ceballos Müller 25. The potential limitations of food sovereignty activism: a reflective case study 383 Ruth E. Hayward 26. Women defending their territory and natural resources in Peru: Women of Celendin Fighting to Protect Pachamama 395 Graciela Romero 27. Esnetik: Ethics, trust, transparency and the challenges of negotiating meaningful sustainability 411 Raquel Ajates Gonzalez 28. From the grassroots or by the state? Strategies for fostering urban agriculture in Brazil 427 Rafael de Brito Dias, Milena Pavan Serafim and Julicristie Machado de Oliveira vii Everyday Experts: How people’s knowledge can transform the food system Acknowledgements This book was a considerable undertaking and involved the love and labour of many people. Firstly, we thank the authors, groups and the diverse movements with which they are associated for their input into the two year collaborative process that has finally fielded this book. From contributing their stories and analysis to the book’s chapters to providing critical peer reviews to other chapters, they have been the heart and soul of this process. Their stories are inspiring and insightful and will provide critical insight to inform the praxis of anyone wanting to contribute to the co- production with, and application of knowledge by, social movements. We are indebted to the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) and Coventry University for providing funding for this project and for supporting the staff researchers involved. Particularly we would like to thank Michel Pimbert for his guidance and unwavering support throughout the entire process. We are also grateful to the Management Committee for approving funds to support the project, including financial contributions for authors of chapters who do not write and do research for a living. Without this, many authors would not have had the time to critically reflect on their experiences and share their conclusions with others. Thank you to Sue Parrott, Pete Christopher and Becky Mitchell from GreenInk, Sam Wajid and